Hong Kong & Macau - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 148

he peninsula of Macau, the location
of the original old city and most of the
historic sights (as well as the city
amenities), is entirely developed right up
to the border with China in the north.
Taipa and Coloane used to be just dots
of land supporting a few small fishing
villages, and although Coloane is still
relatively tranquil, the opening of the new
airport, a third bridge from the mainland
and a huge reclamation and casino-
building programme mean that much of
Taipa, barring its historical centre, has
become a rather soulless city suburb.
Although many travellers base
themselves in Hong Kong and cover
Macau just on a day-trip, a short visit
means running yourself ragged; it's well
worth staying overnight and allowing
yourself at least a couple of days to
explore at leisure.

Largo do Senado
he attractive Largo do Senado (Senate
Square) marks the downtown area and
bears the unmistakeable influence of
southern Europe. At the northern end of
the square stands the imposing sixteenth-
century Baroque church, São Domingos
(daily 10am-6pm; free), while to the
south, across the main road, stands the
Leal Senado (Tues-Sun 9am-9pm; free),
generally considered the finest
Portuguese building in the city. Step into
the interior courtyard here to see
blue-and-white Portuguese tiles around
the walls; up the staircase from the
courtyard, you reach first a formal garden
and then the richly decorated senate
chamber itself. In the late sixteenth
century, all of the colony's citizens would
cram into this hall to debate issues of
importance. he senate's title, leal (loyal),
was earned during the period when
Spain occupied the Portuguese throne
and Macau became the final stronghold
of those loyal to the true king. Today, the
senate chamber is still used by the
municipal government of Macau.
Adjacent to the chamber is the wood-
carved Senate Library (Mon-Sat
1-7pm), whose collection includes many
fifteenth- and sixteenth-century books,
which visitors are free to browse.
he area around Rua Central heading
south from Almeida Ribeiro is dotted
with interesting buildings, especially
those in the Largo de Santo Augustino
and the Largo de Lilau, one of the earliest
Portuguese residential areas.

3

MACAU PENINSULA
he peninsula is compact and it's possible
to get around most of it on foot; handy
buses ply several main routes, making
exploration easier. he town of Macau was
born in the south of the peninsula, around
the bay-front road known as the Praia
Grande , and grew out from there. he
most important road today, Avenida de
Almeida Ribeiro , cuts across from
southeast (where it's known as Avenida do
Infante d'Henrique) to west, taking in the
Hotel Lisboa , one of Macau's most famous
landmarks. he road exits on its western
end at the Porto Interior (Inner Harbour),
near the old docking port, from which
foreigners can still depart for the mainland
city of Shenzhen in Guangdong. he
western part of Almeida Ribeiro is also the
budget-hotel area, and some of the streets
immediately inland from here are worth
poking around. Rua da Felicidade , hung
with red lanterns, is where part of Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom was shot and
is now full of discreet guesthouses,
restaurants, aromatic pastelarias (pastry
shops) and colourful stalls.
he northern part of the peninsula
up to the border with China is largely
residential, though there are a couple of
interesting temples.

São Paulo
A few hundred metres north of Largo do
Senado stands Macau's most famous
landmark, the church of São Paulo ,
once hailed as the greatest Christian
monument in east Asia. Constructed at
the beginning of the seventeenth century,
it dominated the city for two hundred
years until its untimely destruction by fire
in 1835. Luckily, however, the facade did
not collapse - richly carved and laden
with statuary, the cracked stone still
presents an imposing sight from the
bottom of the steps leading up from the
Rua de São Paulo. Behind the facade are