Macao gets framed in two ways: the historic Portuguese centre in the daytime, and the casino strip at night. Both are real, but the evening has more range than the brochures suggest. I spent four nights there on my last trip and barely set foot in a gaming floor.

Here is how I would spend an evening, and what I would skip.

Cotai, briefly explained

Cotai is the reclaimed strip of land between the Macao peninsula and Taipa island, where most of the large resort complexes sit. It is walkable between properties, though the scale is deceptive. What looks like a five minute walk on the map is often twenty, because everything is enormous and the entrances are far apart.

You do not need to gamble to use any of it. The resorts have restaurants, theatres, shopping and free attractions, and nobody is checking.

Free things that are actually good

• The fountain shows and light installations on the Cotai strip after dark, which run on a schedule through the evening.
• The indoor canals and painted skies in one of the Venetian style properties, which sound gimmicky and are oddly impressive at night when the crowds thin out.
• Rooftop bars in several properties with views back over the strip, no gaming required.

The shows

Macao has become a serious destination for large scale stage productions. The house shows at the major resorts are genuinely well made, with the kind of budget that buys real spectacle: water stages, acrobatics, live music.

Two things to know. First, tickets are significantly cheaper midweek, sometimes by a third. Second, book direct with the resort or through an official channel, because resellers mark up heavily and there are a fair number of unofficial operators.

I went to one of the water based productions and expected a tourist trap. It was genuinely good, and the audience was a mix of families, couples and locals, which is usually a sign that something is worth the money.

What I would skip

The big rotating dinner buffets in the resort complexes. They are convenient but the food is the point of Macao and you can eat far better for the same money five minutes away in the old town.

The better evening: old Taipa

If you want the night I actually remember, leave Cotai and walk into Taipa Village, which is a short taxi ride or a pleasant walk across the bridge from the strip.

Taipa Village is a grid of narrow lanes with Portuguese colonial houses, small bars and a genuinely excellent restaurant scene. In the evening it fills up with locals rather than tour groups, and the atmosphere is relaxed in a way the resorts are not.

Rua do Cunha is the main food street. Get the pork chop bun, the Portuguese egg tart from one of the older bakeries, and if you are brave, the African chicken. Sit outside if the weather is good.

The late supper culture

One thing that surprised me: Macao eats late. Many places stay open past midnight, and the crowd at 11pm is often livelier than at 8pm. If you have come from a show, you can still eat properly at eleven. That is not true in most Chinese cities, and it gives the evenings a different rhythm.

The old peninsula at night

For a completely different evening, head back across to the Macao peninsula and walk the historic centre after dark. The Senado Square area is floodlit and the Portuguese buildings look their best under warm light. The ruined facade of St Paul's is lit and much quieter in the evening than during the day.

It is a short walk from there to the area around the old Protestant cemetery and the quieter back lanes, which empty out almost completely once the day trippers leave. On a Tuesday night in November I walked twenty minutes through the old town and passed almost nobody.

Practical notes

• Taxis are cheap but scarce at peak times near the resorts. The light rail connects Cotai and Taipa and is a good alternative.
• Most places take cards, but a bit of cash is useful for the small bakeries and street stalls.
• Dress is casual everywhere except the more formal restaurants, where a collared shirt is sensible.
• Macao is compact. You can cross from the old town to Cotai in twenty minutes by taxi.

The takeaway

Come for the shows if that is your thing, but build an evening around Taipa Village and the old town as well. Macao at night is at its best when you are walking between small places, eating something you did not plan to eat, in streets that were built long before the resorts existed.

Originally published on 71Asia Tours blog.