Things to Do in Makati: A Weekend Guide from Salcedo to Poblacion

Saturday market in Salcedo, Sunday market in Legazpi

Start early, because both village markets are morning affairs. The Salcedo Saturday Market sets up under the trees of Jaime C. Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village. Most people eat breakfast standing up, then shop for bread, cheese, fish and vegetables for the week.

On Sunday, the Legazpi Sunday Market runs across Ayala Avenue in Legazpi Village. It is smaller and calmer than Salcedo, and easier with a pram.

Neither market posts its hours on a website we could check, so aim to arrive before 9am. Our weekend markets in Manila guide has what to buy and four more markets across the city.

After the market, walk it off in Washington SyCip Park in Legazpi Village. It is shady, has benches under big old trees, and the loop is short enough for a toddler.

Coffee in Legazpi and Salcedo

On weekends the office crowd is gone, and the two villages are pleasant to walk between cafes. Yardstick Coffee on Esteban Street is the roaster's flagship, and The Black Bean on Salcedo Street, also in Legazpi, is a second stop on the same walk.

Across Ayala Avenue in Salcedo Village, Habitual Coffee on L.P. Leviste Street is known for its AeroPress and filter brews.

For the full list, with hours and the rooms that work for a laptop, read our specialty coffee guide to Legazpi and Salcedo. The Legazpi and Salcedo area pages show everything else nearby.

The Ayala Museum and the Chino Roces galleries

The Ayala Museum at Greenbelt is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm, and closed on Mondays. Full museum access is ₱500 at the local rate, with a discounted rate for children 12 and under, students and senior citizens. Buy a ticket on the museum's website before you go.

Two shows are on now. Turning Tides: Maritime Encounters and Exchanges of Power is in the third floor Main Gallery until 14 February 2027. Reuniting the Surigao Treasure, the pre-colonial gold show, runs until 30 May 2027.

Leave time for the permanent galleries: "Gold of Ancestors" for pre-colonial gold, "Sinulid at Hibla" for Philippine textiles, and "The Diorama Experience of Philippine History", the one children tend to remember.

Shut on a Monday? The Yuchengco Museum in RCBC Plaza, up Ayala Avenue, is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm. On view now is "Under One Roof: Angelito Antonio and Norma Belleza".

For contemporary art, take a short ride south to Chino Roces Avenue. Silverlens shows Gary-Ross Pastrana's "sign, signal, shadow" until 13 November, and opens Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm.

Further along the same avenue, in the La Fuerza compound, Finale Art File opens Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm. It has new shows by Tiffany Lafuente, Ryan Jara and Neil Pasilan from 7 to 30 November, then a Christmas group show from 5 December.

Our galleries worth crossing town for maps the whole Chino Roces route, and museums in Manila covers the rest of the city.

Ayala Triangle Gardens and the Christmas lights

Ayala Triangle Gardens is the green wedge between Ayala Avenue, Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue, with more than 20,000 square metres of lawn and trees. It is open daily from 6am to 10pm.

Late afternoon is the nicest time, when the heat drops and the restaurants around the edge fill up. Pets are welcome on a leash, and owners must clean up after them. For more places to bring a dog, see dog-friendly places in BGC and Makati.

At Christmas the gardens put on a holiday lights and sounds show, and Ayala Avenue gets its lanterns. Ayala Land had not announced the 2026 dates when we checked on 4 November 2026. Last year the lights went on with a ceremony on 13 November 2025, per Ayala Land.

We will add this year's date to our Christmas lights guide as soon as it is out.

Try something active

If your weekend needs more than coffee, The Bouldering Hive, or BHive, is a bouldering gym at Circuit Makati. Beginners climb on the same walls as regulars, and staff can start you on the easy problems.

For a class, Ride Revolution runs indoor cycling from its studio on Level 4 of Greenbelt 5. It is an easy way to earn a long brunch at Ayala Center afterwards.

Our guides to bouldering and climbing in Manila and boxing and Muay Thai in Manila list first-timer rates and other gyms worth the trip.

Rockwell for an afternoon and a show

Rockwell is a calm corner of Makati on a weekend, with wide pavements, Power Plant Mall in the middle and the Proscenium Theater next door. Plan the afternoon around a matinee, and check the Proscenium's calendar first.

Inside Power Plant Mall, Retail Lab is easy to lose half an hour in. For a long lunch, Grace Park is on the ground floor of One Rockwell.

For a special dinner, Hapag on the 7th floor of The Balmori Suites serves dinner Tuesday to Sunday, 6pm to 9pm. The dress code is smart casual, and there is a strict no-cancellation policy once you pay the deposit.

Where to eat before the curtain is in restaurants near the Proscenium, and the Rockwell area page lists the rest.

Circuit Makati and the Samsung Performing Arts Theater

For a bigger show, head to Circuit Makati. The Samsung Performing Arts Theater is a 1,520-seat theatre inside the Circuit estate.

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) plays Concert III: Bolero there on Friday 6 November, with Filipino violinist Kaycee Galano. Concert IV: Destiny follows on Friday 4 December, with Italian pianist Mario Galeani playing Beethoven.

Tickets go through Ticketworld, whose outlet on the theatre's ground floor is open daily from 11am to 8pm. The theatre says casual dress is fine, "but casual does not mean sloppy". Outside food and drink are not allowed inside.

Eat first. Our list of restaurants in Circuit Makati sorts them by how much time you have before the show.

Poblacion after dark

Poblacion is where Makati goes out. A good night has a simple shape: an early dinner around Kalayaan Avenue, Polaris Street or Durban Street, two or three small bars on foot, then something hot on the way home.

For that last stop, Super Uncle Claypot on Enriquez Street does claypot rice. Weekends get loud and crowded as the night goes on, so go on a Thursday if you want to talk.

We keep the bar list in one place: start with the best bars in Poblacion. For a quieter evening for two, see date night in Poblacion, and for what is open at 2am, late-night food in Manila. The Poblacion area page shows what is on this week.

Hotel bars and jazz in Salcedo

If Poblacion is too loud, Makati has quieter rooms with live music. 78-45-33 is a jazz cocktail bar at the rear of LPL Mansions on San Agustin Street, Salcedo Village, open daily from 4pm to midnight. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations for the evening close at 5pm.

At Raffles Makati, the Long Bar has a full band on Friday and Saturday nights from 8pm, and stays open until 1am on both nights. Its Makati Luxury Sling is made with 24-karat gold flakes.

On the hotel's 10th floor, Mistral is the rooftop for sunset over the Makati skyline, open from 5pm, with guest DJs from Thursday to Saturday. Minors are not allowed.

At The Peninsula Manila, Salon de Ning has a resident band and opens Thursday to Saturday, 8pm to 2am.

For more rooms like these, see bars in Makati and live music and jazz bars in Manila. Choosing where to live? Read BGC or Makati, then our guides to things to do in BGC, things to do in Pasig and Manila at night.

A Saturday plan you can copy

Here is the whole day in one list, in an order that works with the opening hours above.

• Before 9am: breakfast at the Salcedo Saturday Market, then coffee at Habitual, a short walk away.
• 10am: cross Ayala Avenue into Legazpi Village and walk through Washington SyCip Park.
• 11am: the Ayala Museum opens. Give Turning Tides an hour, and buy your ticket the night before.
• 1pm: lunch around Greenbelt, then a short ride to the Chino Roces galleries. Silverlens closes at 6pm.
• 4pm: Ayala Triangle Gardens, as the heat drops.
• 5pm: sunset at Mistral, which opens at 5pm, or 78-45-33 if you booked before 5pm.
• 8pm: dinner in Poblacion, or a show at Circuit Makati or Rockwell.

If it rains, keep the morning market and move indoors: the Ayala Museum and the Yuchengco Museum, a session at BHive, or an afternoon in Power Plant Mall before a show at the Proscenium.

With small children, swap the galleries for Washington SyCip Park, the lawn at Ayala Triangle Gardens and the dioramas at the Ayala Museum. For more ideas by age, see Christmas with kids in Manila 2026.

Questions people ask

What is there to do in Makati on a weekend? A market breakfast in Salcedo (Saturday) or Legazpi (Sunday), coffee and a walk in Legazpi Village, then the Ayala Museum or the Chino Roces galleries. In the evening, see a show at Circuit Makati or Rockwell, or eat in Poblacion.

What is on in Makati this weekend? The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra plays Concert III: Bolero at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater on Friday 6 November 2026. Silverlens shows "sign, signal, shadow" until 13 November, and Finale Art File opens three new shows on 7 November. Our this weekend page has the rest.

Where can I go in Makati at night? Poblacion has many of the late bars and restaurants. For something quieter, 78-45-33 in Salcedo Village has jazz and is open until midnight daily, and the Long Bar at Raffles Makati is open until 1am on Friday and Saturday.

Where is the Salcedo Saturday Market? In Jaime C. Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village, every Saturday morning. It does not post its hours on a website we could check, so go early and check its social pages before a holiday weekend.

When are the Ayala Triangle Christmas lights in 2026? Ayala Land had not announced the 2026 dates when we checked on 4 November 2026. Last year the Makati lights went on with a ceremony on 13 November 2025, per Ayala Land.

Is the Ayala Museum open on Mondays? No. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm, and closed on Mondays, special holidays and during special events. The Yuchengco Museum in RCBC Plaza is open on Mondays, 10am to 6pm.

Where can I walk in Makati? Ayala Triangle Gardens, open daily from 6am to 10pm, is the easiest. On weekends, Legazpi and Salcedo Villages are quiet enough to walk between Washington SyCip Park, Jaime C. Velasquez Park and the cafes in between.