With an elevation of 552 m, Victoria Peak, named after Queen Victoria of England (of whom I remind you that Hong Kong was a colony until 1997) is in fact the summit of the main island of Hong Kong.
It is the ideal spot to observe the city as a whole and in particular the Central district, with its countless skyscrapers. It is also an opportunity to use its old tram and to get there, to cross typical districts.
Market and street art in Central
But before going to the summit, we wanted to (re)stroll a little in the area around our hotel (we were leaving from the Homey Hotel CentralWhen I say "re-", I mean that we were in Hong Kong just two months prior and had already been to the Central district itself. The context is that while the first time was a "simple" vacation, I happened to be going to the United States two months after that first visit to Hong Kong. Now, going to the US from Hong Kong was cheaper than flying directly from Bangkok (because there were more options).
So, we found ourselves back in the autonomous region (it was already two years ago, which shows how behind I tend to get on the blog...). It was the perfect opportunity to complete the sightseeing we hadn't had time for the first time, mainly because the weather had been a bit chaotic. We had also chosen a different neighborhood to stay in, which explains this starting point, different from the one you might have read about in a previous article concerning our 5 days to visit Hong Kong.
To get back to the thread of my paragraph, we actually had 1,6 km to get to the tram going up to Victoria Peak from our hotel. And to do that, we didn't even have to make a detour to do some sightseeing and an interesting route. In this case, we went through Graham Street, where there is a famous market, especially for its fruits. It is also along this same street and in the area that you can find murals, including one that we had "desperately" looked for last time! And that we ended up coming across.
Victoria Peak and the legendary funicular
Next, head to the station to catch the famous Peak Tram, the old funicular built in 1888, which takes you to the Victoria Peak viewpoint. It's still the most convenient and enjoyable way to get there, but it's certainly not the cheapest option. A round trip costs HK$52, which works out to about €6, which is reasonable, but... bus, you can take line 15 and get out of it for not even HK$10 one way or less than €2 for a return trip.
In our case, the tram fare included access to Sky Terrace 428 for an additional HK$52 (for adults, half price for children and seniors), which gives access to the open-air terrace offering the famous view overlooking the buildings of Central.
Before reaching the station, we passed by some old buildings such as the Fringe Club, with its facade dated 1913, the Bishop's House or even the Cathedral of Saint John (which in French would rather be Saint-Jean).
It was certainly crowded, but it was still quite manageable that day as the tram runs regularly; in total, we waited barely ten minutes before boarding. The ride up only takes a few minutes and drops us off at the station right below the Sky Terrace. The area has apparently been completely renovated recently. In addition to the viewpoints, there are also shops and places to eat.
Despite a slight mist, the view was undeniably superb, and we certainly couldn't complain about the weather that day. After spending 20 minutes admiring the view from every angle (you can even see the south coast), we checked out another viewpoint after having a snack and a break at a café.
The advantage of this other spot is that it's free. Listed as Victoria Peak's Lions Pavilion, access is through a round Chinese gate flanked by two Chinese lion statues. If you're on a tight budget, this view is more than enough to appreciate the area. You're positioned directly above a former funicular station and can see the funicular arrive at its terminus on the Sky Terrace.
Hong Kong Park
Coming down from Victoria Peak, we passed through Hong Kong Park, where there is an aviary, turtle ponds and children's play areas. What interested me in my case was the observation tower (marked Vantage Point on Google Maps), if you are going to be a "viewpoint" during the day, you might as well add another layer. This tower allows you to dominate the park and the buildings of the Admiralty district surrounding it.
The advantage of Hong Kong is that it has many small green spaces, meaning you can always find a patch of greenery to sit somewhere. It's better than Singapore, which I mentioned in... my article on Gardens by The BayBecause while the city-state boasts 77 square meters of green space per inhabitant, which is already quite good, Hong Kong exceeds 100 square meters! Indeed, everything is perceived as a cramped city lacking space altogether, when in fact, the autonomous region has limited building zones. As a result, no less than 75% of its green space is undeveloped and mostly protected.
Hong Kong Park is just one example among others. And while it may be modest in size, it's still nice to walk surrounded by nature rather than on a crowded sidewalk.
Hong Kong Museum of History and Science Museum
After leaving the park, it was mid-afternoon, and Jitima wanted to go to one of the city's museums, located on the other side towards Kowloon (near Tsim Sha Tsui). So, after a short metro ride, we headed to the Hong Kong Museum of History, which also houses the Hong Kong Museum of Science. I was amused by a series of Imperial soldiers lined up on the stairs, a reference to a Star Wars exhibition currently on in the area. However, the museum itself was a bust… since it's closed on Tuesdays, and that was precisely the day we were going (which just goes to show that doing a little research beforehand can be helpful…).
For information about museums (opening times and admission fees):
- History Museum: Hong Kong Museum of History
- Science Museum: Hong Kong Science Museum
Since we hadn't eaten yet, even though it was early enough for dinner (being used to eating at any hour in Thailand anyway), we challenged ourselves to return to the restaurant where Jitima's friend, whom we had seen during our first trip to Hong Kong two months earlier, had been. He had been a student with Jitima when she was in Australia, and they had stayed in touch. So we met up for a meal in Tsim Sha Tsui the evening of the day we had visited the large Tian Tan Buddha and Tai O fishing village.
It was a bit of a "challenge" in the sense that we just went with the flow after meeting at a metro exit and hadn't really paid attention to where we ended up. But we liked the restaurant's atmosphere, so we wanted to try going back on our own. Starting from the same meeting point, I was able to rely on my good sense of direction to find the discreet elevator leading to this restaurant. As a reminder, it's the Mui Kee cookfood stall, which is part of Carnarvon Plaza on the 5th floor, but is accessed via a separate elevator near street level.
And that concluded this single day of sightseeing, which, to put things in context, was a voluntary extended stopover from Bangkok, while en route to the United States. Since the main ticket was Hong Kong to Minneapolis, cheaper than a direct flight from Bangkok, it was better to book a separate Bangkok to Hong Kong flight with a low-cost carrier like Air Asia. On the return trip, we stopped there again, and that's when we made the... Lamma Island Tour, south of Hong Kong.
Did you like the article? Share it on Pinterest!
