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This 4-mile (6-km) walk looks daunting on the map, but the route along the gently ascending ridge of the Dragon’s Back will not mean too much huffing and puffing for the reasonably fit. The reward is unbeatable views down to the craggy coastline of the D’Aguilar Peninsula, Big Wave Bay and genteel Shek O. At a gentle pace the walk should take about three hours, enough time to build up a good appetite when you arrive in Shek O. Take plenty of water.

A wonderful feature of Hong Kong is its 792-m (2,598-ft) long string of escalators, which links all the roads between Queen’s Road and Conduit Street. It’s the best way for pedestrians to get around the steep districts of Central, the Mid-Levels and SoHo. The Escalator runs uphill until midnight, except during the morning rush hour, when it runs downhill.

The last word in luxury accommodation and service. This venerable hotel sits like a proud old dowager, gazing sedately across at the vertiginous Hong Kong Island skyline. The cheapest rooms start where many other luxury hotels stop, although special offers sometimes apply. A night in the opulent Peninsula suite will set you back the price of a new car. It boasts eight bars and restaurants, including the Philippe Starck-designed Felix and cognoscenti-favoured Gaddi’s. If you desire, you can swoop onto the roof by helicopter. Otherwise you’ll be collected by Rolls-Royce.

Turn right out of the Central Star Ferry for some (admittedly meagre and poorly exploited) open waterside space and benches with good views across to Kowloon. Behind are the 1,700 porthole-style windows of Jardine House, for many years Asia’s tallest building. To the east is the giant upturned gin bottle shape of the Prince of Wales HQ building, now one of the Chinese army’s main Hong Kong barracks.

Not the biggest or best-known temple to the Chinese sea goddess but certainly the most accessible on Hong Kong Island. Worth a look if you’re in the area. This was once the waterfront, believe it or not. There’s usually a handful of worshippers burning incense and paying respects, although it may be packed during Chinese festivals.

Hidden away at the far end of Clearwater Bay sits the oldest surviving of Hong Kong’s many temples dedicated to the sea goddess Tin Hau. It’s eerily quiet as you make your way down the steps, through a verdant patch of forest. Inside the temple, huge spirals of incense drop ash onto scale models of fishing boats.