Kowloon
The Kowloon shore of Victoria Harbour, from a railway clock tower of 1915 to the new museums of West Kowloon, with Cantonese dining rooms of two and three stars in the grand hotels along Salisbury Road.
- Arrival
- Hong Kong International · HKG
- To Kowloon
- About 22 minutes by Airport Express
- Private jets
- Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre at HKG
- Best time
- November to March
The city
Facing the island.
Kowloon looks back across the water at Central. At the tip of Tsim Sha Tsui, the clock tower is all that remains of the Kowloon-Canton Railway terminus, opened in 1916 and pulled down in 1977. Salisbury Road runs east from it past The Peninsula, Rosewood and Regent, and to the west the West Kowloon Cultural District now holds M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Cantonese kitchens lead the stars on this side: three-star T’ang Court at The Langham, two stars at Lai Ching Heen and on the 102nd floor at Tin Lung Heen. The cool, clear months, November to March, suit the harbour walks best. The summer is hot and very wet, and typhoons are most frequent in August and September.
Arriving
One airport, then the harbour.
Every flight lands at Hong Kong International, open around the clock. The Airport Express reaches Kowloon station in about 22 minutes, and passengers on Cathay Pacific and several other airlines can check in their bags there on the way back.
- Manila 1 h 50
- Shanghai 1 h 55
- Kuala Lumpur 3 h 40
- Mumbai 5 h 55
- Athens 11 h 20 long-range jet
When to go
November to March.
Winter here means 18 to 24 °C by day and little rain, from November to March. From May to September the heat and humidity build and rain passes 250 mm a month; tropical storms are most frequent in August and September.
- 18° J 25
- 19° F 48
- 21° M 74
- 25° A 161
- 28° M 298
- 30° J 366
- 31° J 325
- 31° A 377
- 30° S 253
- 28° O 130
- 24° N 35
- 20° D 28
What to see and do
Days in and around Kowloon.
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Landmark
The Clock Tower
Forty-four metres tall at the water’s edge, kept when the old station came down and a declared monument since 1990.
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Landmark
M+
A museum of twentieth- and twenty-first-century visual culture by Herzog & de Meuron, opened in 2021.
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Landmark
Hong Kong Palace Museum
Treasures lent by the Palace Museum in Beijing, some never shown before, in West Kowloon since 2022.
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Culture
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Reopened in November 2019 after four years of renovation, the Salisbury Road museum holds about 20,000 works of painting, calligraphy and sculpture.
Official site -
Opera & music
Xiqu Centre
Cantonese opera fills the 1,073 seat Grand Theatre, while the 200 seat Tea House Theatre stages 90 minute shows served with tea and dim sum.
Official site -
Racing & sport
Sha Tin Racecourse
Opened in 1978, the course holds 49 of the season's 88 meetings, including the Hong Kong International Races each December.
Official site -
Nature
Nan Lian Garden
Laid out in Tang dynasty style with hills, water, rocks and timber buildings, this 3.5 hectare garden opened in 2006 as a joint project with Chi Lin Nunnery.
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Nature
Lion Rock
Stairs and rocky paths climb nearly 400 metres from Wong Tai Sin to the 495 metre summit between Kowloon Tong and Tai Wai.
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On the water
Aqua Luna
Launched in 2006, the 28 metre red sailed junk takes passengers round Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui Public Pier 1 on cruises of about 75 minutes.
Official site
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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13 Dec 2026
Horse racing
Hong Kong International Races
A single afternoon at Sha Tin with four international Group 1 races: the Hong Kong Vase, Sprint, Mile and Cup.
Sha Tin Racecourse
In 6 weeks
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23–24 Jan 2027
Sailing
Hong Kong Sail Grand Prix
Opening event of the 2027 SailGP season and the league's first race in Hong Kong, with F50 foiling catamarans.
Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, about 3 km away
In 3 months
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23–28 Mar 2027
Art
Art Central
Hong Kong art fair held in a harbourfront tent during Hong Kong Art Month, with a preview on 23 March.
Central Harbourfront, Hong Kong, about 4 km away
In 5 months
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25–27 Mar 2027
Art
Art Basel Hong Kong
Hong Kong edition of the Art Basel modern and contemporary art fair, with galleries mainly from Asia and the Asia Pacific region.
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, about 4 km away
In 5 months
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9–11 Apr 2027
Rugby
Hong Kong Sevens
Rugby sevens tournament at Kai Tak Stadium, the first stop of the 2027 SVNS World Championship.
Kai Tak Stadium
In 5 months
Where to stay
On both sides of the harbour.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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The Peninsula Hong Kong Two MICHELIN Keys, with Gaddi’s and Spring Moon, each holding a star, on the first floor.
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The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong At the top of the International Commerce Centre, where Tin Lung Heen serves Cantonese food on the 102nd floor.
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Regent Hong Kong At 18 Salisbury Road, with Lai Ching Heen, two MICHELIN stars, on the ground floor.
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The Langham, Hong Kong Home to three-star T’ang Court, with a Palm Court taken from the London Langham, where afternoon tea began in 1865.
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Hotel ICON Two hundred and sixty-two rooms with a MICHELIN Key, run as a teaching and research hotel.
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Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong Two MICHELIN Keys on the Central waterfront, and three restaurants holding seven MICHELIN stars between them.
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Mandarin Oriental The Landmark, Hong Kong Joyce Wang redid the interiors in terracotta and deep green for its reopening in summer 2026, and it holds two MICHELIN Keys.
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Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong One MICHELIN Key; the Captain’s Bar and the Clipper Lounge are both here.
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The St. Regis Hong Kong André Fu designed its 129 rooms at 1 Harbour Drive, where Rùn cooks Cantonese; one MICHELIN Key.
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Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong Six hundred and eighty-eight rooms at 64 Mody Road, and Cantonese cooking at Shang Palace.
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InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong A harbourfront hotel of 572 rooms, whose Cantonese restaurant is Hoi King Heen.
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Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel At 3 Canton Road, built into the Harbour City shopping complex.
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The Royal Garden Running since 1981, it has 445 rooms, 54 of them suites, plus Sabatini for Italian food and Dong Lai Shun for Beijing dishes.
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Cordis, Hong Kong Part of Langham Place at 555 Shanghai Street, with Ming Court for Cantonese tasting menus.
- Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers At 20 Nathan Road, with a pool on the roof and Cantonese food at Celestial Court.
- W Hong Kong Above Kowloon Station, with an outdoor pool on the 76th floor some 211 metres up.
- Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui Three hundred and eighty-one rooms on Hanoi Road, and Hugo’s for European dishes finished at the table.
- New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel After a HK$300 million renovation it has 464 rooms, five minutes on foot from Hung Hom and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations.
- Harbour Grand Kowloon On the Whampoa waterfront, with a rooftop pool, and a pier next door with boats to North Point and Central.
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Rosewood Hong Kong Three MICHELIN Keys, ninety-one suites and No. 1 in The World’s 50 Best Hotels two years running.
Where to dine
Cantonese at the top.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- T’ang Court Three Michelin stars Cantonese $$$ The Langham, Peking Road
- Lai Ching Heen Two Michelin stars Cantonese $$$ Regent, Salisbury Road
- Tin Lung Heen Two Michelin stars Cantonese $$$ The Ritz-Carlton, ICC, 102nd floor
- Gaddi’s One Michelin star French $$$$ The Peninsula
- Spring Moon One Michelin star Cantonese $$$ The Peninsula
- The Legacy House One Michelin star Shun Tak $$$ Rosewood, Victoria Dockside
- Chaat One Michelin star Indian $$ Rosewood, Victoria Dockside
Elsewhere in Hong Kong
More reasons to come.
Flying to Kowloon?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.