Three days is a day on each side of the harbour and one slow one. The two things worth planning around are both free: the eight o'clock light show, which is best watched from the Kowloon promenade, and the Lugard Road path at the Peak, which is the same view the paid terrace sells. Everything else is a matter of eating your way between MTR stations.
At a glance
- Day 1TST promenade → 1881 Heritage → the 20:00 light show → Temple Street
- Day 2Star Ferry → Central and SoHo → Victoria Peak → Causeway Bay
- Day 3Kennedy Town → the Western District promenade → out
Day 1
Kowloon: the view back, and the night market
TST promenade → 1881 Heritage → the 20:00 light show → Temple Street
The Tsim Sha Tsui promenade is where the postcard is taken from, and it costs nothing at any hour. Walk it in daylight first, then loop through 1881 Heritage — the old marine police headquarters, now shops, and handsome regardless. Be back on the waterfront before eight for the Symphony of Lights across the harbour. Finish at the Temple Street night market: beef offal, fish balls, bowl-boiled shark's-fin soup that contains no shark, and stuffed peppers off a griddle.
Day 2
The island, uphill
Star Ferry → Central and SoHo → Victoria Peak → Causeway Bay
Cross on the Star Ferry, which is a few dollars and the best value in the city. Central is climbed rather than walked: the Mid-Levels escalator does the work, and the lanes off it — the stone-slab streets, Hollywood Road — are the old town. Take the tram up the Peak, and then walk out along Lugard Road instead of paying for the terrace: it is a flat loop, ten minutes in, and the view is the one on the postcards. Come down for Causeway Bay in the evening.
Day 3
West of the crowds, and a last roast goose
Kennedy Town → the Western District promenade → out
The west end of the island is where Hong Kong goes to be quiet: Kennedy Town's sea wall, a promenade with nobody on it, and cha chaan teng that have not changed since the eighties. Eat roast goose or wonton noodles for a fraction of what the same plate costs in Central. The Airport Express is HK$120 from Hong Kong Station and twenty-four minutes; the airport buses take longer and cost a third of it, which matters more here than in most cities.
Eat like you mean it
- Dim sum / yum chaMorning tea, ordered off a paper slip. Go before eleven or queue.
- Roast gooseCrisp skin, dark meat, plum sauce. Cheaper the further from Central you get.
- Wonton noodlesThin springy noodles, prawn wontons, clear soup. A small bowl on purpose.
- HK milk teaStrong, silky and slightly bitter. The cha chaan teng measure of themselves.
- Egg tartsShortcrust or puff, eaten warm, from a bakery rather than a chain.
- Claypot riceWinter food: rice cooked and served in the pot, with the crust at the bottom.
Where to stay
- Tsim Sha TsuiFirst trip: the promenade, the museums and the cross-harbour MTR at the door.
- Jordan, Yau Ma Tei & Mong KokThe cheapest beds and the best street food, one stop north.
- Causeway Bay & Wan ChaiIsland side, lively, and less than the Central rate.
- Central, Sheung Wan & AdmiraltyWalk to the escalator and the ferry, and pay for it.
Before you go
- Walk out along Lugard Road at the Peak rather than paying for the viewing terrace. It is ten minutes and the same view.
- The Star Ferry is a few dollars and the best crossing in the city. Take it at least once after dark.
- Carry cash. Minibuses, market stalls and the older restaurants take nothing else, Octopus included.
- Traffic runs on the left and standing in the road for a photograph is both dangerous and fined.
- Malls and the MTR are aggressively air-conditioned. Carry a layer even in August.
One honest thing — Get an Octopus card at the airport and carry a few hundred dollars in cash — minibuses, market stalls and the older restaurants take nothing else.
