Hong Kong has always been a cosmopolitan city, a spinning top of cultures and nationalities, deep traditions and new ideas, infused with an indefatigable “Lion Rock spirit” — and so it remains. A pinprick on the map, this scrappy little city punches well above its weight, with an enigmatic jigsaw of mountains and harbour, glassy skyscrapers and subtropical rainforest, high-finance and rip-roaring street markets, cyberpunk nights and Chinese superstitions.
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Experience it through its food, a merry-go-round of diaphanous dumplings, puffy buns, crispy noodles and roast meats bronzed to perfection; through its architecture, which ranges from old stone temples to domed colonial-era building, to vast 1960s housing estates with Sesame Street colour schemes, to 100-storey skyscrapers; and through its humorous, hard-working people who are trying to hold onto their beautiful city and unique way of life.
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What to do
While there’s a lot to pack in, it pays to keep some flexibility in your schedule to allow you to work around the weather and say yes to the unexpected (like Las Vegas or Bangkok, Hong Kong is the kind of place where you can strike up a conversation with strangers over lunch and end up dancing like a jellyfish and drinking shots with them in a nightclub at 1am).
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You’ll want clear skies to ride the Peak Tram, which chugs up the mountainside at 27 degrees, tipping Hong Kong’s skyscrapers on their side — no other vehicle moves so slowly while offering such big thrills. From the top, the views of the city are superlative, particularly at blue hour when the skyscraper forest sparkles into life. You could ride the tram back down but it’s a pleasant contrast to walk the Central Green Trail into the city centre.
Best things to do in Hong Kong
In town, you’ve got one of Hong Kong’s oldest temples, Man Mo, and arts and heritage hotspot Tai Kwun, as well as every kind of shopping imaginable, from couture on Queen’s Road and Cat Street’s eccentric antique shops to colourful market stalls squeezed into Li Yuen Street East and West. The Star Ferry will deliver you to the Kowloon side, where there’s afternoon tea to be had at The Peninsula and bargains to be bagged at Temple Street Market. While out of town, you should take the cable car to Big Buddha on Lantau Island, the keito ferry to Tai O fishing village and the speedboat into Sai Kung’s Unesco Geopark.
Where to stay
With a reputation for having some of the best hotels in the world, Hong Kong has got all your business and leisure needs covered. There are nearly 100,000 hotel rooms here, ranging from tech-savvy hostels, to designer high-rises with Victoria Harbour views, to heritage hotels with helipads, Michelin-starred restaurants and lavish spas.
Standing sentry on the Kowloon waterfront for the past nine decades, The Peninsula is the city’s grande dame and the one to book for a big birthday or anniversary blowout, complete with Rolls-Royce transfer. Other exceptional luxury hotels include the Rosewood, the Mandarin Oriental, the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, The Upper House, the Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton — one of the world’s highest, towering 490 metres above the Kowloon peninsula.
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Away from the main harbour, you’ll find more budget-friendly five-stars including Cordis in Mong Kok and Hotel Icon in Tsim Sha Tsui East. Fashionable boutique hotels offering a more local experience pepper areas such as Wan Chai, Sheung Wan, Wong Chuk Hang and Yau Ma Tei.
Food and drink
You will not go hungry in Hong Kong. The people here are obsessed with food and think nothing of lining up for an hour for the best dishes in town, which keeps the foodie competition fierce and the quality top-notch. Dim sum, served for breakfast and lunch, is the cuisine Hong Kong is most famous for and you’ll find it everywhere from family-run restaurants to grab-n-goes inside subway stations to Michelin-starred must-dos with million dollar views. Dishes such as har gao (prawn dumplings), siu mai (pork and prawn dumplings) and char siu bao (barbecued pork buns) are usually ordered from a tick-box form that you then wave at the waiter.
Seafood is another of the city’s specialities, best enjoyed on one of the outlying islands (book a table at Fu Kee Seafood, a stilted restaurant on Lamma Island). Fill up on garlic-drenched scallops, chilli king prawns and crunchy salt and pepper squid. Save at least one morning for breakfast at a cha chaan teng, neighbourhood tea houses established during the British colonial era that serve distinctly Hong Kong mash-ups, such as macaroni soup with spam, deep-fried pork chops on egg fried rice and French toast smeared with peanut butter and condensed milk.
And the nightlife? Well, the weekend begins on Wednesday, with the roaring crowds at Happy Valley Racecourse, which peaks in the streets around Lan Kwai Fong on Friday and Saturday night, and culminates with alcohol-fuelled junk trips and free-flowing champagne brunches on Sunday. Pack some Berocca.
Don’t miss
Hong Kong’s decompression zones are its lush green country parks, which take up nearly 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s land (over 70 per cent of the territory is protected green space). There are 24 parks in total made up of mountains, woodlands, reservoirs and beaches, bursting with an impressive diversity of species, including barking deer, macaques, Chinese porcupine and wild boar, which occasionally stumble into the city to raid rubbish bins and destroy convenience stores much to the amusement of Hong Kong social media. You’re never far from a park and they’re incredibly easy to enjoy with hundreds of miles of hiking trails suitable for every level, barbecue pits, picnic areas and public toilets.
Know before you go
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The local currency is the Hong Kong dollar. Hong Kong’s cheap and highly efficient public transport system makes getting around a breeze. The MTR subway covers almost everywhere, with buses and minibuses filling the gaps. To make life even easier, pick up an Octopus card at any MTR station, which can be swiped on all forms of public transport, including the Peak Tram and the Ngong Ping cable car, as well as in convenience stores, supermarkets and fast food joints.
Take me there
Inspired to visit Hong Kong but yet to book your trip? Here are the best packages from Virgin Holidays and British Airways.
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