18 of the very best views in Hong Kong
Awesome, stunning, panoramic views of Hong Kong
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The best views in Hong Kong
A personal view of Hong Kong, images by Jamie
I am a bit of a photographer who started taking photography seriously in 2010 when I launched my Private Tour Company in Hong Kong, my first proper digital camera was pretty rubbish it was a cheap Olympus XZ 1 and the results were not very good so I saved up and invested in a Sony RX1r in early 2014 and I am now on version 2 of this camera which is totally amazing - I started learning photography using my fathers Hasselblad film camera (look it up!) when I was 11 years old and almost took up a career in photography in Hong Kong.
I now have on my Flickr image site 167,000 + Hong Kong images and for the first time I have spent a couple of days choosing my favourite images of views in Hong Kong, all 18 of them!
Hong Kong is blessed with what I consider to be the greatest city views in the world.
In this day and age of Social Media everyone is a photographer and yet almost no one is, I am a bit of purist and there just is no comparison between a smart phone and a proper camera as I like to say.. and yet in many respects it is a good thing as it is now so easy for people to record anything and everything when they visit new places, unfortunately the use of filters on smartphones and social media platforms has got completely out of hand and most images just look fake particularly the people in the images and so many images of the same spots completely take away the aura of mystery.
Of the 18 images I am posting only one image had a major filter make over, I do minimal editing, I use photoshop and like I said, minimal editing, you can tell from looking at my images - there is also one image that people swear that it was heavily filtered but it wasn’t I just hit the jackpot with the light and the blue sky and let my Carl Zeiss full frame 35mm lens work it’s magic.
Hong Kong is blessed in many ways because it is hilly (not mountainous) with some quite tall peaks and we also have Victoria Harbour which is a photographers dream.
If you read my blog posts you will know I cannot stand the phrases secret spots and hidden gems, there isn’t any, since Instagram in particular launched it has become a race to find places that are NOT mainstream and personally I think it is pretty much a waste of time, Hong Kong is 426sqm of rock so to speak, as a Private Tour Guide I had to work with guests who had at most 1 or 2 days in Hong Kong to see the best of Hong Kong, spending 2 hours to go to a random rock formation in the New Territories, 2 hours back and 30 minutes at the site make itinerary scheduling all but impossible, many places are just not time compatible.
This is why I concentrate (d) on view points or spots that are easy to plan and then visit…. but then again it was easy for me, I have lived in Hong Kong for 52 years, I am pretty good with timing.!
One of the places I have left out that is quite popular is the view from Lion Rock Peak in Kowloon, you can get close (ish) by car or taxi but then there is a very steep hike along a trail, trust me this is not for most people, the hiking part can take up to 2 hours for fit people and a lot longer for people like me and then you have to walk back again, so it can easily be a 5 hour experience, most of it with you cursing in 17 languages at how bloody steep it is! at least with Kowloon Peak you can drive to the viewpoint, oh and the view at Lion Rock is not that much different from Kowloon Peak., if I recall the last time I went was 1980 ish.
I have added in Kowloon Peak as you can access it in a private car and there is a great lookout point, you can always do a hike to Kowloon Peak but I rather suspect only fit young people in lycra are willing to do that! if you take the walking routes to Lion Rock and Kowloon Peak then bear in mind in the 6 months of summer it is around 33oC and with 95% humidity - good luck with that.
I have also left out the Hong Kong Observation Wheel near the entrance to the Star Ferry on Hong Kong Island, at 60m in height it is simply not worth the time and expense, I have done it a couple of times with guests and it was a “blah” type of experience.
With the exception of the Ritz Carlton Hotel I have not added any other views from bars and restaurants, there are a few okay ones but nothing that comes close to the Ritz, you can always do a google search for bars and restaurants with views.
Now, a word about the Victoria Peak Views from the Peak Tower 428 Sky Terrace and the Lions Pavilion.
Virtually every online Travel and Tourism Website and online Lifestyle Magazines state that the 2 places mentioned directly above are the best places to see the city views from Victoria Peak in Hong Kong.
This is complete NONSENSE with a capital N - not even close, there is no argument that they offer a fine view of Hong Kong but not even close to the magnificent views from the Lugard Road Lookout and Barker Road at Victoria Peak.
A lot of visitors to the Peak get there on the Peak Tram, well the Peak Tram stops in the Peak Tower where the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 is located and it costs a small fortune to go to the terrace, so a lot of people exit the Peak Tower, turn left and walk 150 yards (ish) say 2 minutes tops where you can have the Sky Terrace View at the Lions Pavilion for free but it gets very, very crowded and can be quite unpleasant.
When I was a Private Tour Guide I always took my guests to the Lugard Road Lookout, not because it is free but because you see the greatest city view in the world, it takes your breath away, it might take a little longer to get there and I am always annoyed when I hear that tour guides pass on the Lugard Road Lookout and take the easy option, people are missing out on the greatest city view in the world and they have no idea!
…. and you maybe wondering why I say this with such conviction, well I have been to the Lugard Road Lookout over 6,000 times since January 3rd 1972, I know my views!
…. and you really need a great Private Tour Guide to take you to Victoria Peak (The Peak) to explain in detail what you are looking at, my friends are all master story tellers and really know their stuff.
I have always felt absolutely blessed to live in a city with so many terrific view spots.
The Images I am posting are in random order
The best views in Hong Kong
Braemar Hill Hong Kong Island City View | A panoramic Hong Kong and Kowloon City View - a special mention
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| Cultural Tourism At It’s Very Best |
J3 Premium Private Hong Kong Tours and Experiences
Jamie, Your Passionate Hong Kong Expert & Storyteller
Discover Hong Kong - Pearl of the Orient
Learn about the unbiased, real Hong Kong | forget what you read in the press!
© Jamie Lloyd | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong | | 2011 - 2024.
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Current images from my Instagram feed