Introduction
Gambling, greenery and glitz in a cultural mix. Macau is a city with two faces: the fortresses, churches and food of former colonial Portugese masters speak to a uniquely Mediterranean style on the China coast. And yet Macau is also the self-styled Las Vegas of the East. The last few years have seen once-sleepy little Macau booming.
Today's Macau woos commerce and tourism like never before, taking a tradition of gambling to new extremes. While the profileration of mega-casinos means there's plenty of places to try your hand with Lady Luck, many of Macau's pleasures are relaxed and laidback, architectural and atmospheric.
Macau is made up of two islands and a compact peninsula dangling off the Guangdong mainland into the South China Sea. Hong Kong is just a 65km (40mi) swim away across the Pearl River delta, and the Guangdong capital, Guangzhou (aka Canton), is on the Pearl River 150km (90mi) or so to the north. Macau is tiny: all up, the mainland peninsula plus its two southerly islands (Taipa and Coloane) add up to a measly 28.2 sq km (10.9 sq mi) - Hong Kong Island alone measures more than three times its size. Most of the sights are on the peninsula jutting down from Zh ū h ǎ i on the mainland. Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, running from Avenida da Praia Grande to the Inner Harbour, is Macau's main street. Its extension, Avenida do Infante Dom Henrique, runs south to the Outer Harbour. Development is gradually overtaking the peninsula and Taipa, but Coloane remains largely unspoilt. Most of Macau's attractions are clustered around the peninsula's centre - it's a hilly but rewarding walk from church to fort and back again. Land reclamation at the foot of the peninsula has significantly increased Macau's acreage and created the two artificial Nam Van Lakes. Taipa Island is linked to the peninsula by three bridges and, until recently, a causeway linked Taipa with Coloane. This is currently being expanded in a massive land reclamation project: when it's finished, the Cotai Strip, as it will be known, will be home to a series of Las Vegas-owned and styled mega-casinos. The new Lotus Flower Bridge connects Taipa to the Chinese mainland and meets the Guangzhou-Zhuhai highway. This is expected to be the major artery that feeds gamblers into the strip.
Destination Facts
Time zone: GMT +8
Area: 28.2
Coordinates: 22.199213028 latitude and 113.545173645 longitude
Population: 482000
Currency: Pataca (MOP$)
Getting there and away
Macau opened a flash new airport on Taipa Island in December 1995, with high hopes for a tourism-led boom. Only trouble is there are few direct flights from Europe, so the dream of visitors jetting in direct to Macau rather than via Hong Kong is still to be realised. The airport is one of Asia's least used, so you'll whiz through immigration and baggage pick-up. But one, and possibly two, new low-cost airlines based in Macau are set to make the ultramodern airport much busier. New long-haul budget airline Viva Macau (www.flyvivamacau.com) is expected to service destinations including Milan, Moscow, Mumbai, Delhi, Jakarta, Manila and Abu Dhabi by late 2007. For now, Air Macau(www.airmacau.com.mo) has the lion's share of the traffic. Macau Airport has direct links to Asian cities like Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Manila; mainland China destinations include Beijing, Shanghai, Fuzhou and Guilin. You can catch a helicopter to Hong Kong if you've got cash to spare. Hong Kong is linked to Macau by more than 150 sea crossings every day, with a choice of jetfoil, turbocat, foilcat or express ferry services; the trip takes just under an hour by jetfoil. There's a daily ferry crossing to Shekou in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, north of Hong Kong. The Zhuhai Special Economic Zone town of Gongbei borders Macau to the north, on the other side of the historic Barrier Gate, and there are regular buses to Gongbei and Guangzhou.
Getting around
To/from the airport: catch the airport bus AP1, which zips around Taipa before heading to the Macau ferry terminal and the Border Gate. The bus stops at a number of major hotels en route and departs frequently. Otherwise hire a taxi or there are bus services to Coloane (Nos 21 and 26) and the A-Ma Temple (No 21.) Other than walking, the best way to get around the Macau Peninsula is by air-conditioned bus or minibus. Routes take in most of the sights. Taxis are metered and reasonably priced, but not too many drivers speak English. As for those touristy three-wheeled pedicabs (triciclos) clustered round the Jetfoil pier and Lisboa Hotel - well, they can be more expensive than the taxis, plus they're slow-moving and restricted to touring the waterfront. Bicycles can be hired from Taipa Village but remember you cannot cross the Taipa-Macau bridges on a bike. Driving in Macau can be a somewhat hair-raising experience - there are way too many cars in too small a space, and the drivers all seem to think they're Grand Prix heroes. Cars can be hired though the traditional Mokes (Jeep like-convertible) may soon be phased out. Either way, they're best reserved for more tranquil Taipa and Coloane.
Weather
Macau has a sub-tropical climate, with a yearly average of 20 ° C (68 ° F). Humidity is highest through the typhoon season in June, when 30 ° C (86 ° F) temperatures accompany torrential downpours that continue through until September. Autumn (October-December) brings a cool change and the humidity declines a little. The winter period (January-March) can be cold (down to 10 ° C/50 ° F), but the sun is never far away. From April Macau starts to get muggy again, maintaining a yearly humidity average of between 70% and 90%.
Places of Interest
Macau is a city with two faces: the fortresses, churches and food of former colonial Portugese masters speak to a uniquely Mediterranean style on the China coast. And yet Macau is also the self-styled Las Vegas of the East. The last few years have seen once-sleepy little Macau booming.
Today's Macau woos commerce and tourism like never before, taking a tradition of gambling to new extremes. While the profileration of mega-casinos means there's plenty of places to try your hand with Lady Luck, many of Macau's pleasures are relaxed and laidback, architectural and atmospheric.
Gambling, greenery and glitz in a cultural mix. Macau is a city with two faces: the fortresses, churches and food of former colonial Portugese masters speak to a uniquely Mediterranean style on the China coast. And yet Macau is also the self-styled Las Vegas of the East. The last few years have seen once-sleepy little Macau booming.
Today's Macau woos commerce and tourism like never before, taking a tradition of gambling to new extremes. While the profileration of mega-casinos means there's plenty of places to try your hand with Lady Luck, many of Macau's pleasures are relaxed and laidback, architectural and atmospheric.
Macau is made up of two islands and a compact peninsula dangling off the Guangdong mainland into the South China Sea. Hong Kong is just a 65km (40mi) swim away across the Pearl River delta, and the Guangdong capital, Guangzhou (aka Canton), is on the Pearl River 150km (90mi) or so to the north. Macau is tiny: all up, the mainland peninsula plus its two southerly islands (Taipa and Coloane) add up to a measly 28.2 sq km (10.9 sq mi) - Hong Kong Island alone measures more than three times its size. Most of the sights are on the peninsula jutting down from Zh ū h ǎ i on the mainland. Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, running from Avenida da Praia Grande to the Inner Harbour, is Macau's main street. Its extension, Avenida do Infante Dom Henrique, runs south to the Outer Harbour. Development is gradually overtaking the peninsula and Taipa, but Coloane remains largely unspoilt. Most of Macau's attractions are clustered around the peninsula's centre - it's a hilly but rewarding walk from church to fort and back again. Land reclamation at the foot of the peninsula has significantly increased Macau's acreage and created the two artificial Nam Van Lakes. Taipa Island is linked to the peninsula by three bridges and, until recently, a causeway linked Taipa with Coloane. This is currently being expanded in a massive land reclamation project: when it's finished, the Cotai Strip, as it will be known, will be home to a series of Las Vegas-owned and styled mega-casinos. The new Lotus Flower Bridge connects Taipa to the Chinese mainland and meets the Guangzhou-Zhuhai highway. This is expected to be the major artery that feeds gamblers into the strip.
Destination Facts
Time zone: GMT +8
Area: 28.2
Coordinates: 22.199213028 latitude and 113.545173645 longitude
Population: 482000
Currency: Pataca (MOP$)
Getting there and away
Macau opened a flash new airport on Taipa Island in December 1995, with high hopes for a tourism-led boom. Only trouble is there are few direct flights from Europe, so the dream of visitors jetting in direct to Macau rather than via Hong Kong is still to be realised. The airport is one of Asia's least used, so you'll whiz through immigration and baggage pick-up. But one, and possibly two, new low-cost airlines based in Macau are set to make the ultramodern airport much busier. New long-haul budget airline Viva Macau (www.flyvivamacau.com) is expected to service destinations including Milan, Moscow, Mumbai, Delhi, Jakarta, Manila and Abu Dhabi by late 2007. For now, Air Macau(www.airmacau.com.mo) has the lion's share of the traffic. Macau Airport has direct links to Asian cities like Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Manila; mainland China destinations include Beijing, Shanghai, Fuzhou and Guilin. You can catch a helicopter to Hong Kong if you've got cash to spare. Hong Kong is linked to Macau by more than 150 sea crossings every day, with a choice of jetfoil, turbocat, foilcat or express ferry services; the trip takes just under an hour by jetfoil. There's a daily ferry crossing to Shekou in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, north of Hong Kong. The Zhuhai Special Economic Zone town of Gongbei borders Macau to the north, on the other side of the historic Barrier Gate, and there are regular buses to Gongbei and Guangzhou.
Getting around
To/from the airport: catch the airport bus AP1, which zips around Taipa before heading to the Macau ferry terminal and the Border Gate. The bus stops at a number of major hotels en route and departs frequently. Otherwise hire a taxi or there are bus services to Coloane (Nos 21 and 26) and the A-Ma Temple (No 21.) Other than walking, the best way to get around the Macau Peninsula is by air-conditioned bus or minibus. Routes take in most of the sights. Taxis are metered and reasonably priced, but not too many drivers speak English. As for those touristy three-wheeled pedicabs (triciclos) clustered round the Jetfoil pier and Lisboa Hotel - well, they can be more expensive than the taxis, plus they're slow-moving and restricted to touring the waterfront. Bicycles can be hired from Taipa Village but remember you cannot cross the Taipa-Macau bridges on a bike. Driving in Macau can be a somewhat hair-raising experience - there are way too many cars in too small a space, and the drivers all seem to think they're Grand Prix heroes. Cars can be hired though the traditional Mokes (Jeep like-convertible) may soon be phased out. Either way, they're best reserved for more tranquil Taipa and Coloane.
Weather
Macau has a sub-tropical climate, with a yearly average of 20 ° C (68 ° F). Humidity is highest through the typhoon season in June, when 30 ° C (86 ° F) temperatures accompany torrential downpours that continue through until September. Autumn (October-December) brings a cool change and the humidity declines a little. The winter period (January-March) can be cold (down to 10 ° C/50 ° F), but the sun is never far away. From April Macau starts to get muggy again, maintaining a yearly humidity average of between 70% and 90%.
Places of Interest
Macau is a city with two faces: the fortresses, churches and food of former colonial Portugese masters speak to a uniquely Mediterranean style on the China coast. And yet Macau is also the self-styled Las Vegas of the East. The last few years have seen once-sleepy little Macau booming.
Today's Macau woos commerce and tourism like never before, taking a tradition of gambling to new extremes. While the profileration of mega-casinos means there's plenty of places to try your hand with Lady Luck, many of Macau's pleasures are relaxed and laidback, architectural and atmospheric.
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