Macau

The camera stands on the paving at the edge of a fountain, close enough that the jets arc across the bottom of the view and the spray is catching the light. Across the road the Grand Lisboa goes up out of a great domed base clad in LEDs that cycles through colours the whole time, into a tower shaped like a half-opened lotus with its name in lights near the top. Beside it, lower and older, CASINO LISBOA is spelled out in red neon over a cream-and-gold block of vertical fins. Behind the camera a big glass cone rises out of the plaza with palms lit up around it. Everything else in every direction is hotel, and the sky above it is completely black, which is what a city of this density does to a night sky.

Just a short ferry ride from Hong Kong, Macau is known as the Las Vegas of Asia, with enormous hotel and casino developments. Most of the casinos are located in the Cotai Strip on a stretch of reclaimed land connecting Macau’s Taipa and Coloane Islands. Modeled after the larger Las Vegas Strip, the Cotai Strip features glitzy casinos, world-class hotels and resorts, upscale shopping and fine dining, and other properties are also located near the Macau Tower and the ferry terminal. The largest of the 33 casinos is the Venetian, a newer but similar version of its sister property in Las Vegas, but other distinctive casinos in Macau include the Grand Lisboa (viewed above), the Wynn, the Sands, and others.

In addition to casinos, the Cotai Strip hosts world-class entertainment. Cirque du Soleil’s ZAIA is at the Venetian, and huge entertainment venues host musicians and performers from all over the world. At night, guests can dance the night away at trendy nightclubs, such as D2 and Sky 21 on the second and top floors of the AIA Tower, respectively. Fisherman’s Wharf on the waterfront next to the Cotai Strip is prime real estate for trendy nightlife, with bars, karaoke clubs, dance clubs and restaurants.

Beyond the glitz and glamour of the Cotai Strip, Macau has an old-world charm of its own, best glimpsed on Coloane Island, where fishing villages and temples mingle with centuries-old Portuguese chapels and Macanese restaurants. This is the best place to sample local cuisine and Macau’s famous Portuguese egg tarts.