Where to start

Begin the day with strong coffee and pastéis de nata (Portuguese egg tarts) at Loja dos Pastéis de Chaves in Santo António parish. The tarts here are the real Portuguese deal, but for extra authenticity, do as the Lusitanians do and spike your pastries with sugar and cinnamon – you’ll be more than adequately fuelled for the 20-minute pilgrimage to Lilau Square.

It isn’t any one aspect of Lilau but rather the sum of its parts that make it so entrancing: the crumbling Art Deco houses that line it, elderly residents chatting beneath its spreading tree, and children playing games on the calçada portuguesa paving. There’s a fountain in the corner, and locals say that anyone who drinks from it is sure to return to Macao. If you’re not thirsty, throwing in a coin will hopefully produce the same result.

From here, it’d be a shame not to stroll around the corner to the Mandarin’s House. The sometime home of 19th-century reformist and author Zheng Guanying exemplifies Macao’s Chinese heritage as Lilau does its Portuguese.