Hong Kong is such a truly fabulous City, and one with a personal attachment as my sister-in-law is from there! A former British colony in southeastern China, its vibrant, densely populated urban centre is a major port and global financial hub with a skyscraper-studded skyline. In Asia’s most cosmopolitan city, everyone seems to be in a rush—dashing off to work, speed-shopping through the countless shopping malls, hastening to make a date at one of the myriad glassed-in restaurants and chic cocktail bars. Beyond the 21st-century cacophony and the accelerated tempo, however, the savvy visitor can find glimpses of old-world tranquillity: incense-wreathed Taoist temples; polished hotel lobbies serving afternoon tea in the English style; rustic remote walking trails; graceful tai-chi practitioners in tidy city parks.

FYI- due to its tropical climate, Hong Kong’s sweltering summer months are sauna-like, and there are frequent monsoons and typhoons during that time of year. Prime timing for a trip falls around mid-October to late December, when temperatures are still mild.

Stay

Mandarian Hotel, Pensinsula, Four Seasons, The Langham are all fancy choices…Tuve and the Upper House are charming too.

Eat

Bibo, Brickhouse, Cafe Gray, China Tang, Duddell’s, Felix, Ho Lee Fuk, Lock Cha tea house, Missy Ho’s, Ronin, Yung Kee, Classified (multiple locations). There are really so many incredible things to eat so visit Eater’s list!

See

We suggest a boat ride to get scope, Victoria Peak, Sai Kung Town, Tian Tun Buddha, Hong Kong Tramways. Go to Mong Kok Markets, Temple Street Night Markets, Shop Tsim Sha Tsui (& walk the promenade), the walled villages of Yuen Long

*Tian Tan Buddha – the large bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping