Macau travel info

Walk into Senado Square and the first thing you notice is the ground: wave-patterned paving of black and white stones winding between yellow and pink colonial facades, leading up to the Ruins of St. Paul's, a church front standing alone at the top of a hill. In the lanes below the steps, jerky shop staff snip off free samples with scissors, and the bakeries smell of egg tarts straight from the oven. More than 400 years of Portuguese presence sit in the same lanes as Cantonese shop signs.

Cross the bridge to Cotai and it's another city entirely. In one mall, a Venetian canal has been moved indoors, complete with singing gondoliers, and a half-size Eiffel Tower lights up every night. The useful part is that these resorts run free shuttle buses from the airport, the ferry terminals and the border, so with a bit of planning you can get around without paying a fare.

It's a little over 40 minutes from Hong Kong on the shuttle bus that runs across the sea bridge. The whole territory covers only about 33 square kilometres, so two or three nights is enough for the old peninsula lanes, Portuguese lunches in Taipa Village and the seaside village of Coloane. A pork chop bun for lunch, bacalhau and a glass of wine for dinner, a resort show after dark: the days fill up fast.

Macau International Airport (MFM)

Via Hong Kong International Airport (bridge bus or ferry) (HKG)