Macau Trip Part 4: World Heritage "Senado Square" and Rua da Felicidade/Rua dos Ervanarios/Calcada do Amparo etc.

[Introduction]

I traveled to Macau in mid December. I went around the World Heritage sites in Macau Peninsula in the first half and mega resorts in Cotai area in the latter half. In this article, I will write about World Heritage “Senado Square” and Rua da Felicidade/Rua dos Ervanarios/Calcada do Amparo etc. as part of Day 2.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1: Go to Macau via Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
* Day 1: Around Lisboa (Light-up)
* Day 2: Penha Church etc.
* Day 2: Senado Square etc. [This article]
* Day 2: Ruins of St. Paul’s, Mount Fortress, St. Lazarus District etc.
* Day 2: Ruins of St. Paul’s, Senado Square etc. (Light-up)
* Day 3: Sands Cotai Central
* Day 3: The Venetian Macao
* Day 3: The Parisian Macao (Light-up)
* Day 3: Studio City Macau (Light-up)
* Day 4: City of Dreams
* Day 4: MGM Cotai, Wynn Palace
* Day 4: Galaxy Macau
* Day 4: The Venetian Macao etc. (Light-up)
* Day 5: Macau Tower
* Day 5: Return Home

[Travel Date]
2018.12.14-18

[Main Part]

Following the previous post, I will continue to walk around World Heritage “Historic Centre of Macao”. As you can see below, I went around the central spots in this article.

Senado Square

I reached in front of “Senado Square (議事亭前地/Largo do Senado)”.

Senado Square is a paved town square that faces “Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (亞美打利庇盧大馬路/新馬路)”, a main street in Macau Peninsula. Among more than 20 world heritage sites in Macau, Senado Square is one the most famous spots along with Ruins of St. Paul’s.

So, I went into Senado Square.

Even considering it was weekend, Senado Square was full of tourists.

Since it was in December, there were decorations for light-up.

I will revisit it in the evening for light-up.

Colorful buildings and stone pavement, which were traces of the Portuguese　reign, were impressive.

Tai Lei Loi Kei’s Pork Chop Bun

Now I will have lunch.

After I went around Senado Square, I entered “Tai Lei Loi Kei (大利來記)”.

Tai Lei Loi Kei is said to be the first restaurant that served “Pork Chop Bun (猪扒包)”, one of the famous local dishes in Macau. The main restaurant was located in Taipa Village and there were several branches including Singapore and Shanghai as well as in Macau.

In the restaurant.

I ordered its signature “Pork Chop Bun (猪扒包)”.

Holy House of Mercy, Leal Senado Building and Sam Kai Vui Kun

After lunch at Tai Lei Loi Kei, I will resume walking around world heritage sites.

There were several world heritage spots around Senado Square. One of them was “Holy House of Mercy (仁慈堂大樓/Santa Casa da Misericórdia)”, which was located in Senado Square.

Holy House of Mercy is the facility of a charity organization established by the first Bishop of Macao in 1569. It is now used as a notary public office and contains a museum.

Across Senado Square, there was “Leal Senado Building (民政總署大樓/Edifício do Leal Senado)”.

Leal Senado Building, which was originally built in 1784, was the Macau’s first municipal chamber and maintains its function to the present. The name “Leal Senado” derives from the title “City of Our Name of God Macao” and Senado Square comes from “Leal Senado”.

There were Portuguese blue tiles “Azulejo” on the wall.

I moved northwest from Leal Senado Building and arrived at “Sam Kai Vui Kun (Kuan Tai Temple) (三街會館/関帝廟/Templede Sam Kai Vui Kun)”.

Sam Kai Vui Kun (Kuan Tai Temple) was built in 1792 to worship Kuan Tai. The temple was located near Senado Square, so visitors were able to see harmonious coexistence of Western and Chinese cultures in Macau.

In the temple.

Rua da Felicidade

I came to “Rua da Felicidade (福隆新街)”.

Rua da Felicidade is a 200 meters street where there are lots of restaurants and souvenir shops. Buildings around here had red walls.

The street has been famous recently as an instagram spot in Macau.

So, I saw many visitors who took photos with the background of red walls.

Rua da Felicidade is not included in world heritage sites, but if you’d like to take photogenic pictures, why don’t you visit it?

St. Dominic’s Church and Cathedral

I returned to Senado Square.

I moved further and reached “St. Dominic’s Church (玫瑰堂/Igreja de S. Domingos)”.

St. Dominic’s Church was founded in 1587 by three Spanish Dominican priests who originally came from Acapulco in Mexico. It was here that the first Portuguese newspaper was published in 1822.

St. Dominic’s Square (Largo de São Domingos) was also registered as a world heritage site.

Then, I came to Cathedral Square.

There was “Cathedral (大堂/Igreja da Sé)” here.

Cathedral was built in 1622 and plays a key role of the Catholic Church in Macau. Newly appointed governors used to be celebrated here during the Portuguese ruling era.

Adjacent to Cathedral, there was an impressive yellow building. It seemed a Catholic school.

Rua dos Ervanarios and Calcada do Amparo

It was a little bit far from Cathedral to Ruins of St. Paul’s, the next destination. On the way, I passed two characteristic streets.

One of them was “Rua dos Ervanario (關前街)”.

Rua dos Ervanario is said to be the oldest street in Macau. So there were old shops, while there were also new shops and cafes.

The other one was “Calcada do Amparo (大關斜巷)”.

Calcada do Amparo was connected to “Rua S Paolo (大三巴街)”, which was located in front of Ruins of St. Paul’s. So, when visitors move from Senado Square to Ruins of St. Paul’s, they usually pass this street.

The feature of Calcada do Amparo was that the street was surrounded by art works.

There were wall arts like this.

Stone pavement was also impressive.

Just like Leal Senado Building, the blue tile “Azulejo” was beautiful.

Then, I will go around Ruins of St. Paul’s.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about World Heritage “Senado Square” and Rua da Felicidade/Rua dos Ervanarios/Calcada do Amparo etc. as part of Day 2.

Senado Square represents World Heritage “Historic Centre of Macao”. So, I would like to visit it whenever I travel to Macau, even if there are lots of tourists.

In addition, “Rua da Felicidade”, “Rua dos Ervanarios” and “Calcada do Amparo” have their own characteristic respectively, so why don’t you visit these streets if you have a chance to go to Macau?

In the next article, I will write about Ruins of St. Paul’s, Mount Fortress, and St. Lazarus District etc. as part of Day 2.

[Map]

1 Senado Square
2 Tai Lei Loi Kei
3 Holy House of Mercy
4 ‘Leal Senado’ Building
5 Sam Kai Vui Kun
6 Rua da Felicidade
7 St. Dominic’s Church
8 Cathedral
9 Rua dos Ervanarios
10 Calcada do Amparo