Taking the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour is something every visitor should do, but I also love riding the double-decker trams that chug across Hong Kong Island’s northern end, with the most coveted seats in the front row of the upper deck. The fare is the same no matter how long you stay on, so if you have time you can board and ride it to the end, passing traditional neighborhoods along the way.

Central & Causeway Bay

From Central heading east, I recommend disembarking in Causeway Bay, a large shopping destination with malls, department stores and countless stores. Here, too, is one of Hong Kong’s quirkiest attractions, the Noon Day Gun, which has been fired daily for more than 162 years (you’ll want to get there well ahead of noon because it’s over rather quickly). For lunch head to the nearby branch of a local favorite, Tsui Wah, which is the Hong Kong version of a diner with a history stretching back more than 50 years. Also nearby is Cafe Matchbox, similar to Tsui Wah but with a retro ’50s look. I also like Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese import famous for its steamed dumplings. Afterwards, it’s a short walk to Victoria Park. While it doesn’t have the family attractions of, say, Kowloon Park, it does attract locals with its expanse of green, jogging and fitness trails, a pond for model boats, basketball courts and other diversions.

East to Shau Kei Wan