Fortaleza do Monte, Macau

Cannons at Fortaleza do Monte (9 November 2007)


Fortaleza do Monte is located immediately to the east of the so-called Ruins of St Paul's. The fortress was part of the Jesuit complex of St Paul. The fortress was only used once, in 1622, to repel Dutch invasion. It fell into disuse and disrepair when the Jesuits left.

The ramparts of Fortaleza do Monte were made from a mixture of earth, shell, straw and lime. These were packed in layers between strips of wood. From the fortress, you get a very good panoramic view of Macau peninsula. Cannons are still there, positioned as they were, south towards the sea. Today however, they seem to be aimed squarely at the skyscrapers of Macau's central business district.

The locals come to Fortaleza for jogging and also to walk their dogs. At night, the fortress is lit up with bright spotlights, so you can still visit it after dark. From it, you can enjoy great view of Macau at night.

Location within Fortaleza do Monte is the Macau Museum, one of the best museums in the colony.

Getting there

From Largo do Senado, walk towards St Dominic's Church. Turn left and follow signboards pointing towards the Ruins of St Paul. Having reach it, you will find Fortaleza do Monte on a hillock to its right side, with the Macau Museum location within.

Another view of the cannons (9 November 2007)



Fortaleza do Monte at night (8 November 2007)



Cannon of Fortaleza do Monte at night (8 November 2007)

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.