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Short but sweet: Your guide to a weekend in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has everything a tourist wishes to do in a foreign land—revel in art, visit cultural attractions, bask in nature, and, of course, taste local food.
After almost three years of closed borders, Hong Kong has fully reopened its doors to tourists this year with more relaxed restrictions, so if you want a quick breather away from home, here is your guide to making the most out of Hong Kong for a weekend.
Friday night
If you want to maximize your weekend in Hong Kong, arrive in Hong Kong on a Friday night so you can explore the city a little bit more before calling it a night.
One of the best places to go at night in Hong Kong is to ride The Peak Tram and visit Sky Terrace 428, the highest viewing point in the city, which offers a 360-degree panoramic view of Hong Kong.
Riding The Peak Tram alone is already an experience on its own, with its glass ceiling showing off how high you're going. Still, it is also a different kind of experience to see Hong Kong at Sky Terrace 428, where you can see a vast body of sea surrounding the city as well as its skyscrapers boasting state-of-the-art architectural designs.
Before returning to your chosen hotel, go to the sixth floor of the Hong Kong Arts Centre and have dinner at JAJA Hong Kong. This "Instagrammable" cafe serves innovative vegetarian dishes, picture-perfect desserts, and drinks.
READ: 5 restaurants you can't miss when in Hong Kong
Saturday morning
On your first full day in Hong Kong, wake up extra early so you can walk around West Kowloon, a neighborhood featuring rich heritage and vibrant street life in Yau Ma Tei and Jordan.
The West Kowloon is home to many historical architectures, time-tested stores, and traditional craftsmanship stores, including the Red Brick Building, Yau Ma Tei Theatre, Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market, and Yau Ma Tei Tin Hau Temple, among others.
After basking in a cultural walking tour, spending the rest of your morning in the M+ Museum and Hong Kong Palace Museum is the best thing to do.
M+ Museum is Asia's first global museum of contemporary visual culture exhibiting Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now, which is the most extensive retrospective of Yayoi in Asia outside Japan, with more than 200 of her artworks.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Palace Museum presents over 900 priceless treasures from the Palace Museum in Beijing, China, with seven thematic exhibitions and two special exhibitions featuring Chinese art and culture as well as art and treasures from other parts of the world.
READ: Immerse yourself with art in these cool spots in Hong Kong
After all that walking and arts and culture appreciation, have a table reserved at Madame Fù - Grand Café Chinois, one of the most celebrated restaurants in the city, specializing in Cantonese cuisine with signature dishes inspired by the Northern provinces of China.
Saturday afternoon
Hong Kong is a shopping destination for a reason, so spend your afternoon spending some bucks for shopping at one of the biggest malls in Hong Kong, the Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, which houses local to internationally renowned brands from all over the world.
Once you're done with all the shopping, have a taste of authentic Shanghai Cuisine at Gold Garden Shanghai Cuisine, located on the third floor of Harbour City.
Sunday morning
What better way to spend a Sunday morning than basking in nature?
At 7 a.m. on Sunday, take a ferry ride to Cheung Chau Island from Central Pier to enjoy the sunset aboard a boat.
In case you didn't know, Cheung Chau island is one of the shooting locations of Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo's top-grossing film "Hello, Love, Goodbye."
Once you arrive at this serene island, take a short hike of about 850 meters to Hong Kong's Mini Great Wall, an imitation of the Great Wall of China. The entire trip going back and forth from the Mini Great Wall would take up two hours or less, but it will definitely be worth it because of the numerous relaxing sights along the way.
Aside from Mini Great Wall, Cheung Chau's town center is also famous for its local seafood stores and old buildings renovated into new cafes. So, for lunch, take advantage of having a seafood meal at Hong Kee restaurant and grab a drink at Haika Coffee.
If you're still hungry from all the trekking, you may also try Cheung Chau's traditional lucky buns at Kwok Kam Kee and fish balls at Kam Wing Tai Fish Balls.
Sunday afternoon
After an eventful morning at Cheung Chau Island, go back to the city proper of Hong Kong and enjoy the rest of your afternoon chilling by K11 Musea, a new museum-retail complex on Victoria Dockside offering high-end retail, art, cultural and dining experiences.
Sunday night
All good things must come to an end, so schedule your flight back to Manila on Sunday night so you can still have time to rest before you go back to reality, aka work, by Monday.
If you plan to fly to Hong Kong soon, here are some important reminders you should know.
This story was produced through a familiarization trip sponsored by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
—MGP, GMA Integrated News
