HONG KONG

Pool with a view

When you wake up in Hong Kong, there’s a good chance you’re jet-lagged, a little hungover or just disoriented by the fantastic, futuristic city you’re in. Whatever your state of mind, there’s no better way to ease out of it and into the city than by soaking up the views from the indoor swimming pool at The Peninsula. The pool is located on the eighth floor of the landmark hotel, decked out in marble and offers panoramic views of the gleaming skyscrapers, busy harbour and jungle-clad mountain peaks that make out Hong Kong’s skyline.

Peninsula Hotels

Cross the harbour

Few cities are as defined by their harbours as Hong Kong. Victoria Harbour separates Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, the two main components of the city, and it’s easy and cheap to make your way from one side to the other. Join the lively hordes of scrambling commuters and ambling tourists for the short trip aboard the Star Ferry and make sure to get a window seat; the view of the skyscrapers rising on all sides of the beautiful old boats is one of the most magnificent in the city.

Sheung Wan

Once you’ve arrived at the ferry terminal on Hong Kong Island, stroll through Central, Soho and Sheung Wan, the epicentre of Hong Kong’s shopping, dining, drinking and gallery scene. Make sure to walk through Gage Street, a pocket of local life in the middle of a hyper-gentrified neighbourhood. Here, vendors sell fresh and dried fish, fruit and vegetables you won’t know the names of, carcasses of unidentifiable animals and other local delicacies. Continue to Blake Garden and have a snack at the French-Japanese bakery Po’s Atelier, but resist the temptation to sit down at the small terrace. Get your coffee to go and walk past the garden where old ladies practice tai chi to the crackling sound of a ghetto blaster and children are told to run around the perimeter of the garden by their teachers.

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Hidden hipster streets

Tai Ping Street might be the coolest alley in all of Hong Kong. Here, bakeries are neighbours with dry cleaners, galleries mix with modest temples and the pedestrians are made up of young women carrying designer bags and old ladies with shopping trolleys. Sit down at one of the tiny outdoor tables at Yuk Kin Fast Food, an unassuming traditional cha chaan teng restaurant and join the locals lunching on noodles with satay chicken, fried rice with vegetables, various noodle soups and the tastiest French toast in town.

Walk up to Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak is on the must-see list for most visitors, and for good reason; from the Peak, you look down on the island’s Tetris-like landscape of towering skyscrapers, across the harbour to Kowloon’s luxury hotels and, on clear days, all the way to the mountains of mainland China. Skip the line for the tram and do it like the locals; treat the Peak like exercise rather than an attraction. There are multiple paths leading up to the Peak, and the most popular one takes about an hour. On weekends, you’ll be joined by locals in their finest Sunday outfits and expats in sweat suits – but on weekdays, you’ll have the winding paths mostly to yourself: a rare luxury in one of the world’s most densely populated cities.

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Gin and dine in Sai Ying Pun

You deserve dinner and a drink after hiking to the Peak and back. Luckily, the path ends in Sai Ying Pun, a neighbourhood that increasingly has taken over the torch from Soho when it comes to bar and restaurant openings. For dinner, head to Fish School, a little restaurant reflecting Hong Kong’s past as a modest fishing village, or to Metropolitan, a classic French brasserie that was one of the first restaurants to arrive in trendy Sai Ying Pun. End your night with drinks at Ping Pong 129 Gintoneria, a semi-hidden hangout in a former ping-pong hall with high ceilings, industrial-chic decor and dozens of gins to choose between.