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 Central). When I say (D) It's in the sense that we were in Hong Kong just two months ago and had already been to the Central district itself. The context being that if the first time was a "simple" vacation, it turns out that I was going to the United States two months after this first visit to Hong Kong. However, going to the US from Hong Kong was cheaper than going directly from Bangkok. (because more choice).
We therefore found ourselves having to push our feet back into the autonomous region. (it was already two years ago, which shows how far behind I tend to get on the blog…). It was the "dream" opportunity to complete the visits that we had not had time to do the first time, especially because the weather had been a bit chaotic. We had therefore chosen a different neighborhood to stay in, which explains this starting point, different from the one you could have read in a previous article about 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 step, join the station to take the famous Peak Tram, the old funicular built in 1888, providing access to the Victoria Peak viewpoint. This remains the most practical and fun thing to do, however, it is certainly not the cheapest option. With a return ticket at HK$52, that comes to €6, which is still reasonable but bus, you can take line 15 and get out of it for not even HK$10 one way or less than €2 for a return trip.
In our case, the tram fare included access to the Sky Terrace 428, for 52 HK$ additional (for adults, half price for children and seniors), this provides access to the opening terrace from where you get the famous view overlooking the buildings of Central.
Before reaching the station, we passed some old buildings like the Fringe Club, with its facade dated 1913, the bishop's house (Bishop's house) or even St. John's Cathedral (which in French would rather be Saint-Jean).
The Fringe Club.
Bishop's House.
St. John's Cathedral.
There were certainly a lot of people, but it was reasonable that day since the tram runs regularly; in total, we waited barely ten minutes before boarding. The climb only takes a few minutes and drops us off at the station just below the Sky Terrace. The area has apparently been completely redone and renovated recently. In addition to the viewpoints, there are also shopping areas and places to eat.
Arriving at the funicular platform.
Waiting for the funicular.
Let's go up with the "Peak Tram".
Inside the Sky Terrace to access the platform at the top.
Despite a slight mist, we have to admit that the view is superb and we had no complaints about the weather that was with us that day. After staying for 20 minutes admiring the view from all angles (we can also see the coast South), we took a look at another point of view after having a snack and taking a break in a café.
The advantage of this other spot is that it is free. Listed under the name of Victoria Peak's Lions Pavilion, lAccess is via a Chinese door (round), surrounded by two statues of Chinese lions. If you are on a tight budget, this view is already enough to appreciate the place. We are then just above an old funicular station and we can see the latter arriving at the Sky terminus 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, which means that you can always find a green corner to sit down somewhere. It's better than in Singapore, where I told you about it in my article on Gardens by The Bay, because if the city-state has 77 m² per inhabitant in green space, which is already very good, we exceed 100 m² in Hong Kong! Because yes, everything is perceived as a cramped city with no space at all, while in fact, the autonomous region is limited in building areas. As a result, no less than 75% are undeveloped and mostly protected green spaces.
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
Past the park, it was mid-afternoon and Jitima wanted to go à one of the city's museums, located across the street towards Kowloon (next to Tsim S Tsui). So it was after a quick metro ride that we went to Hong Kong. Museum of History, where Hong Kong is also located Museum of science. I was amused by a series of Empire soldiers lined up on the stairs, a reference to a Star expo Wars in progress in the corner. On the other hand, the museum itself fell through... Since the latter closes on Tuesdays, and that was precisely the day we were there made (which shows that it can help to find out a little bit in advance…).
The steps at the foot of the museums.
For information about museums (opening times and admission fees):
- History Museum: Hong Kong Museum of History
- Science Museum: Hong Kong Science Museum
As before, we had not yet eaten, even though it was quite early for dinner. (used to eating at any time in Thailand anyway), we had set ourselves the “challenge” of returning to the restaurant where the friend of Jitima that we had seen during our first stay in Hong Kong two months earlier. The latter was a student with Jitima from when she was in Australia and they had kept in touch. So we met for a meal at Tsim S Tsui the evening of the day we visited le large Tian Tan Buddha and the village of sinner by Tai O.
It was a "challenge" in the sense that we let ourselves be carried away after having arranged to meet at a metro exit and not really paying attention to where we were going. But we liked the atmosphere of the restaurant so we wanted to try it again for ourselves. Starting from this 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 is the Mui Kee cook food stalls, which is part of the carnarvon class on the 5th floor, but is accessed via an independent elevator close to the street.
Challenge completed!
Beer is drunk here from a bowl.
And that concluded this single day of visit which, to put it in context, was a voluntary extended stopover from Bangkok, while we were going to the United States. The main ticket being a Hong Kong – Minneapolis, which was cheaper than a “direct” Bangkok, it was better to do a Bangkok – Hong Kong independently via a low-cost company like Air Asia. On the way back we stopped there again and that’s when we did the Lamma Island Tour, south of Hong Kong.
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