Ruins of St Paul - Macau

If there's one place that you have to take a snapshot in Macau, the Ruins of St Paul is "the place". I guess it's almost obligatory to visit the Ruins of St Paul when in Macau almost as synonymous as visiting a casino. 

It's not too difficult to find this place. At the St Bernardo Square, walk past the fountain and look out for the signs. To go to Ruins of St Paul, look out for the sign that says Ruínas de São Paulo, 大三巴牌坊(tai sam ba pai fong in Cantonese).The people over there speaks a lot of Cantonese and thus knowing some places by the Cantonese name helps especially if you need to ask for directions. To get to Ruins of St Paul, it's just 5-10 mins walk from the St Bernardo Square, up some alleys with shops or just follow the big tourist groups!

Camwhore with the facade is also obligatory!

This is the remains of the greatest church in Macau. It is also the biggest Catholic Church in East Asia at that time. This is originally the church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640 and this is also the archaeological remains of St Paul College which both were destroyed in a fire in 1835. The design of this church is very unique and probably the only one in the world as it incorporates the oriental motifs and a western Baroque-Mannerist facade.

Did you know what's behind that beautiful facade? Behind the façade are remains of the original pillars and a shrine. There's also a steel stairway allows tourists to climb up to the top of the facade from the rear. It is customary to throw coins into the top window of the ruins from the stairs, for luck.

This is the view from the stairways to the Ruins of St Paul. What a nice view, right? From there, you can clearly spot the Grand Lisboa! The street leading to the facade is filled with shops selling delicacies and don't forget to get some Almond cookies and Portuguese egg tarts from the shops.