Macau, the most contradictory of cities, requires an equally uncommon tour guide to lead you to her treasures. With Walking Macao, Reading the Baroque, Professors Jeremy Tambling and Louis Lo have written just such a book. Equal parts architectural handbook and cultural theory primer, their guide will push you past the reclaimed casino land into the heart of old Macau – to see the lesser known, beautiful Baroque architecture of what was once the “capital of 16th century Asia.” We asked the authors to choose some of their favourite sites for an afternoon architectural walking tour. Some well-known, others less so, each spot is a repository of cultural memory and historical intrigue. So enjoy an enriching afternoon spent exploring the past – the casinos will always be waiting come sundown.

St Joseph’s Seminary and Church

The starting point of your tour, this elegant multileveled seminary is one of Macau‘s most beautiful buildings. Entering the seminary gates, one must climb 52 steps before the church comes into full view. The façade resembles a giant yellow cake, with white wavy lines of decorative stucco work for frosting. Inside, light pours through a high copula, falling upon an altar featuring twisted columns and lovely statuary.

The Library of Leal Senado

The former seat of the Portuguese Colonial Government, Leal Senado is a building of neoclassical elegance and simplicity, and one of the more common tourist destinations in Macau. Often overlooked however, is the compound’s remarkable wood-panelled library. Scrolling ceiling features, cartouche adorned bookcases, and a graceful balcony all betray the library’s intrinsic Baroque character.

Lou Kau Mansion

Built in 1889 to serve as the private residence of the wealthy Lou Kau family, this mansion is one of the few ‘Xiguan’-style homes still standing in Macau. With its Portuguese windows and neoclassical balustrades, it’s an excellent example of the mix of Western and Eastern architectural elements common to the old city.

Chinese Reading Room

This quaint octagonal reading library was once a small vendors’ station which sold cold drinks to visitors to the nearby Jardim de Sao Francisco. It has bright red windows and doors, and despite being made of concrete, it remains an idiosyncratic mix of European classical elements (in the window arches) and Chinese motifs (in the tiled roofing and sculptural dragon’s heads).

Guia Fortress Chapel

Built in 1622 to defend Macau from piracy, Guia Fortress is well-trodden tourist territory. Its tiny interior chapel, however, is a much overlooked gem. Restoration work in the late 1990s uncovered frescoes from various historical periods covering the chapel’s inner walls. Composed by unknown artists, the frescos are an uncommon mélange of liturgical figures and traditional Chinese symbols, such as Asiatic flowers and lions.

Lou Lim Ioc Garden & House

Once the private home of Lou Kau, a wealthy local merchant, this property was converted into a public park in 1974. The old home is all neoclassical cool, but the garden – with its bamboo glens, fish ponds and winding paths, is pure Chinese. Blake said it best, “Improvement makes straight roads, but the crooked roads without improvement are roads of Genius.” Thankfully, thus far, the park has been left undisturbed by the Macau government’s rampant urban ‘improvement’ projects.

Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral

Your hike concludes at Macau’s most famous historical landmark, the massive stone façade of the former St.Paul’s Cathedral. The original building was built by Japanese Christian refugees and local Chinese craftsmen under the direction of Jesuit Italian architect Carlo Spinola – a set of multicultural origins that still befits the globalised Macau of today.