Stay in the old west of the city, not among the towers

Zhujiang New Town has the skyline, the malls and the international chains, and you could be in any large city in Asia. Liwan and Xiguan have the arcaded shophouses, the teahouses, the ancestral halls and the best walking in the city.

Base yourself around Enning Road or Shamian Island, and treat the towers as something you look at from Haixinsha across the water. Both districts are on the metro, which reaches Baiyun airport on line 3 in about 45 minutes.