For four hundred years Macau was a trading post, handed back only in 1999, and the legacy shows in the streets: pastel-coloured colonial buildings, black and white wave-patterned paving in Senado Square, and small Catholic churches next to Taoist temples. Its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the most famous fragment, the carved stone façade of the Ruins of St Paul's, stands at the top of a flight of steps, all that is left of a church that burned in 1835.
Food is what many people come for. Macanese cooking is a mixture of Portuguese, Cantonese and Southeast Asian flavours, with dishes such as African chicken and minced pork with fried potatoes, and pastéis de nata, the custard tarts, which Macau has turned into its own version with a caramelised top. Take one from a bakery counter, still warm, and you will understand. Across the peninsula the casinos glitter, but the old district is quiet and almost village-like in the early morning.
As for riding, be honest: this is a city stop. The streets of the old town are narrow, one-way and crowded, with a lot of scooters, and in the busy parts it is easier to park and walk. Macau drives on the left, while mainland China just across the border at Zhuhai drives on the right, and taking a foreign motorbike across needs special permits and paperwork, so check the rules well in advance. The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, opened in 2018, is a remarkable structure about fifty-five kilometres long, but it has its own restrictions on private vehicles.
Fuel and food are no trouble in a dense urban area of half a million people, though petrol stations are fewer than you might think because the territory is so small. Look for parking near Senado Square or the harbour, and be ready for heat and humidity in summer, with typhoons possible between July and September. Go early, before the tour groups arrive, and take your time.