Causeway Bay is Hong Kong's trendiest shopping district. The small cluster of streets around MTR-Causeway Bay houses some of the city's best department stores, shopping malls and prestigious shops. Hong Kong yuppies just love Causeway Bay and consider the area as the city's "fashion barometer"... The place where you go when you want to know what's new and "in"...
Other than trendy fashion shops, Causeway Bay is the home to one of Hong Kong's most popular bazaars, where fashion accessories can be purchased at a bargain.
Here are some "not to be missed" spots in Causeway Bay:
♦ Hong Kong Tourism Board office is right next to exit F of MTR-Causeway Bay.
♦ Opposite exit F, on the other side of the street, there are two parallel streets: Jardine's Crescent and Jardine's Bazaar. The crescent is a great place for inexpensive clothing, accessories and domestic goods, while the Bazaar stocks traditional dried foods and bean curd (tofu).
♦ At the end of Jardine's Crescent, turn right to Hysan Ave. and you'll reach two extremely fashionable shopping malls: Lee Gardens II which is right on the corner of the crescent and Lee Gardens, further on Hysan Ave. Shops in both these malls specialize in international brand names and local celebrities like to hang around and do their shopping here. There are also some good restaurants and cafés in both malls. Open daily from 11:00 am to 10 p m
♦ Few more steps along Hysan Ave. will bring you to another popular mall (though it's not as popular as the previous two) - Lee Theatre Plaza. The streets on both sides of this mall, Matheson Street and Leighton Street are home to some excellent fashion shops.
♦ Right behind Lee Theatre Plaza, on the corner of Matheson and Russell, is Times Square - one of Hong Kong's largest shopping malls and one of the 10 most popular tourist destinations in Hong Kong.
Times Square contains more than 300 shops, selling everything from leading fashion brands to toys and from jewelries to electrical goods.
All the big names are here... Bose, Bossini, CK, Fortress, Giordano, Just Gold - Just Diamond, L'oreal Paris, Lacoste, Lane Crawford, Marks & Spencer, Max Mara, Vivienne Tam, Zara and many others... Alongside the great shopping experience, the mall also boasts a multi-cinema complex as well as one of the city's best dining arenas.
The mall's 16 floors are divided logically into retail, entertainment and dining areas : Lower floors are occupied with department stores, first nine floors are occupied with retail outlets and top floors are dedicated to restaurants and cafés. The area surrounding the building is a popular venue for New Year countdowns, copying Times Square in New York City. Open daily from 10 am to 10 pm. (there is direct access through exit A of MTR-Causeway Bay)
♦ From Times Square, you can continue along Percival Street to the corner of Hennessy Road, where you will see another excellent shopping mall, called Causeway Bay Plaza 1. This mall features a variety of shops that specialize in stuff you won't normally find in large shopping malls : antiques, memorabilia, Chinese furniture, knickknacks and the likes... Open daily from 10 am to 8 pm and can be accessed through exits B and C of MTR-Causeway Bay.
♦ Few more steps on Hennessy Road will bring you to one of Hong Kong's most popular department stores - SOGO. This Japanese mega-store comprises thousands of square meters, covered with quality products. At the Level 9 "Event Hall", special promotions and big sales are the fare with rotating sales on leather jackets, handbags, cosmetics, apparel and sports goods. Open daily from 10 am to 10 pm and can be accessed via exit D of MTR-Causeway Bay.
♦ Adjacent to SOGO, on East Point Center's 16th floor, you can visit Sony's flagship shop - Sony Style, where you can see and buy some of Sony's latest state-of-the-art products.
♦ Another shopping center worth visiting is Island Beverly. Located right opposite SOGO, the shops here feature mainly popular local brands and trendy fashion products, imported from Japan, Korea and even Europe. You are likely to get very good value for money here and that is, perhaps, the reason for this mall's popularity among the younger generation... Island Beverly is on Great George Street and can be accessed via exit E of MTR-Causeway Bay. Open daily till 9 pm
♦ Also on Great George Street, not far from Island Beverly, is Fashion Island where you can find mainly well-known international brands. Open daily from 10 am to 10 pm
♦ From Great George Street, you can turn to fashionable Patterson Street and walk along it down towards the waterfront. Some of the city's trendiest shops are arrayed on both sides of this street. Turn right to Kingston Street and left to Fashion walk where you can stroll between the shops. At the end of Fashion Walk you can turn left to Gloucester Road and walk along it to World Trade Center.
♦ World Trade Center is another extremely popular shopping mall, currently going through a major upgrade. It features a great variety of brand name shops, alongside some excellent restaurants and cafés. Open daily till 10 pm
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A shopping tip from 'Metropolasia-Man' :
There are thousands of shops around Causeway Bay (mainly fashion) and hunting for the right thing at the right price might be a tedious task... Patience is the name of the game... Don't run, take your time and enjoy this amazing shopping carnival. The variety here is huge so there is really no point to compromise on something you don't really like.
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Quarry Bay (Tai Koo Shing) is an area east of Causeway Bay and although it isn't on the average visitor's route, it has one spot that is well-worth visiting - Cityplaza. This is one of Hong Kong's largest and most popular shopping malls with a total floor area of more than one million square feet ! Cityplaza hosts a great variety of shops, many of which do not belong to the well-known chains. There are also quite a few restaurants, cafés, Food outlets, a cinema complex and an ice skating rink called "Cityplaza Ice Palace" on Level 1. Open daily from early morning to midnight. Adjacent to MTR-Tai Koo
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You may also want to read about other shopping districts nearby...
Central & Sheung Wan
Wan Chai
