Macau Beyond the Cotai Strip

Macau’s best-known aspect is perhaps its most skip-able: The famed Cotai Strip, the piece of land where glittering hotel-casinos pierce the smog. The Venetian. MGM. Wynn. Much of this area feels so similar to Las Vegas you may forget you’re actually in China.

New casinos are being built at an impressive clip, and tourists pour into the strip to gamble, drink, eat expensive meals, watch Vegas-like performances and concerts and shop in high-end malls. This is the Macau that shows up most in Internet searches, but it’s such a small part of the region, it’s a disservice it’s the centerpiece. And it’s only a small part of the culture and history here.

Satisfy your cravings in Cotai if you must, but do spend time exploring the other areas of Macau. There’s the tiny, compact village of Taipa, where shops peddle pork jerky and daily life in the region is easily glimpsed if you turn down any alley. There’s also laidback Coloane village, whose waterfront perch and pastel-colored buildings seem more Mediterranean than Asian. Follow your nose to Lord Stow’s for a famous egg tart, and wander down the random alleys and small streets for more glimpses of life here.

And there’s the bustling, chaotic main city of Macau, where the streets meet at odd angles and every turn seems to bring a sensory overload: antique shops, temples, Portuguese buildings, restaurants, busy squares, shaded parks and the famous ruins of St. Paul.