The best Hong Kong museums

There's a vast 400 million years worth of history that gets explored here (although luckily it won't take you as long as that to walk around). Not only is the museum completely bursting with exhibits, including prehistoric Hong Kong, the Opium Wars, the Japanese occupation and local folk culture, but there's also incredible artefacts that you won't find anywhere else. Plus, since it's located next to the Hong Kong Science museum, you can fit two museum trips into one day. Result.

With a focus on local culture – from Cantonese opera to art – our favourite area at the Heritage Museum is the Bruce Lee exhibition – a must for martial arts fans and movie buffs.

It’s hard to miss this egg-shaped dome on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. The theatre dome makes up half of the Hong Kong Space Museum, along with the Hall of Space Science and the Hall of Astronomy. Visitors can enjoy documentary screenings under the curved ceiling of the planetarium. Head over to the main museum and discover plenty of action and gadgetry for space and science enthusiasts.  

The oldest museum in Hong Kong, University Museum and Art Gallery was first established in 1953 and houses an impressive collection of Chinese antiquities, ceramics, traditional oil paintings and wood and jade carvings. 

Establsihed in 1962 as part of City Hall, the Hong Kong Museum of Art now houses over 16,000 artworks in its pink tiled, multipurpose space. As well as boasting one of the largest collections of Hong Kong art in the city, the museum is packed with Chinese paintings, calligraphy works and antiques. They also regularly host themed exhibitions, which attract reputable names from overseas, while also promoting the work of local artists. For a break from art and culture, head right next door to the Hong Kong Space Museum for an adventure that's worlds away. Note: The museum is closed for refurbishment until 2019.

This exciting institution hosts interactive science demos that includes topics such as molecular gastronomy and robotics on top of its permanent exhibits. Highlights at the museum include the world of mirrors, a food science area and the 22-metre-high ‘energy machine’ that produces awesome audio-visual effects as it demonstrates various forms of energy. It’s electrifyingly fun. 

Dr Sun Yat-sen devoted his life to establishing the Republic of China. He had ties with Hong Kong, having received his education and devised plans for revolution here. The museum details his life and Hong Kong’s place in the founding of modern China. 

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware Flagstaff House, located in Hong Kong Park, was built in the 1840s and was formerly the office and residence of the commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong. It became the Museum of Tea Ware in 1984 and houses exhibitions, demonstrations, tea gatherings and lectures that promote China’s tea drinking culture. 

The only surviving remnant of Hong Kong’s oldest public housing project and the recipient of a Unesco honorable mention, Mei Ho House is a vital piece of local history and architecture built after a fire in 1954 left 58,000 homeless. Nowadays, in addition to being a functioning youth hostel, Mei Ho House is also a museum dedicated to the history of public housing in the area. The estate’s single floor wet market is one of Hong Kong’s most authentic and well worth a gander before plans to redevelop it gain traction.

Explore Sheung Yiu Village, a former fortified Hakka settlement that’s now a cultural and historic monument in one, filled with galleries and rich in local history. Known for its lime kiln that brought wealth to its inhabitants, this monument offers an insight into the daily life of a Hakka villager’s rural lifestyle. If that’s not enough to justify the journey to the area, take in the surrounding Sai Kung Country Park.