Canton Road – Luxury Shopping Strip in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong!

When I was planning our Hong Kong holiday, I was under direct orders from the wife to include Canton Road in our itinerary. This is a luxury shopping strip located in Tsim Sha Tsui. I complied and meticulously planned a route of attack to conquer this shopping district. In this article, I will be sharing our Canton Road shopping guide with you guys.

Canton Road

Canton Road is a teeming thoroughfare in Tsim Sha Tsui that is lined with a dazzling array of luxury boutiques. It is about 600 metres long.

Think of it as the Orchard Road of Singapore, the 5th Avenue of New York, the Apgujeong Rodeo Street of Seoul, the Ginza of Tokyo, the Rodeo Drive of Los Angeles.. (you get the idea)

Over here, we saw many upscale retail stores such as Gucci, Hermes, Valentino, Panerai, and more. There were also plenty of mass market brands such as Adidas, Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, etc.

Initially, I was a little confused over why there were so many sections of “Canton Road” on the map. I found out that this was because past urban developments had divided Canton Road into various sections.

Today, most people think of “Canton Road” as the luxury shopping strip in Tsim Sha Tsui that runs between Austin Road and Salisbury Road. That will be the focus of this article too.

Best Places to Shop at Canton Road

Once we alighted from our car along Canton Road, we were immediately greeted with a large glittering gold facade emblazoned with the Prada logo.

We came here on a Sunday at around 2pm and the area was packed! Most of the shops we visited were filled with tourists, many of them from Mainland China.

Below is a list of places to shop along Canton Road for your reference, so that you can plan your shopping trip efficiently.

1. Harbour City

Harbour City is the largest shopping mall in Hong Kong with over 450 stores, 60 restaurants, and 3 hotels (Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel, Gateway Hotel and Prince Hotel).

Yes that’s one huge complex.

When exploring Canton Road, we realised that majority of the luxury boutiques are housed in Harbour City. Most of the large brand logos we saw were emblazoned on the side of this mall.

Personally, I feel it is enough to just check out Harbour City’s luxury shops outside along the road (which was what we did). These included Louis Vuitton’s largest store in Asia, Chanel’s Asia flagship store, and Salvatore Ferrgamo’s Hong Kong flagship store.

Along the long strip, we also saw brands like Hermes, Fendi, Valentino, and more. You can check out this full list of shops in Harbour City.

Because we came on a Sunday, most of the staff in the shops we visited were really busy. They were not rude but we could sense that they quickly lost interest once they realised we were not buying on the spot.

Perhaps if we had visited on a weekday instead we would have gotten better service?

2. 1881 Heritage

1881 Heritage is a high end shopping mall known for selling jewellery, luxury watches, and leather products. It is a small mall with brands like Cartier, Tiffany & Co, IWC Schaffhausen, Piaget, Mont Blanc, and more. You can check out the full directory of shops at 1881 Heritage.

Built in a combination of Victorian and neoclassical architectural style, this historic building was originally the headquarters of the Hong Kong Marine police between 1880s and 1996.

Walking through the mall, we were surprised by how quiet it was compared to the rest of Canton Road. We were also impressed by the stand-alone Tiffany & Co boutique, constructed beautifully with glass.

3. T Galleria by DFS (Hong Kong)

T Galleria by DFS is located in “The Sun Arcade” mall and sells a large variety of duty-free luxury goods. These include the usual high end brands like Gucci, Cartier, Prada, etc. You can check out this full list of shops in T Galleria by DFS.

We didn’t visit this mall personally but based on online reviews, the prices here are not really much cheaper than other retail shops in Hong Kong.

4. Silvercord

Silvercord is a shopping mall with some brands like Fred Perry, Burberry, The Body Shop, etc. It is also home to local Hong Kong brand I.T which owns brands like French Connection and A Bathing Ape.

The popular food court, Food Republic, is located at the basement. This is a good place to take a break from shopping and enjoy some affordable food.

Din Tai Fung, a Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurant for 2018, is located on the third floor of the building.

Best Attractions at Canton Road

Besides the retail stores, there are a few noteworthy attractions in Canton Road too. I have listed them below for your reference.

1. The Peninsula Hong Kong

Gorgeous hotel lobby

Long queue for high tea!

The Peninsula Hong Kong is a venerable hotel that opened in 1928. It is known for its large fleet of luxurious Rolls-Royces painted in the distinctive “Peninsula green”.

The hotel is most famous for its Peninsula Classic Afternoon Tea served daily in The Lobby, an elegant dining space in the hotel.

However, the queue for the afternoon tea is usually super long and the hotel does not accept reservations. When we went to the hotel, we saw about 30 people in the queue! Luckily, we had not planned to have afternoon tea here anyways.

Instead, we came mainly to admire the gorgeous hotel lobby. The hotel is designed in a classic colonial style and we enjoyed walking around to revel in the beauty of the place.

2. Kowloon Park

Kowloon Park is a beautiful public park in Tsim Sha Tsui known for its tranquility and lush greenery. It even has a large swimming pool complex.

We didn’t visit this park but I can imagine it’s a good place to escape the hustle and bustle of Canton Road for a while.

3. Star Ferry

The Star Ferry is a ferry service that carries passengers between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, across the Victoria Harbour.

Locals take the ferry to avoid the MTR crowds and tunnel traffic jams, while tourists treat it as a leisurely cruise to take beautiful photos of the waterfronts and city skyline.

Canton Road Walking / Shopping Guide

click to enlarge

Take the MTR to East Tsim Sha Tsui, and go out from Exit L6. You can take a quick tour of the beautiful hotel lobby inside The Peninsula Hong Kong.

From the hotel, walk along Salisbury Road and turn right into Canton Road. Walk slightly further in and begin your shopping adventure at 1881 Heritage. This mall is known for its luxury watches and jewellery.

Across the road, you will see the Hermes, Ferragamo and Chanel stores at Harbour City.

Continue walking down the strip and revel in this mecca of luxury retail therapy.

You will pass by T Galleria by DFS at The Sun Arcade. Check it out if you are interested, but the prices are not really cheaper here.

Continue walking down along Canton Road where you will see even more luxury retail stores.

You can take a quick break at Silvercord, a shopping mall that is home to the popular food court Food Republic, as well as Din Tai Fung.

After that, you can continue your shopping quest along Canton Road, before finally ending at the prominent Giorgio Armani outlet in Harbour City.

Congratulations! You have conquered the entire length of Canton Road (which is essentially the entire length of Harbour City too).

If you wish, you can check out the tranquil Kowloon Park where you can quietly savour the sweet victory of your successful shopping trip.

Alternatively, you can go to nearby Nathan Road and enjoy delicious milk tea at Lan Fong Yuen.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading our guide on Canton Road! On the whole, we enjoyed ourselves at this luxury shopping strip, though it was a little too crowded in the shops for our liking. Perhaps it would have been a better idea to come on a weekday when human traffic should be less. Even if you don’t plan on buying anything here, it is a great experience to just walk down the vibrant street and soak up the Canton Road vibe.

Canton Road
Address: Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Directions: Short walk from East Tsim Sha Tsui station