It runs parallel to Victoria Harbour, starting from its western end at the Star Ferry Pier, passing by Blackhead Point, to Tsim Sha Tsui East.

The Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade, which runs alongside the road, has views of the Hong Kong skyline across Victoria Harbour.

The road was named after Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, who served as the British Prime Minister in late 19th century.

The original transliteration of the road in Chinese, "梳利士巴利道", failed to account for the fact that the i in the word is silent.

The Hong Kong Government corrected the transliteration in the 1970s by dropping the second character "利", and adopting the current name "梳士巴利道".