Hong Kong sightseeing is some of the best in the world, and this top ten will give you enough to do for at least three or four days, depending on how you pace yourself. From sharks at Ocean Park to the skyline on the Peak, use this list to start your Hong Kong sightseeing.
The Hong Kong skyline is arguably the world’s most famous, well, apart from New York, but even the Big Apple can’t match the sheer number of skyscrapers, the most of any city in the world. The best place for you and your Kodak to get a snapshot of this cityscape is from Victoria Peak, which towers over the city.
The Star Ferry is a Hong Kong institution that has been running since 1888, which in Hong Kong terms is a veritable lifetime. The ferry plies Hong Kong harbour between Central and Kowloon, and while the subway is faster, the Star Ferry offers fabulous views over the skyscrapered skyline of Central - all for just a couple of dollars.
Hong Kong is often accused of lacking history, but, before the British arrived there was in fact a number of fishing clans living in the region. This interactive museum documents the clans and the British, as well as everything in between, highlighting the often overlooked highlights of Cantonese culture.
Hong Kong has the best Dim Sum in the World. Fact. You may have had Dim Sum elsewhere, but until you’ve had it in Hong Kong you haven’t tasted the best. But Dim Sum isn’t only about the food, it’s also about the buzz; Dim Sum restaurants are heaving at lunchtimes and alive with the sounds of clicking chopsticks and boisterous Cantonese - a sight in itself.
If you think Hong Kong is all electronics and skyscrapers, take a trip to the city’s more traditional side at a temple. Despite their futurama image, Hong Kongers remain rigidly conservative when it comes to culture, and you’ll find temples all over the city. Taoist or Buddhist, or a mix of both, they swirl with incense and gleam with golden god statues, and are best seen during a traditional Chinese festival.
Watching the horse racing at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley recourse has to rnk as one of the world’s most exciting sporting spectacles. The big draw is the racecourse itself; nestled in the heart of Happy Valley it’s banked by a wall of skyscrapers making for a show stopping electric show during the Wednesday night races
It might be Disneyland that makes the headlines, but Ocean Park is Hong Kong’s best theme park – by a mile. The park mixes educational animal shows, such as sharks and dolphins (not together) and seat of your pants rollercoasters and log flumes; both the creatures and the rides are first class. The park is a good day out for all ages, but if you’ve brought kids, it’s a must.
Shopping in Hong Kong is legendary, but no where will you see the populace’s exuberance and passion for bagging a bargain than at the city’s markets. Even if you don’t feel like reaching into your wallet, the markets are worth a visit just see the explosion of crowds, color and noise.
The British might have gone home, but they left plenty of their signature colonial buildings. The Central district is littered with the remains of British Power, from the stately Legco building, where the Hong Kong government still resides, to the ecclesiastical columns of St John’s Cathedral; it’s still possible to get a taste for what imperial power looked like.
