25 Best things to see & do in Hong Kong

Instantly recognisable by the trio of scarlet sails, junk boats – tall, wooden three-mast vessels – once filled the waters around Hong Kong, providing homes for thousands of residents. Until as recently as the 1970s, many families lived, ate, worked and slept on board, travelling between the islands of the archipelago, and pulling into the harbours when typhoons struck.

In recent decades, families have swapped their boats for apartments in the city, and now only a handful of junks remain. The Aqua Luna is one of the last still sailing in Hong Kong waters, and there is no more cinematic way to appreciate the skyline city from the water. Lie on the open deck under stiff fan sails, glass of wine in hand and a cooling breeze, as you glide through Victoria Harbour.

Aqua Luna has two boats – the red-sailed Aqua Luna and the blue and white Dragon-sailed Aqua Luna II. Between them, they offer a number of different itineraries, day and night, including an afternoon dim sum tour, an after-dark Symphony of Lights tour and day trips to Stanley Village on the south side of the island.

The century-old Po Lin monastery is the most famous centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and offers visitors an insight into the spiritual side of the city.

Two towering Pai Lau (entrance gates) mark the beginning of the complex, which comprises three halls, and many smaller buildings. Inside, the three main halls are vivid with ornate gold decorations and infused with the scent of incense. The Grand Hall of 10,000 Buddhas is a must-see; named for the thousands of glowing Buddhas in the vast main room.

The star attraction, though, is the 112ft-high bronze Buddha, seated meditatively upon a lotus base modelled on the ‘altar of heaven’. Weighing in at a staggering 250 tonnes, the statue is situated 268 steps above the main complex. There are wonderful views from the base of the Buddha across Lantau – Hong Kong’s largest and greenest island.

Set against a backdrop of high-rises and swathed in incense smoke, this is one of Hong Kong’s largest Taoist temples.

Named after Wong Tai Sin (a mythical shepherd boy with the power of healing), devotees flock here at Lunar New Year, but it’s popular the rest of the year as well, mostly for the ranks of fortune-tellers lined up outside.

Behind the temple are some attractive gardens – a miniature copy of Beijing’s Summer Palace – with colourful pavilions, fish ponds and waterfalls.

Hong Kong’s world-famous harbour sits in an arena of skyscrapers and verdant hills, offering a spectacular perspective on the city. Its deep waters and location on the South China Sea were key to Hong Kong’s establishment as a British colony in the mid-19th century.

A trip around or across the harbour offers the chance to contrast mainland China with the unique atmosphere and pace of Hong Kong island – for mere pennies.

The cheapest and simplest way in on the iconic Star Ferry – a standard ferry route that connects Hong Kong Island with Kowloon. The Star Ferry has been in operation since 1888, before which time passengers crossed the harbour in oar-powered sampans. The early Star Ferries were steamboats. The Star Ferry Company also operate a harbour tour in the double-decker Shining Star, a re-creation of these ferries that plied the harbour in the 1920s.

A more traditional, cultural option is a tour on a traditional red-sail junk. Or you can go luxury, and book in for one of the luxury dinner cruises, often with a buffet dinner and sometimes a live band on board.

Known locally simply as ‘The Peak’, this is the highest point on Hong Kong Island, 552m above sea level. In colonial times, it was a favourite summer retreat of the British, who were carried up the hill on sedan chairs to escape the sweltering, sticky heat. Development was limited until a funicular tram was completed in 1888.

Nowadays, the steep funicular tram ride up is part of the fun and – on a clear day – the views across the city and harbour, and up to the mountains of Kowloon, are incredible.

Once you get to the top, escape the crowds and the merchandising hard-sell by walking around the mountain along Harlech Road and Lugard Road.

Sure, Temple Street Night Market is touristy, but it’s also terrific fun and still somewhere it’s possible to bag a bargain. More than just a place to burn cash, this is also one of Hong Kong’s oldest neighbourhoods; a place where pensioners gather to play mah-jong in the parks and lovelorn youngsters seek the advice of fortune tellers (tourists are also welcome to try face and palm readings and astrological charts).

Aside for the usual souvenirs – faux silk pyjamas, Bruce Lee t-shirts, novelty chopsticks – you can also pick up good quality leather bags, pretty wooden ornaments and cool gadgets. Don’t’ be afraid to haggle hard, just remember to keep it friendly.

To quote the late Anthony Bourdain, ‘in Hong Kong you don’t take the tour bus to find good food. . . just press start’. This is one of the world’s greatest foodie cities, packed with over 15,000 restaurants offering mind-boggling variety and a galaxy of Michelin stars.

And while you’ll find every kind of food imaginable – from Nepalese dumplings to French fine dining – it’s with home-grown, Cantonese dishes that Hong Kong really excels. Seasonal vegetables and super-fresh seafood are key ingredients, and dim sum is not to be missed – the city starts its day with steaming baskets of har gao (shrimp dumplings) and char sui bao (barbecue pork buns).

With space at a premium, the only way is up in Hong Kong. It’s made the city’s skyline a sight to behold, a forest of skyscrapers rippling down mountainsides and across the harbour front. A few buildings dominate: the Sir Norman Foster-designed HSBC Bank building, I.M. Pei’s Bank of China, and, on the Kowloon side, the 118-storey International Commerce Centre, one of the tallest buildings in the world.

In-between you’ll find a wild diversity of architectural styles, tracing the city’s literal and metaphorical rise, from tiny ancient Taoist temples, to 1930s tong lau tenements, to the brutalist Chinese University of Hong Kong Campus, and the enormous ‘monster building’ housing estate.

Hong Kong’s most prolific museum has one of the world’s largest permanent displays of Chinese fine art and antiquities, as well as local contemporary art, all set against the beautiful backdrop of Victoria Harbour.

A wide variety of visiting exhibitions maintains the museum’s international outlook, whilst an interesting collection of historical paintings and prints shows the visual change of Hong Kong from the 18th century.

The Historical Pictures Gallery is one of the highlights, with Chinese watercolours, oil paintings and pencil drawings depicting the region in and around Hong Kong from the late 18th century through to the late 19th century. Ideal for a rainy day, or if the outdoor humidity starts to overwhelm.

The market stalls and shops here give new meaning to the term ‘higgledy-piggledy’. The seaside location is uplifting, and there are plenty of restaurants and cafés dotted around for a pit-stop along the way.

There are no huge bargains to be had, but the sheer variety is impressive – everything from cheap clothing, art and bric-a-brac, to bamboo bird cages, embroidered silk and gadgets (you can’t buy fake watches here).

Don’t be afraid to bargain, particularly if you’re buying more than one item. Vendors will often knock 10% off the original asking price.

Hong Kong is sky-piercing buildings, heaving crowds and honking red taxies, but it’s also scenic coastline, tranquil beaches and stilted houses. To experience this alternative side to the city head to Tai O, a tiny fishing village tucked away in the wilds of Lantau.

Alighting from the ferry, visitors are immediately greeted with smell of shrimp paste drying in the sun, the industry which has sustained the village for the last few hundred years. From here, narrow alleyways lead to seafood restaurants stilted over the water (you should definitely stay for lunch), garishly-painted temples and tiny village houses clad in aluminium to deflect the sun.

Pair a visit to Tai O with a boat trip from Lantau to see the world’s pinkest wild dolphins, which swim in the waters around the island. The boat winds its way through the waterways of the historic village before tracking the dolphins, instantly recognisable for their salmon-pink colour.

Every night at 8pm – on the dot – the Hong Kong cityscape lights up in a blaze of colour. The multi-media extravaganza, first begun in 2004, encompasses 39 buildings along both sides of the harbour, using gigantic LED screens, laser beams and flashing lights.

The show is choreographed with a classical music soundtrack, which can be downloaded from the free Symphony of Lights app.

Hong Kong’s oldest temple is also its most atmospheric, with lavish interiors hung strung about with gigantic coils of beehive incense. A unique glimpse of the traditional side of the city.

More than just a pastime, horse racing has been an intrinsic part of life in Hong Kong for over 150 years, with their importance even mentioned by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping who promised ‘the horse racing will continue’, even after the city returned to China.

There are two famous racecourses, both offer an energetic insight into the city’s intense love of gambling. Happy Valley Racecourse is the older and more atmospheric of the two. Surrounded by high-rise residential blocks, it’s a massive arena filled with delirious punters, noisy party-goers, men and women, young and old all betting small fortunes on every race. Lunar New Year and the first and last races of the season generally attract the biggest fields.

Chinese Opera, an art form known as Xiqu, has been an integral part of traditional Chinese culture for two centuries. A uniquely Chinese combines elaborate costume, singing and dancing, it was apparently started in 1790 when the ‘Four Great Anhui Troupes’ went to perform for the Imperial Court in Beijing.

The landmark Xiqu Theatre in West Kowloon, dedicated to the art form, has made Chinese opera a lot more accessible to visitors. Performances, in Chinese, traditionally last for four hours; however, if that’s too daunting, the centre offers a shorter 90-minute version – with dim sum – in the Tea House. It’s specially designed to introduce new audiences to Cantonese opera.

Also known as the Moon Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, this celebration of the autumn equinox features a carnival of lanterns, fiery dragon dances and the eating of lotus-paste mooncakes.

It’s held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (September or October), so every year the exact date differs. The day after is always a public holiday.

This incredibly peaceful Buddhist nunnery, built in the Tang Dynasty style and surrounded by rambling gardens, is the perfect antidote to the hustle of the big city.

While Lantau Island has the MacLehose Trail, Hong Kong Island has the Dragon’s Back. This dazzling urban hike rises and falls over 5 miles of sub-tropical terrain looping around the east of the island, from Shek O beach to Big Wave Bay. It takes around 2 hours.

There are some spectacular views to be had along the way, out across the South China Sea, over to Lamma Island and of the city’s skyscrapers dancing in the distance.

Around 40 per cent of Hong Kong is country park, and the exhilarating MacLehose hiking trail runs between the east and west coasts of the New Territories, along the mountains that gave Kowloon its name.

Passing some stunning beaches, and with amazing urban and rural panoramas along the way, this is a part of Hong Kong many visitors miss altogether. The trail is 100km long, but can be tackled in individual stages.

If you only do one part of the trail, Section 2 – which starts at the East Dam of High Island Reservoir and ends at Indian Ocean-gorgeous Tai Long Wan beach. It covers 13.5kms of forests, coast and mountains peaks and takes around five hours to complete, but the effort is rewarded with the chance to lounge on the sands and soak up the sea views.

Opened in 2005 on Lantau Island, this is the smallest park in Disneyland’s global empire. However, all the usual favourites are present on the 55-acre site, from Space Mountain to the Jungle River Cruise.

The park is incredibly popular with visiting mainland tourists, who revel at the chance to wander down Main Street USA and shake hands with the likes of Mickey Mouse. If you can stay late, the evening fireworks extravaganza is suitably spectacular.

Formally known as Upper Lascar Road, Cat Street is the place to buy genuine antiques, as well as pretty souvenirs and artsy trinkets.

This three-day, seven-a-side rugby tournament, contested by 24 international teams, is one of the biggest events on the Hong Kong sporting calendar, and it’s as much a spectator sport (in that the spectators – extravagantly costumed and inspired by gallons of alcohol – play as great a part as the teams).

The last day of the tournament is the most exciting, but all three days offer a guaranteed good day out.

Visiting an old police station doesn’t sound terribly arresting, but this one is bang on. Originally built in the mid-19th century to house crooks and conmen, it was meticulously restored by The Jockey Club and reopened in 2019 as a vibrant arts and heritage hub.

Former cells and courts have been transformed into galleries and interactive museums, and the multi-level courtyards are now home to some of the hippest bars and restaurants in the city.

There are new visiting exhibitions and events on an almost weekly basis, so check out the listings before you go.

This traditional Cantonese restaurant has been around since 1933 and has art deco interiors, septuagenarian waiters in white tunics and wonderful dim sum. Try the British-Hong Kong hybrid roast duck pie.

Disneyland Hong Kong may have the international clout, but Ocean Park is the local hero and punches well above its weight.

Spreading across 170 acres of hillside, it promises cute pandas, performing sea lions, panoramic cable-car rides, a gigantic aquarium, seaside rollercoasters and a rapids raft river ride – and that’s before you’ve summoned up the nerve to have a go on the 185ft abyss turbo drop. Your screams will echo around the whole harbour…