Where to stay

Hong Kong is known for its skyscrapers and busy shopping streets, but more than half of the island is forested parklands, where locals and visitors love to hike and picnic. Stay in the Central neighborhood and ride the funicular to Victoria Peak for views of the island, the harbor and Kowloon. Choose the relatively easy downhill return walk to your hotel and stop at the aviary of Central's Hong Kong Park. Similarly, book a hotel in Happy Valley, taxi up to Jardine's Lookout for excellent views and hike back down, looking closely for blocked-off entrances to World War II tunnels. Attend a horse race or rugby tournament in this sporty neighborhood. Hotels in the Southern District overlook the beautiful South China Sea. Here, you can hike through the large country parks past reservoirs to Stanley or Shek O. Chai Wan is a great place to stay to visit the natural wonders of Big Wave Bay and Shek O Beach while Wong Chuk Hang is convenient for visiting Ocean Park. Alternatively, get a hotel in Kennedy Town on the island's western side to watch intrepid locals swimming in Sai Wan.

Old and new cultures coexist in Hong Kong's neighborhoods. Stay in the Possession Street area to wander down the cobblestone streets of what was once a British colony. Sai Ying Pun hotels preserve the sense of early Chinese and British neighborhoods, with temples, galleries and the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park. A hotel in Central or Wan Chai is close to the port for the Star Ferry harbor crossing to Tsim Sha Tsui. Ferry rides have been a Hong Kong highlight for more than 120 years. Book accommodations in Causeway Bay and get up early to visit Victoria Park where locals practice ballroom dance or tai chi. The park fills with lanterns and moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival and peaceful protestors for an annual June 4 candlelight vigil remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. On the more modern side, North Point hotels are surrounded by experimental street art, Cantonese opera, an avant-garde art space and an underground music scene. For the ultimate in modernity, stay in Central, Wan Chai or Causeway Bay for Christmas or Chinese New Year to see light shows decorating tall skyscrapers.

Shopping opportunities in Hong Kong are practically unlimited. Hotels near Wan Chai provide a unique shopping experience at the wet market, where live seafood and every type of fresh fruit and vegetable imaginable is neatly stacked in colorful displays. Wan Chai Road has hotels near furniture shops, luxury stores and restaurants. Stay in Sheung Wan to shop for antiques, art and traditional Chinese medicine or ride the MTR from here to travel to Shenzhen, getting a visa at the border before entering China. The numerous stores of Times Square are convenient to Causeway Bay hotels. Accommodations in Central are close to pop-up stalls with trinkets and clothing in narrow shopping lanes as well as high-end brands in the IFC and Landmark buildings. From your hotel in Central, take the famous Number 6 double-decker bus over winding roads to Stanley to buy paper cuttings, silk dresses, personalized stamps and mahjong tiles as well as practical items and clothing.

Staying in Central or Sheung Wan offers opportunities to dine at more than a dozen Michelin-starred restaurants. Book a hotel in Aberdeen and board one of the ferries to Lamma Island, where numerous restaurants stand right next to each other along the bay, serving whole steamed fish with ginger, drunken prawns, plenty of rice and noodles and large bottles of beer. Causeway Bay hotels are convenient to the restaurants surrounding Times Square, with many Cantonese and international restaurants. As you walk from your hotel in Tin Hau or many other neighborhoods, look in the windows of small restaurants to pick your favorites from traditional cuisine including egg tarts, milk tea, century eggs, roast duck and spicy Sichuan beef. Yum cha or morning tea and dim sum is popular near the hotels of Central. Be ready to share a large round table with strangers drinking tea and reading the local newspaper. Use chopsticks, or not, and enjoy the flavors of Hong Kong.