Visiting Some Must See Places in Macau including the Ruins of St. Paul

Since we were in HK for a longer period of time, we took some time out from HK and visited Macau, its neighbouring city. Travelling between these cities is easy as there are a number of options. Both cities can be reachable by roads and by water. This time we took the ferry from the Central District of HK. 

There are numerous ferries going back and forth and we didn’t even purchase our ticket in advance online. We simply showed up at the ticket counter, got our tickets and off we went taking the ferry to Macau. The ferry was spacious, comfortable and it took about an hour to get to Macau. 

The next day we visited a few must see places in this city of about 687,000 people. The one place I really wanted to see was the Ruins of St. Paul. To avoid the crowds, we got up at 7 a.m. and were there before 8 a.m.

1. Ruins of St Paul –  Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005, it is a magnificent piece of architecture.  The great facade was the front wall of the grand Church of St. Paul built from 1602 -1640  by Jesuit missionaries. It was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia! But a fire in 1835 destroyed the  entire church except for the towering stone wall that is still standing today.        

Today, the Ruins of St. Paul are one of Macau's best known landmarks and were named one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World by the Portuguese government in 2010.

 

We climbed the 68 stone steps and reached this beautiful façade where many tourists were snapping pictures. We went behind and off course, there was nothing except for some building material for the necessary maintenance work to be done to the wall. Walking up the hill and exploring further, we came to a park called;

2. Parque Da Fortaleza Do Monte where we saw a beautiful garden with blooming colourful flowers and much greenery surrounding the statue of Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit in a Chinese costume.

" Ricci was one of the first Jesuit missionaries to arrive in Macau in 1582 which served as a crucial base for his later work in mainland China. He learned Chinese and immersed himself in Chinese culture, becoming a pioneer in introducing Western knowledge including science and religion to China. The statue was unveiled in 2010, symbolizing his role in connecting East and West." source - Google

3. As we kept walking, we reached Mount Fortress and found the Macau Museum but unfortunately it was not open therefore we didn't have a chance to go inside. 

But we did see the cannons left from the period when the Portuguese government was defending itself from foreign invaders!  Mount Fortress was built in early 17 the century and was Macau's main military defensive bases. These days, it provides a good spot for visitors to have an excellent view of Macau.  We enjoyed looking around in the garden where a few benches were placed and we could sit and rest for a while.

After visiting  Mount Fortress and the park, we strolled down the Ruins of St Paul’s and reached one of the most historically important  landmarks in Macau;

Senado Square - It used to be the administrative hub of the Portuguese government until 1999 when Macau was returned back to China. 

In the Senado Square, we saw the footprints and heavy influences left behind by the Portuguese - a square surrounded by neoclassical European buildings and with ceramic mosaic tiled floors all throughout the square and in the adjacent streets, very Portuguese like indeed.

When we were standing in the middle of the square, we felt like we were somewhere in Europe, an interesting feeling indeed! This was why we saw a lot of mainland Chinese visiting the square. Trying to have a taste of the little Portugal here perhaps? 

The Senado Square and Macau were as beautiful during the day as it was at night. We were glad that this time we were at the city for a few days and were able to see and enjoy this wonderful city a lot more !

R.T. Macau

062025