13 Best Hong Kong Museums and Galleries

The Hong Kong Cultural Centre hosts a wide range of live performances, including music concerts, European and Chinese opera, ballet, and theatre. It’s also where the Hong Kong International Film Festival takes place – hundreds of world-famous actors and directors gather for a night of film screenings in the city. 

Facilities within the Hong Kong Cultural Centre include the main concert hall, 2 theatres, an exhibition gallery, and a foyer exhibition area. There’s also a spacious piazza, with 4 designated sections for outdoor exhibitions and concerts.

The Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre is a cultural museum for fans of history, providing detailed information about Hong Kong. Its permanent gallery has interesting exhibits on the changing face of transport, as well as prehistoric artefacts found on archaeological digs. To accompany the exhibits, the museum also has a lecture hall, educational activity rooms, and a reference library for those looking to learn more about Hong Kong. 

Located in Kowloon Park, you can also walk around the surrounding green expanse before or after a tour through Hong Kong’s history and culture. Entry to the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre is free of charge. 

The Hong Kong Heritage Museum displays a mixture of art, culture and history through dynamic and interactive exhibition programs. It covers 7,500 sq m of exhibition space, consisting of 5 permanent galleries and 6 thematic galleries. 

Located next to Sung Min River, the building features traditional Chinese courtyard designs. If you come as a family, you may enjoy the Children’s Discovery Gallery – kids aged 4 to 10 can enjoy 8 learning zones, play with traditional toys, and join theatre programs during their visit.

The Hong Kong Maritime Museum might not look much from the outside, but it offers a fascinating catalogue of Hong Kong’s maritime history. Connected to Central Ferry Pier, this cultural attraction has over 1,000 artefacts on display, arranged in 15 galleries.

Every section of the museum has hands-on exhibits, which will help keep children entertained throughout their visit. The view of Victoria Harbour out of the 2nd- and 3rd-storey windows adds an added relevance to everything you see at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.

The Hong Kong Museum of Art displays over 15,000 artworks, including sculptures, painting, teaware, and calligraphy. The building covers 10,000 sq m of exhibition space, with 12 galleries and plenty of onsite dining options with views over Victoria Harbour. 

The 1st floor of the Hong Kong Museum of Art serves as a multi-function hall, where thematic exhibitions and cultural events are regularly scheduled.

The Hong Kong Museum of History offers a fascinating insight into the metropolitan city-state. The museum's permanent exhibition consists of 8 galleries, which include immersive displays on Hong Kong’s prehistoric ecosystem, reproductions of rock carvings found at Big Wave Bay, and artefacts of stone, pottery and bronze dating back to the Neolithic period. 

The Hong Kong Museum of History also offers free interpretation guided tours and paper model-making workshops for visitors with visual and hearing impairments.

Opened in 1985, Hong Kong Railway Museum, formerly the Tai Po Market Railway Station, displays passenger carriage models and locomotives from around the world. The main building, built in 1913, is of indigenous Chinese architectural style, with many small figures decorating the exterior, such as are commonly found in existing old southern Chinese temples. 

The museum features a waiting hall and ticket office as well as many vintage photos of this area showing the early days of the station’s construction.

The Hong Kong Science Museum is a modern, interactive museum that is educational, enlightening and a lot of fun for all ages. There are over 500 exhibits within the 3-storey building – many of the galleries are hands-on, allowing you to play with robotics, enjoy virtual reality, and even use wires for communication. 

Visit the Transportation hall on the 2nd floor, where you’ll see a full-sized DC3 aeroplane (the first airliner in Hong Kong), suspended from the ceiling. The Hong Kong Science Museum also displays a 22-metre-tall twin-tower Energy Machine which, when activated, produce spectacular audiovisual effects demonstrating various forms of energy.

The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum features a gallery displaying pottery and bronze items dating back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD). The museum is adjacent to the 4-chamber brick tomb, which was discovered in 1955. 

The actual tomb is closed off to the public, but part of its interior is visible through a glass panel at the entrance. Located on Tonkin Street, the museum is 350 metres northeast of the MTR Cheung Sha Wan Station.

Madame Tussauds Hong Kong has over 100 wax figures of local and international icons, including Hong Kong celebrities such as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Established in 2000, there are 11 interactive zones, with themes ranging from music and sports to films and animation.

Madame Tussauds Hong Kong is located at Victoria Peak – Hong Kong’s highest hill. The easiest way to get there is by tram, or you can test your endurance level by hiking to the top – it’s about an hour-long walk from the MTR Central Station to The Peak.

PMQ is a creative mall and design space in downtown Hong Kong, about 250 metres southeast of Man Mo Temple. Combining a cool market vibe with a contemporary arts and design space, it showcases jewellery, pottery, paintings, and clothing by some of Hong Kong’s best creatives and artisans. 

QUBE is a multi-function hall within PMQ that accommodates around 450 people – expect interactive events such as workshops, panel discussions, and pop-up exhibitions throughout the year. On weekends, PMQ hosts a series of pop-markets with live music and food stalls until late.

Sam Tung Uk Museum preserves a rural walled village of the same name, which dates back to the 18th century. The Hakka village once housed as many as 300 Chan family members during that time period. 

The living museum features an ancestral hall, a lecture hall, and 2 rows of traditional homes complete with period furniture, handicrafts, and farming tools. There’s also a modern gallery with interactive displays and videos about the rural lifestyle, food, and traditional crafts of Hakka people in Hong Kong.