Hong Kong

The iconic panorama of Hong Kong — from 552m above sea level, the skyscrapers of Central and the entirety of Hong Kong Harbour stretch below. The Peak Tram has been climbing the hillside since 1888.

Hong Kong's most famous street market — a quarter-mile of vendors selling clothing, electronics, jade, and local curiosities under flickering lights, with dai pai dong (street food stalls) at the far end.

Hong Kong's most atmospheric Taoist temple (1847) — filled with giant incense coils hanging from the ceiling, the smell of sandalwood, and devotees praying to the god of literature (Man) and the god of war (Mo).

The most iconic ferry crossing in the world — €0.35 for 8 minutes across Hong Kong Harbour between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, with the entire skyline as your view.

The world's most affordable Michelin-starred restaurant — Hong Kong's legendary dim sum institution, where the baked BBQ pork buns, har gow and cheung fun are made to a perfection that has never been replicated.

A Hong Kong institution since 1942 — the roast goose here is considered the finest in the city, and the century eggs and salt-baked chicken are cooked to a standard that has outlasted generations.

The most celebrated wonton noodle shop in Hong Kong — a tiny restaurant with 50+ years of history serving bouncy noodles in clear pork and shrimp broth with perfect hand-wrapped wontons.

The world's first Chinese restaurant to receive 3 Michelin stars — Cantonese cooking elevated to the absolute pinnacle, with harbour-view tables and a dim sum lunch that is among the finest meals available in Asia.

The last surviving dai pai dong cluster in Central — open-air stalls serving wok-fried dishes at pavement tables. Typhoon shelter crab, beef ho fun and cha siu rice cooked over roaring wok flames.

The world's highest bar — on the 118th floor of the ICC tower, 484m above sea level, with views of the entire Hong Kong skyline and the New Territories beyond.

Hong Kong's most acclaimed cocktail bar — molecular cocktail techniques applied to Cantonese flavour profiles. The Earl Grey Caviar Martini is the house signature.

One of Hong Kong's great neighbourhood bars — a craft beer and whisky specialist with 250+ labels in a converted tenement building in the mid-Levels.

The birthplace of Hong Kong milk tea (1952) — a cha chaan teng (Hong Kong-style café) serving the original silk stocking milk tea, pineapple bun with butter, and scrambled egg toast.

Hong Kong's most beloved retro cha chaan teng — open since 1940, serving egg tarts, BBQ pork pastries and HK milk tea in a room unchanged for 40 years.

Hong Kong's most famous beach — a broad arc of imported sand overlooked by colonial-era apartment towers and the legendary Repulse Bay Hotel (now apartments). Lifeguards on duty year-round.

The 34m seated Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island — reached by the spectacular Ngong Ping 360 cable car over mountains and sea. Po Lin Monastery at the summit is genuinely sacred and still functioning.

The former Portuguese colony 65km from Hong Kong — UNESCO-listed Historic Centre with baroque churches, Portuguese cobblestones and the world's largest casino resort all compressed into 33km².

The world's largest permanent light and sound show — 46 buildings on the Hong Kong Island skyline simultaneously illuminate with lasers, searchlights and LED arrays for 13 minutes every evening at 8pm.

Hong Kong's most authentic wholesale street market — Apliu Street for vintage electronics and cables, Ki Lung Street for fabrics. The densest concentration of small-trade shops remaining in the city.

The park built on the site of the infamous Kowloon Walled City — once the densest human settlement on Earth (50,000 people in 0.026km²). The park preserves the outline and history of the city-within-a-city.