What's on in Macau (Macao), Macao through the year

Busy — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Holiday

  Chinese New Year

  17–19 FebLunar New YearCrowdedBook early

  Lion dances at the temples, a night parade through the peninsula, and the mainland arriving in numbers on its own longer break. Hotel rates on Cotai peak for the week and the Gongbei border queues run for hours. Source ↗

Still on: Light Up Macao (1 Dec – 11 Jan (usually))

Busy — Chinese New Year, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Chinese New Year (17–19 Feb)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — Mainland Labour Day break, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  A-Ma Festival

  15 Apr – 15 May · usuallyMajor festival

  The 23rd day of the third lunar month at the A-Ma Temple below the Barra: incense by the armful, Cantonese opera on a bamboo stage built for the week, and the fishing families back in town for it. Source ↗

• Festival

  Feast of the Drunken Dragon

  25 Apr – 31 May · usuallyMajor festival

  The fish traders carry carved dragon heads through the streets of the old town on the eighth day of the fourth moon, spraying rice wine as they go, and hand out longevity rice afterwards. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Mainland Labour Day break

  29 Apr – 6 MayGolden WeekCrowded

  Five days when the mainland travels and Macau is one of the places it goes. The approach to Senado Square runs one-way behind rope lines, Gongbei queues for hours and Cotai charges what it likes. Source ↗

Busy — Mainland Labour Day break, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: A-Ma Festival (15 Apr – 15 May (usually)), Feast of the Drunken Dragon (25 Apr – 31 May (usually)), Mainland Labour Day break (29 Apr – 6 May)

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Typhoon season

  1 Jul – 30 Sep · usuallyClosures

  Signal eight closes the casinos, the ferries to Hong Kong and the bridge to the airport for the day. It happens a few times most summers and September is the likeliest month. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Typhoon season (1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Fireworks Display Contest, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Fireworks Display Contest

  12 Sep – 4 OctMajor festivalCrowded

  Five nights spread over four weeks, two displays a night from a barge in front of Macau Tower, with teams competing. The Sai Van bridge waterfront fills an hour before the first shell. Source ↗

Still on: Typhoon season (1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Fireworks Display Contest, National Day Golden Week

• Holiday

  National Day Golden Week

  1–8 OctCrowded

  The first week of October is the busiest of the Macau year. The whole delta comes through the border, the ruins of St Paul's are shoulder to shoulder from morning, and room rates roughly triple. Source ↗

Still on: Fireworks Display Contest (12 Sep – 4 Oct)

Peak crowds — Macau Food Festival, Macau Grand Prix

• Festival

  Macau Food Festival

  10–30 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  A fortnight of stalls on the Sai Van reclamation in November, laid out by cuisine, and where the city eats after work for the duration. It overlaps the Grand Prix, so the peninsula is full twice over. Source ↗

• Festival

  Macau Grand Prix

  19–22 NovMotorsport weekendCrowdedClosuresBook early

  Four days of racing on the Guia street circuit in the middle of the city. The roads round the reservoir and the harbour close from Thursday, engines start early, and rooms are at their dearest of the year. Source ↗

• Festival

  Macao International Marathon

  6 DecMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  The course runs the peninsula, both bridges and Taipa on a Sunday morning in early December, which closes the crossings to Cotai for several hours. Source ↗

Busy — Macao International Marathon, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Light Up Macao

  1 Dec – 11 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New Year

  Projections and installations across the old squares and the Taipa houses from early December into January, tied to the handover anniversary on the twentieth. Free, and the least crowded thing the city puts on. Source ↗

Still on: Macao International Marathon (6 Dec)