Macau · Macau
Historic Centre of Macau, Macau — Area Guide & Where to Stay
The Historic Centre of Macau is the UNESCO-listed old quarter of the peninsula, running from the Ruins of St. Paul's down to the A-Ma Temple.
About Historic Centre of Macau
Where to stay in Historic Centre of Macau
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Every bed here stands inside the listed boundary. The stretch around Senado Square and the Leal Senado Building keeps the mosaic paving, the shopping lanes, and the Santa Casa da Misericórdia within a few minutes on foot, which is the obvious base for a first visit. Down at the Barra end the mood changes: narrow lanes, the A-Ma Temple, and salt air off the water.
Guia Hill sits up its own slope, well clear of either.
About Historic Centre of Macau
What are the main landmarks in Historic Centre of Macau?
The Ruins of St. Paul's carry the face of the site. What survives is the stone façade of the Jesuit church above a wide flight of steps, with the Fortaleza do Monte on the slope beside it and the Na Tcha Temple at its foot. Below them the Leal Senado Building faces Senado Square across the mosaic paving.
The A-Ma Temple holds the far end of the quarter. Guia Fortress watches from the hill above. Inside one wall it holds a lighthouse and a chapel.
What is the history of Historic Centre of Macau?
Portuguese traders settled the peninsula in the sixteenth century, and the two communities built alongside one another rather than apart, which is why a sea-goddess temple and a Jesuit college ended up a short walk apart. The A-Ma Temple dates from 1488. Churches, forts, and merchant houses followed.
In 2005 the ensemble entered the UNESCO World Heritage List as the thirty-first site inscribed in China, and the Fortaleza do Monte, a section of the Walls of Macau, and the Mandarin's House were listed with it.
Where is Historic Centre of Macau?
The site covers about sixteen hectares of the Macau peninsula in two pieces: the old quarter between Mount Hill and Barra Hill, and Guia Hill on its own.
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More areas in Macau
Updated September 2026