Ruins of St Paul's

What survives of the Church of Mater Dei is its front wall, and it is enough: a five-tier baroque facade in grey granite, carved with saints, angels, a bronze dove and, unusually, Chinese characters and a Japanese-influenced chrysanthemum, reflecting the Jesuit college and the exiled Japanese Christian craftsmen who built it in the early 1600s. Fire took the rest in 1835, leaving the facade standing above a grand sweep of steps like a stage set. Behind it, a crypt holds the remains of the college's founders and a small museum of sacred art, and the whole thing anchors Macau's UNESCO-listed historic centre.

What you actually see

• The facade carvings - saints, ships, a hydra and the bilingual inscriptions.
• The grand staircase - the sixty-odd steps that frame the classic photograph.
• The crypt and Museum of Sacred Art - relics and paintings behind the wall.
• Mount Fortress - the old citadel and city views a short climb to the side.

When to go

Autumn brings Macau's driest, mildest weather and the clearest light on the granite. Early morning is the only reliable way to photograph the steps without crowds; evenings bring floodlighting and a different, quieter mood. Summer is hot, humid and typhoon-prone.

Honest expectations

It is a facade and a staircase - the visit is short, and visitors expecting a full church are sometimes deflated. The surrounding approach street is a solid wall of souvenir and jerky shops, loud and commercial, which some find fun and others find exhausting. Free samples of almond cookies and pork jerky are the local ritual on that street; the queue length tells you which shops locals rate.

Nearby

Senado Square, Mount Fortress and the Macau Museum are all within a few minutes' walk.