We really enjoyed our stop at the Camoes Garden and Grotto this past week. The Grotto area was decent and there were some interestingly patterned tiles leading into the heart of the garden area. However, what we really liked was the thick, flush green, rainforest like environment within the park. During the cooler months, this made a great break from the sun but did have us thinking about how hot and humid it must be here during the summer, probably not the best time in the world to visit.

In this area of Macau, just north of the Ruins of St. Paul, there are several additional attractions, all inclusions of the UNESCO World Heritage collection for the Historic City Centre of Macau. These include Casa Garden, the Old Protestant Cemetery and St. Anthony's Church. However, we enjoy the Camoes Garden, which is a non-UNESCO attraction best within this group. Collectively, you can visit all of these attractions comfortably in one hour. Then you can move down to the heavyweight attractions starting at the Ruins of St. Paul, approx 6-8 minute walk away.

If you are short on time in Macau, we'd suggest skipping the Camoes Garden and Grotto and attractions in this area and starting/finishing your sight seeing with the Ruins of St. Paul, where you will find more interesting and important UNESCO and non-UNESCO attractions in the central area of Macau.

If you really like gardens, this is a good place to visit. Others that we like in this area of Macau include the very good Lum Iok Gardens, northeast of Tap Seac Square and the Jardim San Francisco near the Lisboa Hotel.