The deep, sheltered harbour that made Hong Kong is still its greatest sight. A day built around Victoria Harbour: Asia's first funicular to the Peak, the 1888 ferry to Kowloon and the promenade of Tsim Sha Tsui as the towers light up.
In this story · 5 sections
Victoria Harbour separates Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula in the north, in the middle of one of the densest cities on Earth. Its deep, sheltered waters on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's founding as a British colony in 1841 and its rise as a trading hub, and thousands of international ships still use it every year. The British first called it Hong Kong Harbour before renaming it after Queen Victoria.
Reclamation has narrowed it considerably, to much debate, but the harbour remains Hong Kong's stage – for annual fireworks, for promenades on both shores and for the skyline itself. This route sees it from above, from the water and from the Kowloon side by night.
01Morning: the Peak Tram
Start at the lower terminus on Garden Road, near St John's Cathedral. The Peak Tram has run from here since 1888, the first funicular railway in Asia, conceived by Alexander Findlay Smith after he studied mountain railways from San Francisco to the Rigi and Vesuvius. Its two cars counterbalance each other on a single track with a passing loop, climbing through two sharp curves and four request stops named after governors and commanders. After a long upgrade it reopened on 27 August 2022. It is owned by Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, owners of the Peninsula.
Before the tram, residents of the Peak were carried up by sedan chair. The tram made the Peak desirable – and exclusive: between 1904 and the 1940s, colonial ordinances reserved it for non-Chinese residents, and Robert Hotung, considered mixed-race, became in the 1920s the first Chinese person to live there.
02The view from the Peak
The upper terminus sits beneath the Peak Tower at Victoria Gap. Victoria Peak, also called Mount Austin, is the tallest hill on Hong Kong Island; its summit is occupied by a telecommunications facility and closed, but the surrounding parks and paths look out over Central, Victoria Harbour, Lamma Island and beyond. Europeans first settled here in the nineteenth century for the view and the cooler air; Governor Sir Richard MacDonnell built a summer residence around 1868. Walk the paths around the hill for the classic panorama.
03Afternoon: across the water to Kowloon
Come down to Central and take the Star Ferry across the harbour – a crossing it has offered between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui since 1888. Tsim Sha Tsui, sharp sandspit in Cantonese, sits on the cape at the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula. Before Kowloon was ceded to Britain in 1860 it was known as the fragrant quay, where incense wood was shipped; later it was a leafy garrison suburb before the shops, hotels and museums arrived.
Walk up Nathan Road, the area's main thoroughfare, and along Salisbury Road, where the Peninsula Hotel was built on reclaimed land. Many of Hong Kong's museums are in the district, and the former Marine Police Headquarters crowns the small hill that was once Kowloon Point.
04Evening: the promenade
Stay on the Kowloon side as darkness falls and walk the harbourfront promenade. Across the water, the towers of Hong Kong Island light up one by one – the view that defines the city. Then take the ferry back for a last look from the water.
05Planning
Go up the Peak early to beat the queues, and save Kowloon for the late afternoon. For more cities, see our destinations, the Metro Mode camera and our list of hotels worth a single night.