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CHINA | Macau, China Travel Guide
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
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Macau Orientation
Macau Orientation
Macau's amenities and sights are largely enclosed within the shoe-shaped parcel of land that is the Macau Peninsula. The peninsula is a patchwork of modern casinos, hotels and skyscrapers, at odds with the cobbled streets and Portuguese architecture of yesteryear, whose centerpieces are the imposing Leal Senado, the Ruins of St. Paul’s Basilica and, looking over it all, the Mount Fortress. The principal street in this area, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, is locally known as San Malo and lends its name to the surrounding area, which encapsulates most of Macau’s historic sights. San Malo runs southeast from the Porto Interior and is where you’ll find much of the city’s budget accommodation. It leads to the focal point of the old city, the open plaza of Largo do Senado (largo means square in Portuguese) and then continues onto the grand and gaudy Lisboa Casino. In the southwest of the peninsula, Penha and Barra hills have many of the territory’s grandest residences and lead to the manmade Sai Van and Nam Van lakes. On the triangle of land between the lakes you’ll find Macau’s tallest building, the Macau Tower, which is over 1,100 feet tall.
Much of the peninsula’s modern growth has been focused on an oblong strip of reclaimed land on its eastern flank known as Nape. This is Macau’s business district but is also home to the bar strip of Avenida Dr. Sun Yatsen, a new restaurant development at Fisherman’s Wharf, the ferry terminal and the territory’s grandest casino to date, Sands.
Not so long ago the small islands of Taipa and Coloane and their smattering of beaches, farmland, fishing villages, ruined churches and temples were blissfully free of development. However these days Taipa is little more than a continuation of the peninsula, although there are still quaint pockets of decaying architecture and some good restaurants. Another reclamation project, the Cotai strip between Taipa and Coloane, will bring a string of new casinos and promises to make Macau “Asia’s Las Vegas.” Coloane itself has thus far escaped the attention of developers and still offers a slice of rural life along with a few good hotels and restaurants.
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