Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, three storey Macanese mansion, Santo Agostinho Square.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Sir Robert Ho Tung Library

Top choice in Macau


This charming building, founded in the 19th century, was the country retreat of the late tycoon Robert Ho Tung, who purchased it in 1918. The colonial edifice, featuring a dome, an arcaded facade, Ionic columns and Chinese-style gardens, was given a modern extension by architect Joy Choi Tin Tin in 2006. The new four-storey structure in glass and steel has Piranesi-inspired bridges connecting to the old house and a glass roof straddling the transitional space.

Transportation

  • bus: 9, 16, 18

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Macau attractions

1. Dom Pedro V Theatre

0.04 MILES

This sage green neoclassical theatre is one of the oldest western-style theatres in East Asia, and remains an important cultural venue today. It was built…

2. Church of St Augustine

0.04 MILES

The foundations of this church date from 1586 when it was established by Spanish Augustinians, but the present structure was built in 1814. The high altar…

3. Church of St Joseph

0.07 MILES

St Joseph’s, which falls outside the tourist circuit, is Macau’s most beautiful model of tropicalised baroque architecture. Consecrated in 1758 as part of…

4. Street of Happiness

0.11 MILES

Not far west of Largo do Senado is Rua da Felicidade (Street of Happiness). Its shuttered terraces were once Macau’s main red-light district. Several…

5. IACM Temporary Exhibition Gallery

0.13 MILES

This cool, dimly lit gallery just inside the entrance of the Leal Senado offers welcome respite from the heat and hectic pace of Avenida de Almeida…

6. Senate Library

0.13 MILES

Located in the Leal Senado, Macau's oldest and most lavish library is a beautiful adaptation of the 18th-century library in the Convento de Mafra outside…

7. Church of St Lawrence

0.14 MILES

One of Macau's three oldest churches, St Lawrence was originally constructed of wood in the 1560s, then rebuilt in stone in the early 19th century. The…

8. Leal Senado

0.14 MILES

Facing Largo do Senado is Macau’s most important historical building, the 18th-century ‘Loyal Senate’, which houses the Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "china/macau/macau-peninsula/attractions/sir-robert-ho-tung-library/a/poi-sig/1240763/1324547",
      "destination": "Macau",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "China",
      "city": "Macau",
      "position": "superzone"
    }