Macau Trip Part 5: Ruins of St. Paul's, Mount Fortress, St. Lazarus District and Guia Fortress 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 Ruins of St. Paul’s, Mount Fortress, St. Lazarus District and Guia Fortress 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.
* Day 2: Ruins of St. Paul’s, Mount Fortress, St. Lazarus District etc. [This article]
* 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 upper right side spots in this article.

Ruins of St. Paul’s

I moved from Calcada do Amparo (大關斜巷) to “Ruins of St. Paul’s (大三巴牌坊/Ruínas de S. Paulo)”.

Ruins of St. Paul’s are the ruins of St. Paul’s College and the Church of St. Paul. The church used to be the largest Catholic church in Asia, but was destroyed by a fire in 1835. Now the façade of the church and 68 stone steps leading up to it remain as ruins.

Ruins of St. Paul’s, along with Senado Square, are one of the most famous world heritage sites in Macau, so there were lots of visitors taking photos.

There were sophisticated sculptures and four saint statues on the facade.

Here is a view from the top of the façade.

A square in front of Ruins of St. Paul’s also consists of world heritage sites as “Company of Jesus Square (耶穌會紀念廣場/Largo da Companhia de Jesus)”.

You can see Grand Lisboa over there.

I will go behind Ruins of St. Paul’s.

It was backlit around this time.

With Grand Lisboa.

I left Ruins of St. Paul’s and will visit other spots around here.

First, “Na Tcha Temple (哪吒廟/Templo de Na Tcha)”

Na Tcha Temple was built in 1888 to worship Na Tcha. This small traditional Chinese temple stands close to Ruins of St. Paul’s, so visitors see how Western and Chinese cultures are integrated in Macau.

Adjacent to Na Tcha Temple, there was “Section of the Old City Walls (舊城牆遺址/Troço das Antigas Muralha de Defesa)”.

Section of the Old City Walls, built as early as 1569, is a remnant of an early Portuguese tradition of constructing defensive walls around their port settlements, done also in Africa and India. In Macau, this section bears testimony to the incorporation of local techniques and materials, especially a solid compound named “chunambo”, an elaborate mixture of clay, soil, sand, rice straw, crushed rocks and oyster shells compacted in successive layers.

Travessa da Paixão and Mount Fortress

I came to “Travessa da Paixão (戀愛巷)”.

Travessa da Paixão is an alley near Ruins of St. Paul’s. There were colorful buildings along the street, including “Cinematheque Passion (戀愛電影館)”, so the alley has been gaining attention as a famous instagram spot in Macau recently.

This pink building was “Love Lane 7 Inn (戀愛七號旅館)”.

Travessa da Paixão is a mild slope and here is a view from the lower side.

I moved from Travessa da Paixão to “Mount Fortress (大炮台/Fortaleza do Monte)”.

Mount Fortress was built from 1617 to 1626 as the city’s principal military defense structure. There was also “Macao Museum” in the site, though I skipped it due to my tight schedule.

A shot with a cannon and Grand Lisboa.

Visitors were able to enjoy scenery including Ruins of St. Paul’s.

St. Lazarus District

I moved east and reached “St. Lazarus District (望徳堂区/Freguesia de São Lázar)”.

St. Lazarus District used to be a residential area for Chinese Catholic and is now known as a forefront of art cultures in Macau.

The main spot was “Albergue da Santa Casa da Misericórdia (仁慈堂婆仔屋)” where there were restaurants and art galleries.

This was “St. Lazarus’ Church (望德堂/Igreja de São Lázaro)”, which used to be a chapel in a hospital.

The characteristic of St. Lazarus District was its stone pavement and buildings, which were different from Japan in terms of its design and colors. Here are some snap photos.

Perhaps, St. Lazarus District is the best place where visitors feel Portuguese atmosphere in Macau.

As I walked for a long time, I will take a rest. I stopped by “Lai Kei Ice Cream (禮記雪糕)” near St. Lazarus District.

I had an ice cream filled with whole red bean.

Guia Fortress

As the final destination of World Heritage “Historic Centre of Macao”, I will visit “Guia Fortress (東望洋炮台/Fortaleza da Guia)”, which is located a little bit far from other world heritage sites.

Scenery on the way.

Through the trip, I found there were lots of bikes in Macau.

Guia Fortress was located on a hill, and here is a view from the hill.

I reached Guia Fortress.

Guia Fortress is a 17th-century colonial military fort located at the highest point in Macau.

There were also Guia Chapel and Lighthouse on the premises.

Dinner in Grand Lisboa

I returned to Hotel Lisboa where I was staying.

As it was cloudy the previous day, I took a photo of Hotel Lisboa and adjacent Grand Lisboa against the blue sky.

I will have early dinner.

I decided to dine at Grand Lisboa and visited “Round-The-Clock Coffee Shop”.

First, beverage.

As a main dish, I ordered “Tacho (澳門特式燴雜肉)”, a Macanese Stew of Chicken, Pork, Chinese Sausage and Seasonal Vegetables.

Then, I will take evening photos in Ruins of St. Paul’s and Senado Square etc.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about Ruins of St. Paul’s, Mount Fortress, St. Lazarus District and Guia Fortress etc. as part of Day 2.

Ruins of St. Paul’s are one of the most famous historical buildings in Macau, so it was worth seeing. In addition, its surrounding spots including Travessa da Paixão, Mount Fortress and St. Lazarus District were characteristic respectively. World Heritage “Historic Centre of Macao” is concentratedly located, so it is possible to visit all of the world heritage sites in one day, if you like 🙂

In the next article, I will write about evening scene in Ruins of St. Paul’s and Senado Square etc. as part of Day 2.

[Map]

1 Ruins of St. Paul’s
2 Na Tcha Temple
3 Travessa da Paixão
4 Mount Fortress
5 Albergue da Santa Casa da Misericórdia
6 St. Lazarus’ Church
7 Lai Kei Ice Cream
8 Guia Fortress
9 Grand Lisboa