Best things to see and do in Hong Kong this weekend

With Art Basel and Art Central taking place this weekend, Hong Kong Arts Month is almost coming to an end. So, before the city's most creative season is over, how about taking the time to explore some of the artsiest places Hong Kong has to offer? From Central to Sai Kung, here's a roundup of day trip itineraries for every culture vulture in town.

Brunch has always been the ultimate weekend indulgence and there are plenty to choose from in Hong Kong with excellent food and boozy deals galore. Whether you’re a classic eggs benedict bruncher or love a bit of fresh seafood, steak, dim sum, and everything else in between, here is our guide to Hong Kong’s best spots to brunch right now.

Located right next to Victoria Harbour, Tsim Sha Tsui offers some of the best vantage points for Hong Kong's dramatic skyline. Hop on a short ferry ride and cross the harbour to explore this fascinating neighbourhood with our handy guide.

Coinciding with the fourth anniversary of Tai Kwun’s opening, In Bloom returns May 26 to 29 for its second year to showcase floral-themed delights and lifestyle products. With the season in full bloom, the anniversary will transform the Parade Ground into a botanical paradise featuring over a dozen local brands, vibrant activities and workshops, as well as sweet treats and feasts from participating Tai Kwun shops and restaurants. Click here for more info!

The crown jewel of Hong Kong Art Month and the city’s art calendar, Art Basel is taking place from May 27 to 29 this year at the Hong Kong Convention Centre. Featuring masterpieces and contemporary artworks from 130 galleries around the world, there’s never a dull moment at Art Basel. 

This year, Art Basel is also extending the creativity beyond HKCEC to include a moving image work, titled 'The Shape of Light', by local video artist Ellen Pau to be displayed on the M+ facade; an Artist Tram Project that sees the exterior of Hong Kong trams turn into canvasses for local artists; as well as the return of Art Basel Live featuring Online Viewing Rooms, livestream videos, virtual tours and more.

Art Central returns from May 26 to 29 this year with an extensive roster of participating galleries showcasing everything from paintings and sculptures to mixed media work, large-scale installations, as well as art talks, video presentations, art performances and more. Bringing the focus on Hong Kong artists and galleries this year, the four-day event will allow visitors to discover various creative talents that our local art scene has to offer.

Nike is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the Nike at 50: A Genealogy of Progress exhibition at K11 Musea. Taking visitors on a journey through Nike's lineage, the exhibition is divided into four thematic zones that look into the brand's past, present, and future; the evolution of its running footwear, which includes the original Moon Shoe that was released in 1972; Nike's history of sustainable innovation; as well as an Instagrammable Allure of Air tunnel showcasing the brand's Air design.

Alongside the displays, six local creatives have also repurposed Nike's manufacturing waste into stunning pieces of artwork with the theme of sustainable living. The art pieces are available for sale with all proceeds going towards New World Development's crowd-donation platform Share For Good. Nike at 50: A Genealogy of Progress is open to the public until June 11. Prior registration is required.

Who said yoga is only made for us humans? Our fur babies can get in on the action too! From now until July 17, Metroplaza has turned its Piazza into a giant Instagrammable pup-land filled with large installations of adorable doggies showing off their best yoga poses. From a four-metre-tall shiba inu stretching its furry behind to a cute French bulldog doing aerial yoga, there are plenty of photo opts for you and your furry friend.

Metroplaza will also be giving away special pet goodie bags to every pup and their hooman when they upload a picture of them working out together onto Facebook or Instagram with the hashtags #DogaMasterClass and #OneStepOnePaw (remember to make your profile public!) For every photo, Metro plaza will be donating $20 plus 2kg of dog food to local pet charities Paws Hero and House of Joy & Mercy.

Chef Dominique Ansel's famous Cronut, first launched in 2013 at his NYC Bakery, is turning nine years old! And to celebrate, the famed pastry will return to Dang Wen Li stores across Hong Kong with a brand new flavour created exclusively for the special occasion.

Available for a limited time from May 13 to 29, the Mango & Pomelo Cronut ($48) is filled with a smooth mango whipped ganache and a homemade pomelo jam that offers a light citrus flavour and fresh mango sweetness. Guests will be able to purchase up to six Cronuts per person (for takeaway or dine-in), but only a limited batch will be freshly baked each day, so don't miss out and get there early!

Register now for Green Power's online tour of Hong Kong's fascinating water gathering grounds. Participants will get to virtually visit beautiful hills and streams, encounter different biodiversity, and learn about local stories of Hong Kong's water supply services. From the Plover Cover Reservoir to the Shing Mun Water Gather Ground, all tours are open to the public completely free of charge. Registration closes on May 24. 

Lifestyle brand Human Made has teamed up with HBX for its first-ever pop-up at Belowground. From May 13 to the end of October, visitors will get to browse through Human Made's brand new S/S22 collection featuring classic jackets, hoodies, chinos, sweaters, accessories, and other lifestyle items, as well as limited edition t-shirts inspired by Hong Kong's iconic double-decker trams.

Popular illustrator Mr. Paul, known and loved for his dark humour and quirky artworks, is having his very first solo exhibition in Hong Kong from now until June 5 at Gallery by the Harbour. Showcasing nearly 50 selected artworks from the past eight years, along with three exclusive illustrations inspired by Hong Kong snacks, the exhibition will also feature limited edition merch such as postcards, phone cases, tote bags and more. 

From now until June 19, see over 200 pieces of NFT art by emerging and established artists from around the world, including the likes of Cryptopunks, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Moonbirds, Doodles, Joan Cornellà and more. Curated to match the themes of each floor, the showcase bridges the worlds of online and offline through digital displays and in-person tours, as well as educational workshops and talks on NFT art for all ages.

Working in collaboration with HSBC, K11 Musea will also be putting on a dedicated NFT exhibition at the Gold Ball to showcase two of HSBC's digital art pieces – The Art of Progress and Threads of Life. Meanwhile, those on Hong Kong Island will also get to enjoy a series of stunning artworks as a special light show transforms the HSBC Main Building facade into the largest outdoor NFT gallery in Hong Kong.

As part of the 50th Hong Kong Arts Festival, HKartsFestival@TaiKwun – sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust – invites art lovers all across the city to connect with artists and the community over six immersive and interactive online art experiences. Featuring various programmes that have turned from original, site-specific projects at Tai Kwun to engaging virtual activities, participants can enjoy everything from a music drama series and dance films to fun digital experiences with interactive elements. Best of all, it's all free! Click here to find out more about each programme.

In light of the city's relaxed social distancing measure, Ocean Park reopened to the public on April 21 with a ton of exclusive promotions and fun activities to celebrate its 45th anniversary.

From now until June 30, all HKID cardholders with the digit '45' on their card number will get to enjoy a 50 percent discount on admission tickets, while those with either '4' or '5' on their cards will receive a 20 percent discount. Even if you don't have those numbers on your card, you can still take advantage of the Reopening All Day Package Ticket (Adult, $360; Children, $216), which comes with a $30 retail e-cash voucher.

Ocean Park has also lined up a series of activities for visitors to enjoy, including a newly launched Coral Fish Feeding programme (available from April 22 onwards) and the Starry Summit Glamping experience (available from April 21 to May 22) where you can get closer to nature under the starry sky.

All visitors are required to make online reservations prior to their visit, so click here to book now as reservations will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Emo gym is a new group exhibition that features a series of works by young emerging artists in Hong Kong. Running from now until April 21, the exhibition gathers seven local talents – Dony Cheng Hung, Chloë Cheuk, Michele Chu, Jess Lau Ching Wa, Sharon Lee, Eason Tsang Ka Wai, and Yim Sui Fon – to offer insights on the vulnerability of relationships, digitisation of human experiences, and social institutions.

Times Square is jumping into the Metaverse to bring exciting online and offline activities for all to experience! A collaborative project with Bunny Warriors – a locally-famed NFT collection consisting of 6,666 different rabbit characters drawn by Pixel – the Bunny Warriors Pixel Art Gallery showcases 60 of the rarest Bunny Warrior editions in real life to walk visitors through the journey of the collection. Visitors will also be able to purchase the digital artworks with non-virtual currency, so that those unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies can join in on the NFT game too. A five-foot-tall Angel Bunny, in three-dimensional form for the first time, will also be on show at the venue, along with a collection of digital illustrations which can be displayed on a giant LED screen by entering a special Bunny code. 

Time Square has also partnered up with AiR Metaverse to bring the virtual adventure 'World of Bunny Warriors'. Players can down the mobile app and enter the adventure game to fight the evil fox to win medals. Players who successfully collect a specific number of medals can redeem special gifts and NFTs (while stocks last). Visit this link to find out more.

If you love nothing more than discovering the perfect wine and food combo, ThinkWine has got you sorted with their new series of restaurant/chef takeovers. Featuring seven different restaurants from April to July, the takeover will give guests a chance to savour six special snacks ($60-$150 per snack) from each restaurant and a combo set to pair with ThinkWine's curated wine list.

For this month, Bedu will be kicking things off with exciting Middle Easter cuisine on April 16th (12nn-6pm), followed by Cantonese-French bistro Roots Eatery on April 30 (12nn-6pm). Other restaurants to look forward to include OBP (May 11, 6pm-10pm); Francis (May 18,6pm-10pm); Interval (June 8, 6pm-10pm), Pondi (June, exact date TBC); and Percy (July, exact date TBC). To make a reservation, call 2886 3121 or email drink@thinkwine.hk.com

PHD Group has transformed its gallery space into a "neighbourly estate of queerness" – in reference to the histories of gay villages – for Hong Kong-based artist duo Virtue Village's first major solo exhibition. Running from now until July 2, the exhibition features paintings, sculptures, and installations that investigate the concept of 'village' in our modern society and utilises the idea of fornication as a metaphor for generative and artistic possibilities. Those interested in visiting the exhibition can make a booking via this link.

Internationally renowned for her reverse paintings and immersive multimedia installations, Nalini Malani is widely recognised as a pioneer of video art and experimental film. In honour of the artist's distinctive practice, M+ museum is showcasing three of the artist's major artworks over the past 50 years artworks – Utopia (1969– Page 2 of 3 1976), Remembering Mad Meg (2007–2019), and Can You Hear Me (2018–2020) – as the inaugural presentation at The Studio, one of the museum's signature venues.

Creative Workshop Series @PMQ is here with a series of crafty workshops throughout this month for you to learn and get inspired. From upcycling your old pair of jeans to art jamming sessions to making your own shoes and clutch bags, you can participate in a multitude of fun and unique workshops that you won't be able to find anywhere else in Hong Kong. Check out the full list here.