Things to Do in Manila: A Local's Guide to Metro Manila, Area by Area

Start with a market morning

On Saturdays, the Salcedo Saturday Market sets up in Jaime C. Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati. Go early, eat breakfast standing up, and leave with produce, flowers and something for lunch.

On Sundays, the Legazpi Sunday Market fills a car park on Paseo de Roxas in Legazpi Village, a short walk from the Salcedo park, so you can do one market each weekend morning.

In Quezon City, the Sidcor Sunday Market at Eton Centris Walk, on EDSA corner Quezon Avenue, is the one for a real weekly shop: seafood, meat, vegetables and plants. Stall picks are in our weekend markets guide.

See the old city

Intramuros is the walled city on the south bank of the Pasig River, with Fort Santiago at its river end. The Intramuros Administration lists Fort Santiago as open 8am to 10pm on weekdays (last entry 8pm) and 6am to 10pm on weekends (last entry 8:30pm). Tickets are ₱75, or ₱50 for students, seniors and PWDs (persons with disabilities).

Go in the late afternoon and stay for dusk on the walls. Our Intramuros guide has the walking route.

The National Museum is a short ride away at the edge of Rizal Park. Its notice of 31 October 2026 says the National Museum of Fine Arts is open daily, 9am to 6pm, and that admission is free.

Bring a valid ID, which the museum asks for at the door. Then walk over to the Anthropology and Natural History buildings if you still have legs.

Binondo is across the river, and it is best done on foot and hungry. Eat your way down Ongpin, then walk to Escolta for the prewar buildings. Our Binondo food crawl gives you the order to eat in, and things to do in Old Manila puts the whole area on one page.

Museums and galleries for an afternoon

The Ayala Museum is on Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, beside Greenbelt. Its current exhibition, Turning Tides: Maritime Encounters and Exchanges of Power, runs until 14 February 2027.

At the National Museum of Fine Arts, Sansó: Pusong Pilipino, a Juvenal Sansó retrospective in Gallery XV on the third floor, is open until 28 February 2027.

In BGC (Bonifacio Global City), The M, Metropolitan Museum of Manila at MK Tan Centre on 30th Street is closed until 7 November while it installs two major exhibitions. From Sunday 8 November it keeps its usual hours: Tuesday to Friday 11am to 6pm, weekends 10am to 6pm, closed Mondays.

For contemporary art, go to Chino Roces Avenue in Makati. Silverlens (Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm) has Gary-Ross Pastrana's "sign, signal, shadow" until 13 November. Finale Art File, in Warehouse 17 of the La Fuerza Compound, opens Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm.

Shows change every few weeks, so check before you go. Our galleries and museums guide and museums in Manila have the rest.

Walk somewhere green

Ayala Triangle Gardens, in the middle of the Makati business district, has over 20,000 square metres of lawns and trees, open 6am to 10pm, with restaurants along its edge. Weekday lunch is busy; early morning and after dark are calmer.

A few blocks away, Washington SyCip Park in Legazpi Village is shady and quiet, with a koi pond and sculptures by Filipino artists, next to the Tsuruki En Crane and Turtle Garden. It is an easy stroller walk after the Sunday market.

At dusk, walk the Pasig River Esplanade, the restored riverside promenade by Plaza Mexico and Fort Santiago. On the east side, Capitol Commons in Pasig, the Ortigas Land estate around Estancia mall, is good for an evening walk before dinner.

Make something or move

Bouldering is the easiest way into climbing: no rope, no partner. BHive, The Bouldering Hive, is in Circuit Makati, central enough for a session after work, and Power Up has a gym at ROX in BGC. Rates and shoe rental are in our bouldering and climbing guide.

For something slower, Laro Ceramics on Bonifacio High Street runs beginner classes in wheel throwing and hand building, with a second branch on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City. Painting, printmaking and cooking classes are in our classes guide.

If you would rather play, our pickleball and padel guide lists courts across Makati, BGC and Pasig.

A show tonight

At Rockwell, The Proscenium Theater has Tanghalang Pilipino's Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical, Thursdays to Sundays from 13 to 29 November.

Gabriela: The Musical, with Gab Pangilinan as Gabriela Silang, opens on 13 November at Hyundai Hall in Areté, Ateneo, and closes on 6 December. The Play That Goes Wrong plays Fridays to Sundays at The Theatre at Solaire until 22 November, with tickets from ₱999 to ₱6,000 plus TicketWorld fees.

In December, the 1,520-seat Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati stages The Nutcracker, with artists from Ballet Manila and dancers from Steps Dance Studio, from 11 to 13 December.

In BGC, the BGC Arts Center on 26th Street corner 9th Avenue has the Globe Auditorium, which seats up to 500. Every date is in musicals and theatre in Manila.

Drinks with a view, or a small room with a band

For the sunset, Mistral is on the 10th floor of Raffles Makati, facing the skyline, from 5pm daily. DJs play Thursday to Saturday, 8pm to 11pm, so go Sunday to Wednesday if you want to talk. In BGC, Straight Up on the roof of Seda BGC opens at 4pm every day.

For music in a small room, 78-45-33 is a jazz cocktail bar at the rear of LPL Mansion, 44 San Agustin Street, Salcedo Village. It opens daily, 4pm to midnight; evening reservations close at 5pm and are made by Viber.

Cattery in Makati Central Square calls itself a dimly lit listening room. It opens at 6pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Full write-ups are in Manila at night, rooftop bars and live music and jazz bars.

Pick your area

Makati is the easiest first day: Ayala Triangle, the Salcedo and Legazpi markets, the Ayala Museum and Greenbelt, the Chino Roces galleries, and Poblacion for late nights. Rockwell is next door for a show. Start with things to do in Makati.

BGC in Taguig is a grid of wide pavements, with Bonifacio High Street, The M, the BGC Arts Center and rooftop bars a few blocks apart. See things to do in BGC, and if you are choosing where to live, BGC vs Makati.

Quezon City is the one to explore by food and film: Maginhawa's cafes, Cubao Expo, Araneta City and the theatres along Katipunan. Go to things to do in Quezon City.

Pasig is the neighbourhood side of the east: the Kapitolyo food streets, Capitol Commons and the Ortigas malls. See things to do in Pasig.

Old Manila is Intramuros, Binondo, Escolta, the National Museum and Malate, where the city's Spanish and Chinese history sits a few streets apart. Start with things to do in Old Manila. By the bay, Pasay and the Mall of Asia area has the big concerts, the resorts and the sunset.

What is on in November and December

The Christmas season is already under way. Lighting dates for Ayala, Araneta, Okada and the malls are in Christmas lights in Metro Manila 2026, which we update as dates come out.

In Cubao, Parolan fills the Expo Centro parking at Farmers Garden, Araneta City, with parol (Christmas lantern) stalls, daily from 6am to 10pm until 31 December. Film fans get the QCinema International Film Festival from 13 to 22 November, at partner cinemas including Gateway Cineplex 18 in Cubao and Ayala Malls Cinemas TriNoma.

Metro Manila also gets two long weekends. Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 November are special non-working days in Metro Manila for the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit, which makes five days with the weekend; plans are in our 5-day break guide. Monday 30 November is Bonifacio Day, a regular holiday, covered in Bonifacio Day long weekend.

Everything else is in What's on in Manila: November 2026 and December 2026.

With kids, on a rainy day, or for free

• With kids: museums, parks, play cafes and shows by age in things to do with kids in Manila.
• When it rains: plans that keep you dry in rainy day things to do and indoor things to do.
• For free: the National Museum and the parks lead free things to do in Manila.
• First time here: a three-day plan in first time in Manila, or two days in a perfect weekend in Manila.

Getting around

Grab is the default for most trips, because the app shows the fare before you book. The MRT-3 (Metro Rail Transit Line 3) runs along EDSA, with stations at Ayala for Makati, Guadalupe, Ortigas and Araneta Center-Cubao; use it for long trips at rush hour if you are travelling light.

Fares, last trains, the BGC Bus and the Pasig River Ferry are in getting around Manila.

Questions people ask

What is there to do in Manila this weekend? Our this weekend page lists confirmed events for the coming Saturday and Sunday, with times and tickets. For a standing plan, do the Salcedo or Legazpi market in the morning, a museum in the afternoon and a show or a rooftop at night.

Is the National Museum free? Yes. The National Museum of the Philippines says the National Museum of Fine Arts is open daily from 9am to 6pm and that admission is free. Groups of 20 or more must book ahead on its website.

Which area of Manila should I explore first? For a first day, Makati puts a market, a museum, parks, galleries and bars within a short walk or ride. For history, spend the day in Intramuros and Binondo. For wide pavements and a walk with children, try BGC.

What can you do in Manila at night? Watch the sunset from a rooftop such as Mistral in Makati, hear jazz at 78-45-33 in Salcedo Village, catch a musical at the Proscenium in Rockwell, or walk Fort Santiago, which stays open until 10pm. See Manila at night.

What is on in Manila at Christmas? The Parolan lantern stalls at Araneta City run daily until 31 December, and The Nutcracker plays the Samsung Performing Arts Theater from 11 to 13 December. Tree lighting dates and bazaars are in Christmas lights and Christmas bazaars.

Are 16 to 18 November holidays in Metro Manila? Yes. They are special non-working days in Metro Manila for the ASEAN Summit, so with the weekend you get 14 to 18 November. Outside Metro Manila they are ordinary working days.