Hi, it’s Solyn. This time we walked the old town on the Macau Peninsula — the Ruins of St. Paul’s, Senado Square, and the alleys between them.
Most people come to Macau, stay in a Cotai resort, and never leave it. I did exactly that on my first trip.
This time we based ourselves in the old town on purpose, at Artyzen Grand Lapa, because the sights are all here and none of them are in Cotai.
Getting there, and a warning about August
We walked from the hotel. It took about twenty minutes, and in August that is a real twenty minutes.
It was hot enough to hurt. I was properly tired by the time we arrived, and honestly glad we got there when we did. If you’re doing this between June and September, go in the late afternoon rather than the middle of the day, and accept that you will sweat.
We went on to Macau Tower for the night view afterwards. Coming back, take the number 3 bus. It stops near Artyzen Grand Lapa and costs HK$6 a person. After a day on your feet in that heat, this is the correct decision.
We did the route backwards, and it worked
Almost every guide sends you Senado Square first, then up to the Ruins of St. Paul’s. That’s the standard direction, and it’s uphill.
We did it the other way round — St. Paul’s first, then drifting down to Senado — and I only have the one direction to judge by. But it had one clear advantage: you end up wandering rather than marching. We never navigated to Senado Square. We shopped, poked into lanes, and eventually arrived there.
It’s also downhill that way, which in August is not nothing.
The two are about 450 metres apart — six minutes if you walk it straight. You won’t, and that’s the point.
The Ruins of St. Paul’s
It’s bigger than the photos suggest. That surprised me — usually famous ruins shrink when you finally stand in front of them. This one doesn’t.
And it is packed. Constantly, in every direction.
Set your expectations now: you are not getting a clean photo of just the facade. Make peace with that before you climb the steps and you’ll enjoy it a lot more. Everybody there is trying to take the same picture, and nobody is getting it.
The alleys are the actual attraction
Here’s the thing I’d tell you if we only had one sentence.
Don’t just walk the main square — go into the side streets. Jerky shops, souvenir shops, small stalls, one after another. That’s where the old town actually is.
The square itself is what you’ve seen in pictures: the wave-patterned Portuguese paving, pastel colonial buildings, the fountain.
Honestly? It’s fine. Neat, well-kept, pleasantly European. It didn’t knock me over. The lanes running off it did.
The jerky street
This was the surprise.
There’s a whole run of jerky shops, and there are a lot of varieties. They’ll let you taste before you buy — walk in, try a few, pick the shop and the flavour you like.
If you know Bee Cheng Hiang, the Singaporean chain, it’s that sort of thing. It’s inexpensive, and it’s the right thing to carry back to the hotel to drink with. We did exactly that.
Café Vong Kei, and why you can’t find it
There’s a branch of Café Vong Kei (旺記咖啡) in one of the lanes on the way up to St. Paul’s, and we stopped there for iced milk tea.
Fair warning: I couldn’t find it on Google Maps. It’s in an alley, and searching didn’t help. We found it by walking past it.
The original Vong Kei is over in Taipa Village, on Rua da Cunha — that’s the one that shows up when you search. The prices at this branch should be the same.
No queue when we went. Which, given everything else in that neighbourhood, was a small mercy.
- The alleys. Jerky shops, souvenirs, small stalls — go off the main square and this becomes a proper wander.
- The jerky, with free tasting. Inexpensive, plenty of varieties, and ideal to take back to the room.
- The Ruins of St. Paul’s are genuinely bigger than the photos.
- Going backwards worked for us: St. Paul’s first, drifting down to Senado. Downhill, and you shop your way there instead of marching.
- Three hours covers it comfortably.
- The number 3 bus back for HK$6 saves your legs.
- The crowds are the real problem. Not busy — very busy. This is the one thing I’d change if I could.
- No clean photo of the facade. Accept it in advance.
- Twenty minutes on foot in August is punishing. Late afternoon, or take transport.
- The Vong Kei branch isn’t findable on Google Maps. You’ll pass it on the way up.
- Time needed: About three hours. Longer if you’re eating or shopping properly.
- Order: Most guides say Senado Square first, then uphill to St. Paul’s. We went the other way — downhill, and you drift rather than march. Either works.
- Distance between them: Roughly 450 metres, but you won’t walk it directly.
- Getting back: Number 3 bus, HK$6, stops near Artyzen Grand Lapa.
- When to go: Late afternoon in summer. August middays are brutal.
- Jerky: Free samples at most shops. Pick whichever one you like the look of.
- Milk tea: Café Vong Kei branch in the lanes on the way up to St. Paul’s. Not on Google Maps. Main shop is in Taipa Village.
Would I come back?
Yes — and more than that, I’d tell anyone staying in Cotai to come over for an afternoon.
I spent my first Macau trip entirely in Cotai and I don’t regret it. That isn’t a failed trip. But Cotai and the old town are two completely different things: Cotai is the luxury side, and the old town is where the history actually is.
You don’t have to choose. We did one night in each — Cotai for the water park, the old town for this. You just have to know they’re not the same place, and give the old town its afternoon.
— Solyn