Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of the densest cities in the world, and also one of the greenest. A forest of towers rises from the edge of Victoria Harbour, yet most of the territory is hills, country parks, beaches and islands, and the two sides of the place are never more than a short train ride apart. Since 1997 it has been a Special Administrative Region of China, with its own currency, its own legal system and a Cantonese-speaking culture that has produced some of the best food and cinema in Asia. For a first visit, the combination of urban energy and quick escapes is hard to beat.

The harbour is the heart of the city. The Star Ferry has crossed between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon since the nineteenth century, and the short ride is still one of the best-value trips anywhere. On the Kowloon side, the waterfront promenade at Tsim Sha Tsui gives the classic view of the island's skyline, and every evening the Symphony of Lights show plays across the buildings. On the island, the Peak Tram, which has been climbing to Victoria Peak since 1888, carries visitors to a viewing terrace that looks down over the towers, the harbour and the mountains beyond.

Central, the business district, is full of contrasts. The Central to Mid-Levels Escalator, a chain of covered walkways and moving stairs about 800 metres long, links the harbour with the hillside, and the narrow streets around it are lined with cafes, galleries and bars. Nearby, Man Mo Temple fills with the smoke of incense coils hung from the ceiling, and Hollywood Road is the place to browse for antiques and art. Further east, the old neighbourhoods of Wan Chai and Causeway Bay mix shopping malls, street markets and traditional tea houses.

Kowloon is more crowded and more local. Temple Street and the Ladies Market sell clothes, gadgets and souvenirs, and the district of Sham Shui Po is known for fabric, electronics and some of the cheapest and best-loved food stalls in the city. Mong Kok has the flower, bird and goldfish markets, and the Walled City Park marks the site of a once-notorious enclave that was demolished in the 1990s. The Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian Garden in Diamond Hill offer a quiet contrast, with their Tang-dynasty style wooden halls and carefully pruned landscape.

Food is a reason in itself to come. Dim sum, small steamed or fried dishes served with tea, is a way of life at yum cha restaurants, and the city has some of the best Cantonese kitchens in the world, from humble noodle shops to Michelin-starred dining rooms. Roast goose, wonton noodles, egg tarts, pineapple buns and milk tea are everyday pleasures, and the street food of Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei is justly famous. Several stalls and small restaurants have earned recognition in the Michelin Guide, which makes the cheaper end of the city's food as interesting as the upper end.

Lantau, the largest island, is the best-known escape. The Ngong Ping 360 cable car carries visitors across the water and the hills to Ngong Ping, where the Tian Tan Buddha, a bronze statue completed in 1993, sits at the top of a long stairway beside the Po Lin Monastery. At the western end of the island, Tai O is a fishing village of houses built on stilts above the tidal creek, where boat trips look for the rare Chinese white dolphins. Other islands add to the choice, among them Cheung Chau, with its beach and seafood restaurants, and Lamma, with its walking paths and relaxed villages.

Getting around is easy. The MTR, the city's metro system, is fast, clean and cheap, and an Octopus card works on trains, trams, buses and ferries and in many shops. The airport express reaches Central in about 25 minutes. Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive by international standards, and walking is rewarding if you do not mind slopes and stairs. English is widely understood in hotels, restaurants and tourist areas.

The most comfortable months are October to December, when the air is dry and the skies are clear. Spring can be foggy and damp, summer is hot and humid with a typhoon season from about July to September, and winter is mild with a few cold days. Chinese New Year in late January or February brings parades, markets and fireworks, and many shops close for a few days. Plan carefully around public holidays, when the crowds are heavy.

Three days give a good first taste, with a day on Hong Kong Island, a day in Kowloon and a day on Lantau or another island. The experience listed for Hong Kong on Excurze is a day on Lantau that includes the cable car, the Big Buddha and Tai O, with hotel pickup. Our concierge can combine it with Macau, Shenzhen or a longer trip through southern China, and arrange the hotels, the restaurant bookings and the transfers so that the city's speed works in your favour.