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At the 29th Session of the World Heritage Committee hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), on 15th July 2005, The Historic Centre of Macau was successfully inscribed as a World Heritage site. The product of cultural exchange between East and West for over 400 years, the Historic Centre of Macau, is considered to be one of the oldest, the most complete and consolidated array of European architecture in the world.
Take the Macau Heritage Walk circuit and visit some of the following structures:

St. Anthony's Church - often referred to as Fa Vong Tong (Church of Flowers) because many wedding ceremonies are held in the church which was constructed during the period of 1558 to 1560.

Camões Garden – now a popular place for locals and visitors to exercise, the gardens are home to numerous monuments of historical importance. It houses the statue of Luís de Camões, honoring the most famous Portuguese poet to live in Macau. Beside the garden lies the old Protestant Cemetery, where some of Macau's most famous residents are buried, including George Chinnery, whose wonderful China Coast paintings hang in the Museum of Art. Robert Morrison, the Christian preacher who first interpreted the Bible into Chinese, also lies buried here.

St. Dominic's Church - is one of the intriguing performance venues for the yearly held Macau International Music Festival (MIMF). Despite its dramatic past, St. Dominic's Church now serves as a serene, inviting setting for performances attended over the years by almost half a million music lovers. The church has an imposing façade of cream-colored stone with white stucco moldings and green-shuttered windows. Inside, white pillars support a flat ceiling and apron balconies hug the walls. The bell tower, at the back of the building, has been converted into a small museum housing a “Treasure of Sacred Art” exhibiting a collection of some 300 artifacts.

Na Tcha Temple and the Ruins of St. Paul – both part of the Historic Centre of Macau but reflect profoundly different cultures, a uniqueness that can also be found in the territory's food, religion and other cultural mores. The temple is a small, simple, peaceful place founded over 400 years ago; it remains of strong historic value and is inseparable from the daily life of Macau's citizens.

Dom Pedro V Theatre - built in 1860, it was the first venue in Asia to stage Puccini's iconic "Madame Butterfly". The theatre, built to commemorate King Dom Pedro V of Portugal, features a ballroom, library and snooker room for the entertainment of the glitterati. A public restaurant is attached. The theatre has a large entrance hall with elegant chandelier and sweeping red velvet curtains.

Nearby, you will find the cobble-stoned St. Augustine's Square, a traditional Portuguese-style streetscape surrounded by the World Heritage sites of St. Joseph's Seminary and Church, St. Augustine's Church and the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library.

St. Joseph's Seminary and Church - established in 1728 and built in 1758, the old Seminary, together with St. Paul's College, was the principal base for the missionary work undertaken in China, Japan and elsewhere in the region. This church, together with the Ruins of St. Paul's, is the only example of baroque architecture in China.

Inside the church, in one of the lateral altars, lies a fragment of bone from the arm of St. Francis Xavier, one of Macau's most precious religious relics and a revered item that formerly resided in the collection of the Church of Mater Dei (Ruins of St. Paul's).

St. Augustine's - in the 16th Century, churches started to be built in Macau for Christians. On Calçada de Santo Agostinho stands St. Augustine's Church, a simple, neoclassical church of the period; in fact, clergymen had to cover the open roof whenever it rained.

As Portugal's first settlement on the China coast in 1557, Macau was expected to be a bastion of the Christian religion as well as a trading post and was honoured as the "City of the Name of God, Macau". Priests residing in Macau came from Europe and held mass in the Portuguese and English languages. In fact, St. Augustine's Church was the first church to hold mass in English. Gradually, the Cantonese dialect was introduced for the citizens of Macau.

In the vicinity of St. Augustine's Church, you can discover the cobblestoned square of the church set in a traditional Portuguese-style streetscape surrounded by the World Heritage sites of St. Joseph's Seminary and the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library. Walk just down the hill, however, and you will find yourself in Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, one of the busiest streets in the territory.

The "Leal Senado" Building - regarded as the most outstanding example of Portuguese architecture in the territory - is located in the heart of Macau and serves as a municipal chamber today.

A gallery occupies the ground floor and has hosted numerous exhibitions since opening in 1985, including the major Collective Exhibition of Macau Artists every December. The first floor public library has amassed a valuable literary collection spanning the 17th Century to the 1950s, including the "A Abelha da China" newspaper, which, established in 1822, was the first Macau paper and the first foreign language paper to appear in China.

The Leal Senado Building offers two 45-minute guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays from 3:00pm to 4:35pm that expound upon the architecture and history of this important and historic building.

Sam Kai Vui Kun (Kuan Tai Temple) - The Feast of the Drunken Dragon is held on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, and attracts many visitors - especially photographers - to Sam Kai Vui Kun to watch the drunken dragon dance. The Feast of Kuan Tai is held on the thirteenth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, on which occasion performances of Chinese opera are held in a specially constructed bamboo shed outside the temple of Sam Kai Vui Kun.

Sam Kai Vui Kun is also known as Kuan Tai Temple and has been located on the site of the old bazaar near Senado Square and Rua dos Mercadores for over two centuries. Originally, it was a meeting place for merchants, and the surrounding area - Rua dos Mercadores, Rua dos Ervanários and Rua das Estalagens - served as the centre of Chinese trading in the city. In later years, a statue commemorating Kuan Tai was placed at Sam Kai Vui Kun, attracting many devotees. Commercial activities no longer converge in the area, and the serenity of the temple has gradually returned.

Cathedral - In 1575, the Catholic Church was established in Macau - named the City of the Name of God - and promptly became the centre of Catholicism in Asia. In 1576, the Cathedral was built and many important relics of the 16th & 17th Century are stored here.

Situated near Rua de S. Domingos, the Cathedral is located on the top of the nearby paved hill. Here, Midnight Mass is held at Christmas and the Procession of the Passion of Our Lord is enacted every year. Next to the Cathedral stands the timeless Bishop's Palace. Although the Cathedral is not the biggest church in Macau, it is certainly one of the grandest.

The Cathedral square has recently been refurbished, and an imposing fountain added, providing a convenient spot for residents and visitors to relax in comfort. Less than a two minute walk from the Cathedral lie the major thoroughfares of Rua de S. Domingos, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro and Avenida de Praia Grande.

Lou Kau Mansion - the home of Lou Va Shio, a prominent Chinese merchant who owned several imposing properties in the city. It was built in 1889 as a two-story traditional gray-brick courtyard house with the architectural characteristics of a typical "Xiguan" or Chinese residential building.

Located at 7, Travessa da Sé, in the centre of the old Christian City it combines the characteristics of Eastern and Western architectural design like gray-brick walls, windows and fences of Chinese design and Western ceiling.