Hong Kong Museum of Art

The Hong Kong Museum of Art is the city's first public art museum, and it is still free. It began in 1962 at City Hall in Central, moved to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront in 1991, and reopened in 2019 after a four-year renovation that gave it around 10,000 square metres of space and a new facade. Floor-to-ceiling windows look straight out over Victoria Harbour, so a grey, rainy harbour becomes part of the view rather than the reason you stayed in. The collection holds more than 19,500 works and is built around four pillars. Chinese antiquities cover ceramics, bronzes and other objects running back to the Neolithic. Chinese painting and calligraphy includes two major donated collections, the Xubaizhai Collection and the Chih Lo Lou Collection. China trade art, made for Western buyers during the old China trade, offers a view of the region's historic port life that few museums can match. The fourth pillar, modern Hong Kong art, follows the city's own artists into the 21st century. The museum sets its collection against loans and partnerships with major international institutions, so there is usually a large special exhibition running too. Those shows can carry a separate charge, but the permanent galleries never do. The pace here is slow. There are few buttons to press, and small children may tire quickly. Adults who enjoy ink painting, ceramics or local art can easily spend a whole afternoon. Weekend evenings are a good time to come, as the museum stays open until 9pm and the harbour lights come on outside the windows. The Space Museum next door makes an easy pairing.