Magical Macau
Nature
Beyond the glittering anchors of Avenida Amizade and larger-than-life constructions on the Cotai strip, Coloane Island is a dramatic drop in scale and pace. The tiny village centre consists of a handful of small shops and restaurants clustered around a traffic circle and spread along the waterfront. Beyond that is most of Macau's undeveloped land – green space, alternately rocky and sandy beaches and the slope of Morro Hac Sa.
The Circuitos do Morro de Hac-Sá trail network covers most of the island, offering everything from the straight-ahead 800 metre Circuito des Acácias to the curling, hilly Trilho de Coloane, which overlaps with a handful of other trails and itself. Particularly in Coloane's northeast, short, overlapping trails give visitors a chance to plan a complex multi-trail route or patch one together as they go along.
The Trilho da Encosta do Morro de Hác-Sá is an easy walk along the rocky coast that separates Cheoc Van and Hac Sa beaches. It helps to wear sensible shoes for this since there is some rock scrambling involved, but the two kilometre trail is mostly about the view of the water, the salty air and the amorous declarations scrawled on the rocks.
Shopping
Hong Kong has long been hailed the regional shopping mecca, but with top brands opening new stores in Macau every day, what was once written off as a sleepy town or a gambler's vacation spot is now world class shopping developing a reputation of its own.
It was just five years ago that Fisherman's Wharf opened its (figurative) doors to high end shoppers, with more than two dozen international brand names including Calvin Klein, Enzo and The Body Shop. Two years later in September 2006, Wynn gave brands like Prada, Fendi, Bulgari and Hermes (to name just a few) room to stretch out along Avenida da Amizade, marking the true beginning of the luxury shopping craze.
The opening of the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel in 2007, and its attendant shopscape, added a few luxury names but, more importantly, filled in the vast upper-mid range with accessible favourites like Zara, Lush, Diesel and Levi's. Occupying one fifth of the city's total area, including 300,000sqm of retail, the Venetian really is a city within a city, and its arrival – in combination with the buzz of activity as other projects are constructed – effectively changed the focal point of Macau from Avenida Amizade, home of the original casinos, to Cotai, a piece of land that didn't even exist until a few years ago.
Exactly one year after the Venetian's launch, Las Vegas Sands followed up with the adjoining Shoppes at Four Seasons; the Rodeo Drive of the new development, it is home to more than 80 new luxury shops sprawling over 65,000sqm. Brands like Gucci, Hermes, Fendi and Louis Vuitton draw shoppers and gawkers alike, while Asia's only Möet Champagne bar offers a posh place to relax. The Shoppes also employ a team of personal shoppers and image consultants to make the shopping experience even easier (if not cheaper).
