Manila Places of Interest

Places of interest

General landmarks

• Apolinario Mabini Shrine
• Chinatown (Binondo district)
• Embassy of the United States of America
• Ermita and Malate Districts, a place for Bohemian night life
• Fort Santiago
• Intramuros, the walled city built by the Spaniards, originally considered to be the City of Manila
• Liwasang Bonifacio
• Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Philippines
• Manila Baywalk
• Manila Boardwalk
• Manila City Hall
• Manila Yacht Club
• Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden (Manila Zoo)
• Metropolitan Theater
  
• Museo Pambata
• National Library of the Philippines
• National Museum
• Paco Park, the location of the hit Paco Park Presents
• Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz
• Plaza Miranda
• Quirino Grandstand
• Rajah Sulayman Park
• Remedios Circle
• Rizal Park, also known as Luneta
• The Manila Hotel
• The Supreme Court of the Philippines
• University Belt Area
• Victims of Martial Law Memorial Wall - Bonifacio Shrine (near City Hall)

   
Chinatown (Binondo district)

Binondo is an enclave in Manila primarily populated by overseas Chinese who chose to live in the Philippines. Historically, the place was sited by the Spaniards within the range of Intramuros cannons, to prevent any uprising coming from the Chinese.

It is located across the Pasig River from Intramuros and the home of Chinatown in Manila. The district is filled with all types of business from Chinese merchants. It is said that this district was already a hub of Chinese commerce even before the Spaniards came in 1571.

Prior to Makati, Binondo was the main center for business in Manila, as the Chinese were very proficient at trading and financial acumen. Before World War II there was bustling community which including insurance companies from Britain and the United States, banks and other financial institutions. After the war most of this business began to relocate to the newly developing area of Makati, which was mostly owned by the Ayala family. Binondo is also famous for it's imitation of a small Chinese town which is locally called "China Town".


Metropolitan Museum of Manila

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF MANILA is the first Philippine art institution to offer a bilingual, didactic program. It believes in the use of art as a tool in the teaching of excellence, cultural values and social responsibility.
Established in 1976, the Met was originally a museum for foreign art, "to broaden our people's awareness of the cultures of the world and to provide them with the opportunity of viewing international art in original form". By 1986, 90 exhibitions of non-Philippine art had been held at the museum, among them works by Picasso,
Klee, and Walter Gropius, as -well as group shows from Germany, Italy, Mexico, the United States, and Yugoslavia.
In 1986, the Metropolitan Museum expanded to include Philippine art in a groundbreaking bilingual approach. For the first time, publications, exhibition notes, invitations, labels, signs, and posters were formatted in both Filipino and English.

Selected foreign shows were complemented with Philippine art of the same period, theme, or style. At least one major Philippine show was exhibited every year. In 1994, the Met hosted the Vatican Collection (...And they Will Come From Afar, 2000 Years of Vatican Treasures). By 1996, the Met had organized major retrospectives of senior artists, two of whom have been named National Artists- Arturo Luz and J. Elizalde Navarro. The Met has also co-curated Philippine exhibitions organized by major agencies, such as the centenary exhibitions At Home and Abroad, 20 Contemporary Filipino Artists; and Form and Splendor. Today, Philippine art exhibitions are curated from local, individual, corporate and institutional collections and from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Art Collection.

Teacher-training and children's art classes have been initiated and are on-going programmes. Workshops, career talks, and apprenticeship programmes are held till this day. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF MANILA will continue its creative and ground-breaking approach to art education programming and museum management. It will also be constant in the pursuit of its mission---art for all---and to make art count in the lives of those that it touches.


Malacañang Palace

This was the seat of the head of Government of the Philippines since Spanish times and stands on the north bank of the Pasig river. Malacañang, from the vernacular "May Lakan Diyan" meaning "There lives a noble man," was built in the 18th century as a recreation villa for a Spanish aristocrat Luis Rocha. In 1825, the Spanish government bought the palace for P5,000.00 and turned it into a summer house of governor generals. The earthquake which brought down the Palacio del Gobernador in Intra-muros officially designated Mala-cañang Palace as the permanent seat of the Head of State.


Paco Park and Cemetery


is located Paco, Manila. This once Spanish cemetery is surrounded by a massive circular wall and was intended for the victims of the cholera epidemic. Niches inside the cemetery were leased for three years (which was renewable). When all niches were filled, the remains of occupants those leases had expired were transferred to allow for new burials. Remains of Spanish governors and the elite were laid to rest in the Chapel of San Pancratius. Today, only the remains of Governor-generic Ramon Solano are still in the chapel. In 1996, the cemetery was declared a National Park and makes a charming spot to relax amongst beautiful gardens.



 Rizal Park

Considered as one of the largest parks in Southeast Asia having an area of 58 hectares and known as the Bagumbayan field during the Spanish era it was also called "Luneta" which means which means "Little Moon". For 74 years, it was used as an execution ground by the Spaniards for Filipino rebels and mutineers. By 1902, Daniel Burnham, architect and city planner chose Bagumbayan as the site of proposed American government centre. These are the Executive House, the Department of Tourism building and the Department of Finance building.It acquired its present name "Rizal National Park" in dedication to the Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal whose mortal remains were interned in the cornerstone of the Rizal Monument in 1912.


San Agustin Church

is located on generic Luna St. corner Real St., Intramuros. This is the oldest stone church in Metro Manila dating back to 1571. An intricately carved door leads one inside where you can discover items of great interest. These include the Baroque pulpit, choir stalls and an 18th century pipe organ. San Agustin has withstood the ravages of time both wrought by nature and by man: earthquakes and typhoons, Chinese and Dutch attacks, the British Occupation Force and the Philippine-Spanish War, Dewey's bombardment and the bloody and destructive Japanese Occupation and the equally devastating return of Mac Arthur's troops. The church is well worth a visit and don’t forget your camera.