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We've compiled the best of the best in Macau Inner Harbour - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
The tiered A-Ma Temple (Ma Kok Miu) is one of Macau’s oldest and most striking landmarks, as well as its likely namesake. Built during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) into the slopes on the Barra hill, it blends Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist, and folk influences. Vivid red calligraphy on massive boulders recounts the legend of the sea goddess A-Ma (Tin Hau). A small gate leads to prayer halls, pavilions, and caves carved directly into the hillside.
Looking like a ship, with jutting white slats and porthole windows, and set on the site where the first Portuguese explorers landed on Macau in 1553, this handsome building across from the A-Ma Temple is a great place to spend an hour brushing up on seafaring history. Multimedia exhibits cover fishermen, merchants, and explorers from Portugal, China, and Japan, displaying compasses, telescopes, and sections of ships. There’s even a small aquarium gallery with local sea life and a replica dragon boat outside. Try your hand at astronomic navigation, which sailors have used for thousands of years, by looking up at the top floor’s celestial dome ceiling.
