Intramuros & the Bay
8 stops · 4 h · walking · 8 stops
- Fort Santiago
- Manila Cathedral
- Plaza de Roma
- San Agustin
- Casa Manila
- Baluarte San Diego
- Fine Arts Museum
- Rizal Park
137 places · Curated with the MICHELIN Guide Philippines, Asia's 50 Best, Time Out and what's blowing up on TikTok · 5 routes · LRT/MRT
Tap a route and it gets drawn on the map, stop by stop.
Tap a pin to see photos, rating and how to get there by LRT, MRT or Grab. Turn on a route to follow the numbered path.
This interactive map of Manila (Philippines) brings together 137 hand-picked places: 44 attractions, 47 restaurants, 22 cafés and 24 shops. It also includes 5 walking routes with their stops in order. For every place you get what it is, a practical tip and how to get there by public transport. It is free, works on your phone and needs no sign-up.
· Curated by the HOLASIM team · How we make the maps
Tap a route to see it drawn on the map, stop by stop.
8 stops · 4 h · walking · 8 stops
8 stops · 3.5 h · walking · 8 stops
8 stops · 4 h · walking · 8 stops
7 stops · 4 h · walking and Grab · 7 stops
7 stops · 5 h · train and Grab · 7 stops
Iglesia de San Agustín · Intramuros
UNESCO site from 1607: the oldest stone church in the Philippines, with a stunning trompe-l'oeil ceiling.
Tip: Pay for the convent museum: the 17th-century molave choir stalls alone are worth the ticket.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal, then a 12-min walk or jeepney into Intramuros
Featured in: UNESCO
Show on mapFuerte de Santiago · Intramuros
The Spanish citadel over the Pasig River where Rizal spent his last night; gorgeous gardens and walls.
Tip: Arrive before 9am for near-empty ramparts and soft light over the Pasig.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal then 15 min on foot, or Grab straight into Intramuros
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapCatedral de Manila · Intramuros
A neo-Romanesque basilica rebuilt eight times: stained glass, rose window and Asia's largest pipe organ.
Tip: Check the wedding calendar: on Saturdays it's closed to sightseeing most of the day.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal, then walk through Plaza de Roma
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapMuseo Casa Manila · Intramuros
A pitch-perfect replica of a 19th-century colonial mansion: capiz shell windows, mahogany and a dreamy patio.
Tip: The fountain courtyard is the best photo corner: walk in and turn left.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal plus a 12-min walk down General Luna
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapBaluarte de San Diego · Intramuros
A 16th-century circular bastion turned secret garden: the walled city's most romantic corner.
Tip: Climb the back ramp onto the wall for a full view of the bastion and Intramuros golf.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal plus 15 min on foot, or a tricycle inside Intramuros
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapPlaza Roma · Intramuros
Spanish Manila's main square, between the cathedral and the Ayuntamiento: horse carriages and formal gardens.
Tip: Agree the calesa price before you climb in: 500 pesos for the short loop is fair.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal plus a 12-min walk
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapLuneta · Ermita
Manila's beating heart of a park: the Rizal monument, dancing fountains and whole families at sunset.
Tip: Changing of the guard is at 8am and 4pm; by December the park fills with parol lanterns.
🚇 LRT-1 UN Avenue, a 5-min walk away
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapMuseo Nacional de Bellas Artes · Ermita
Free entry to a neoclassical temple ruled by Juan Luna's Spoliarium: vast, dark and breathtaking.
Tip: It's free every day: start with the Spoliarium in the main hall, then work upstairs.
🚇 LRT-1 UN Avenue, 8 min on foot across Rizal Park
Featured in: National Museum PH
Show on mapMuseo Nacional de Antropología · Ermita
Manila's most photographed glass dome, plus the sunken San Diego galleon treasure, also free.
Tip: The dome photographs best near noon, when light drops straight onto the staircase.
🚇 LRT-1 UN Avenue, 7 min on foot
Featured in: National Museum PH
Show on mapMuseo de Historia Natural · Ermita
The Tree of Life, a steel lattice piercing six floors, is Manila's most Instagrammed interior.
Tip: Go to the top floor and shoot downward: that's the angle that blows up on Instagram.
🚇 LRT-1 UN Avenue, 6 min on foot
Featured in: National Museum PH
Show on mapOceanario · Ermita
A bayfront aquarium with a shark tunnel, sea lion show and penguins: the perfect rainy-day plan with kids.
Tip: Buy online: the Sunday ticket queue can eat forty minutes of your day.
🚇 LRT-1 UN Avenue plus 15 min on foot or a short Grab
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapCCP · Pasay
Leandro Locsin's tropical brutalism floating over the bay: ballet, opera and pure 1960s architecture.
Tip: The main theatre is under phased renovation: check the programme before crossing town.
🚇 LRT-1 Vito Cruz plus a jeepney down Roxas Boulevard, or Grab
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapNuestra Señora de los Remedios · Malate
A dark-stone baroque facade facing the bay, sheltering a Virgin brought from Spain in 1624.
Tip: Pair it with sunset on Baywalk: the seafront promenade is two blocks away.
🚇 LRT-1 Quirino Avenue or Pedro Gil, 10 min on foot
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapMet · Santa Cruz
A 1931 art deco jewel restored in full tropical colour: one of Southeast Asia's most beautiful theatres.
Tip: Interiors open only for shows or guided tours: check the Met's social feeds for dates.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal or LRT-2 Recto, 8 min on foot
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapPuente Jones · Binondo
The Pasig's beaux-arts bridge with Parisian lamp posts and golden lights: Manila's nighttime postcard.
Tip: Lights come on at 6:30pm; the best shot is from the Binondo-side sidewalk.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot toward the river
Featured in: TikTok viral
Show on mapEscolta · Binondo
A 1928 art deco block on the old Philippine Wall Street, now full of creative studios and an indie market.
Tip: Come on a Saturday: the ground-floor HUB Make Lab fills with designers and vinyl.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 6 min on foot along Escolta
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapEdificio Calvo · Escolta
A 1938 commercial palace hiding a tiny museum of bottles, radios and pre-war Manila advertising.
Tip: The museum sits on the mezzanine and keeps office hours: ask at reception.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 5 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapMinor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz · Binondo
The 1596 octagonal bell tower presiding over the world's oldest Chinatown, where the first Filipino saint served.
Tip: Start your Binondo food crawl here: everything good is within a ten-minute walk.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot through the Friendship Arch
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapFilipino-Chinese Friendship Arch · Binondo
The world's largest Chinatown arch marks the gateway to a neighbourhood that's been eating since 1594.
Tip: Shoot at dusk with the arch lit and the golden Jones Bridge behind it.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 8 min on foot; it sits at the foot of Jones Bridge
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapBasílica del Nazareno Negro · Quiapo
The devotional heart of the Philippines: candles, herbalists, amulets and millions of pilgrims every January.
Tip: Fridays are the big day: bag in front, no jewellery, and patience with the crowd.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo or LRT-2 Recto, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapBasílica de San Sebastián · Quiapo
Asia's only prefabricated steel church: mint-green neo-Gothic, shipped piece by piece from Belgium.
Tip: Look closely at the pillars: the marble and jasper are painted onto steel, not stone.
🚇 LRT-2 Legarda, 8 min on foot
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapPalacio de Malacañang · San Miguel
The Filipino presidential palace on the Pasig, a Spanish-era mansion turned seat of power, with its own museum.
Tip: Museum visits must be booked days ahead and you'll need photo ID at the gate.
🚇 LRT-2 Legarda plus a jeepney along Nagtahan, or Grab
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapCementerio Chino · Santa Cruz
A neighbourhood of mausoleums with air conditioning, mailboxes and bathrooms: Asia's most surreal cemetery.
Tip: Hire a guide at the gate: without one you'll miss the wildest tombs.
🚇 LRT-1 Abad Santos, 10 min on foot to the south gate
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapCementerio de Paco · Paco
An 1822 circular Spanish cemetery turned garden: niche walls, a chapel and Friday afternoon concerts.
Tip: Fridays at 6pm bring the free 'Paco Park Presents' concert in the chapel.
🚇 LRT-1 UN Avenue, 12 min on foot, or a jeepney along Taft
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapManila Zoo · Malate
Reopened and rebuilt: a hippo, a walk-through aviary and shady grounds that work as the barrio's lung.
Tip: Go early: after 11am Malate's heat hits hard and the animals hide.
🚇 LRT-1 Quirino Avenue, 12 min on foot or a jeepney along Quirino
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapEl último pulmón · Ermita
Two hectares of urban forest saved by sheer activism, with 3,000 trees steps from the Pasig.
Tip: Free entry, closes at 5pm: a cool pause between Intramuros and Quiapo.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal, 7 min on foot down Antonio Villegas
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapCasa Nakpil-Bautista · Quiapo
A 1914 mansion where Bonifacio's widow lived: tropical art nouveau and Katipunan memory.
Tip: Closed Mondays and entry costs under 100 pesos: a real secret in the middle of Quiapo.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 7 min on foot from Quiapo Church
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapMuseo Ayala · Makati
Sixty dioramas retell Philippine history while pre-colonial gold glows in its most jaw-dropping gallery.
Tip: Start with the fourth-floor dioramas and work down: the route stays chronological.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot through Greenbelt
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapJardines de Ayala · Makati
An acacia oasis between skyscrapers, lined with restaurants and, come Ber season, Makati's Christmas light show.
Tip: The light show starts in late November, running every 30 minutes from 6pm.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 5 min on foot
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapSanto Niño de Paz · Makati
A round glass chapel floating in a tropical garden in the middle of the financial district. Pure calm.
Tip: Noon masses fill the whole garden; come mid-afternoon if you want silence.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 7 min on foot through Greenbelt 3
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapCementerio Americano · Taguig
17,000 white crosses in perfect rows on flawless lawn: the largest American war cemetery outside the US.
Tip: Free entry, open 9 to 5: bring photo ID, they check at the gate.
🚇 Reach it by Grab or the BGC Bus; there's no train station nearby
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapMuseo interactivo · BGC
The country's best science museum: dinosaurs, a giant brain and a garden of scientific sculptures.
Tip: Entry runs in three-hour slots: book the morning one online.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab to 29th Street
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapBGC · Taguig
A pedestrian boulevard of public art, shops and linear parks: Manila at its sleekest and most walkable.
Tip: From September the giant parol lanterns go up: the best night stroll in town.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala (10 min) or Grab
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapMcKinley Hill · Taguig
Gondolas, bridges and Venetian facades under tropical sun: glorious kitsch that keeps blowing up on TikTok.
Tip: The gondola ride runs about 500 pesos and works best at dusk, when it's cooler.
🚇 Grab from BGC (10 min); buses also run along Upper McKinley
Featured in: TikTok viral
Show on mapQC Circle · Quezon City
Three 66-metre art deco pylons in a huge park with a museum, bike lanes and a food park.
Tip: The museum inside the monument is free and almost nobody knows it exists.
🚇 MRT-3 Quezon Avenue, 10 min on foot or a jeepney along Elliptical Road
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapMuseo 3D · Cubao
A 3D art museum where you climb inside the paintings: a theme park built for your Instagram feed.
Tip: You go barefoot and it works best in pairs: nearly every piece needs someone behind the camera.
🚇 MRT-3 or LRT-2 Araneta Center-Cubao, 10 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapUP Diliman · Quezon City
The UP campus museum: Filipino modernism, rare archives and shows nobody else dares to mount.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays; pair it with the Sunken Garden and the campus food trucks.
🚇 LRT-2 Katipunan plus the Ikot jeepney inside the UP campus
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapWildlife · Quezon City
A 22-hectare forest with a lagoon, crocodiles and rescued eagles, hidden right behind EDSA.
Tip: Entry costs a symbolic few pesos; bring repellent, it's proper jungle.
🚇 MRT-3 Quezon Avenue, 12 min on foot along North Avenue
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapPinaglabanan · San Juan
Where the Philippine revolution began in 1896: a shrine, a crypt and the Katipunero monument.
Tip: Pair it with Greenhills: ten minutes by Grab and a total change of mood.
🚇 MRT-3 Santolan-Annapolis plus a jeepney along Pinaglabanan, or Grab
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapMarikina Shoe Museum · Marikina
Home to 800 pairs of Imelda Marcos's shoes, in the Philippine shoe capital. History and absurdity in one room.
Tip: It's next to the Abandonada church: do both in one short walk.
🚇 LRT-2 Santolan plus a jeepney into Marikina, or a tricycle from the centre
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapIglesia de Marikina · Marikina
A 1687 baroque church with a stone bell tower, anchoring Metro Manila's prettiest small historic centre.
Tip: Marikina's old town takes an hour on foot and sees almost no tourists.
🚇 LRT-2 Santolan or Marikina-Pasong Tamo plus a jeepney to the centre
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapCatedral de Pasig · Pasig
A 1572 church with gilded retablos and a lively plaza: the heart of old Pasig almost nobody visits.
Tip: Kakanin stalls ring the plaza: try puto bumbong once Ber season starts.
🚇 MRT-3 Shaw Boulevard plus a jeepney to Plaza Rizal Pasig, or Grab
Featured in: Guía local
Show on mapTeachers Village · Quezon City
Two kilometres of student canteens, indie cafes and food parks: QC's most creative and cheapest street.
Tip: Come after 7pm: half the places only open at night and the whole mood changes.
🚇 LRT-2 Katipunan plus a jeepney to Teachers Village, or Grab from QC Circle
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapBarrio Poblacion · Makati
Manila's hottest barrio: hidden bars, rooftops, karaoke and the best night out in the country.
Tip: Start at 8pm on a rooftop and drop down to the Felipe Street bars after midnight.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 7-min Grab, or a jeepney down J.P. Rizal
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapAyala Triangle Gardens · Makati
Two Michelin stars: Josh Boutwood's fire-driven tasting menu served at a 14-seat counter.
Tip: Book a month ahead: there's one seating a night and it sells out the moment it opens.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapKarrivin Plaza · Makati
One Michelin star and best restaurant in the Philippines six times over: market-driven Filipino cooking, zero cheap nostalgia.
Tip: Take the full tasting menu and the kamote bread: the 'Bahay Kubo' vegetable dish is the signature.
🚇 MRT-3 Magallanes plus a 6-min Grab to Karrivin Plaza
Featured in: Asia's 50 Best
Show on mapRockwell · Makati
One Michelin star and the country's service award: refined Filipino cooking for a twenty-seat room.
Tip: The menu changes every season: flag allergies when booking, there's no à la carte fallback.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 6-min Grab to Rockwell
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapClipp Center · BGC
Michelin star plus Green Star: Chele Gonzalez cooks the whole archipelago with local growers and zero waste.
Tip: A Spanish chef at the pass: ask for the pairing with Filipino wines and spirits.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapR. Palma Street · Poblacion
A Michelin star inside a Poblacion mansion: chef-driven Filipino cooking, tropical garden, warm light.
Tip: Ask for the back courtyard: it's the prettiest corner and it's booked separately.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 7-min Grab into Poblacion
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapKarrivin Plaza · Makati
A Michelin star built on Filipino grilling: everything passes over coconut charcoal and wood.
Tip: It shares a complex with Toyo and Metiz: you can chain an aperitivo and dinner.
🚇 MRT-3 Magallanes plus a 6-min Grab to Karrivin Plaza
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapPablo Ocampo · Makati
Michelin star and a fresh Asia's 50 Best entry: a short, precise tasting menu with zero ceremony.
Tip: Very few tables and a single seating: bookings open mid-month for the month ahead.
🚇 MRT-3 Buendia plus an 8-min Grab
Featured in: Asia's 50 Best
Show on mapMoss Street · Parañaque
A Michelin star from the country's youngest awarded chef: neighbourhood Filipino flavours taken to obsessive detail.
Tip: It's far from the centre: book ahead and add an hour for C-5 traffic.
🚇 Grab only: you're in southern Metro Manila with no train nearby
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapKarrivin Plaza · Makati
Michelin recommended: Filipino-French cooking with house ferments and a bold natural wine list.
Tip: Sit at the kitchen counter: you see every plate go out and can talk to the team.
🚇 MRT-3 Magallanes plus a 6-min Grab to Karrivin Plaza
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapThe Alley at Karrivin · Makati
Bib Gourmand: Asian comfort plates and cocktails in an industrial shed packed with a young crowd.
Tip: No reservations for small groups: get there before 7pm or wait out in the alley.
🚇 MRT-3 Magallanes plus a 6-min Grab to Karrivin Plaza
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapEsteban Street · Legazpi Village
Bib Gourmand: the Southeast Asian bistro that Makati adopted as office, brunch spot and dinner.
Tip: Weekend breakfast is the moment: order the ube bread with cultured butter.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapRada Street · Legazpi Village
Bib Gourmand: JP Anglo's Negros cooking, smoky and sour, with Makati's best chicken inasal.
Tip: Get the inasal with annatto rice plus the kansi soup: that's the full table.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapGlorietta 4 · Makati
Bib Gourmand: Filipino classics in two sizes plus twisted versions that changed how Manila eats.
Tip: Order the watermelon sinigang and the crispy sisig: the two dishes everyone photographs.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapEnriquez Street · Poblacion
Bib Gourmand hidden on a Poblacion first floor: chef-driven Filipino cooking at neighbourhood prices.
Tip: It's small and it fills up: book through Instagram, they reply fast.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 7-min Grab into Poblacion
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapDon Pedro Street · Poblacion
Bib Gourmand: serious Levantine shawarma and mezze, with pita coming out of the oven all day.
Tip: One of the few Poblacion spots open at lunch: perfect before a night of bars.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 7-min Grab into Poblacion
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapGamboa Street · Legazpi Village
Bib Gourmand: Filipino seafood and coastal flavours in a tiny room that always has a queue.
Tip: Few tables and no dinner reservations: show up right when they open.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapTomas Morato · Quezon City
Bib Gourmand: halal Mindanao cooking — piaparan, beef rendang, pyanggang — you'll struggle to find anywhere else.
Tip: Order the chicken piaparan and the yellow rice: the best introduction to Maranao cooking.
🚇 MRT-3 GMA-Kamuning plus 10 min on foot down Tomas Morato
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapTomas Morato · Quezon City
Bib Gourmand: neighbourhood Thai that actually burns, with curries that don't get toned down.
Tip: If you order local-level spicy, order extra rice too: they're not joking.
🚇 MRT-3 GMA-Kamuning plus 8 min on foot
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapSan Miguel · Manila
Bib Gourmand steps from Malacañang: honest Filipino cooking in an old house, far from any tourist trail.
Tip: Not a touristy barrio: go by day and combine it with the Malacañang museum.
🚇 LRT-2 Legarda plus a jeepney or short Grab to San Miguel
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapVerve Residences · BGC
Bib Gourmand: yakitori and Japanese charcoal at a small BGC counter, with a sharp sake list.
Tip: Take the counter and order the skewer omakase: it works out cheaper than à la carte.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapF1 Hotel · BGC
Bib Gourmand: northern Vietnamese cooking, long-simmered pho and proper bun cha, right in BGC.
Tip: The lunchtime bun cha comes at a set price: the best deal in the district.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Michelin
Show on map惠英 · Binondo
Binondo's institution: all-day dim sum, roast duck and hot milk tea served from before sunrise.
Tip: Doors open at 6am: Sunday breakfast here is Manila's best-value plan.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot into Binondo
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on map馬司記 · Binondo
Seventy years of the same chicken mami with wonton: the most comforting bowl in Chinatown.
Tip: Order the special mami with an asado siopao: the combo locals have eaten forever.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot into Binondo
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on map誠意 · Binondo
The fried chicken that made Binondo famous: shatteringly crisp, caramel-skinned, with house-made kikiam.
Tip: Get the whole fried chicken to share plus the oyster cake: that's the local order.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot into Binondo
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on map東北 · Binondo
Manchurian dumplings folded in front of you in a four-table room: the queue is part of the plan.
Tip: Order the pork and chive ones, half boiled and half fried.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot into Binondo
Featured in: TikTok viral
Show on mapOngpin Street · Binondo
The row of stalls along the estero: frog legs, duck and screaming-hot woks. Cult-level street food.
Tip: Pick the stall with the most locals and order frog legs: the estero's signature dish.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot into Binondo
Featured in: TikTok viral
Show on mapOngpin Street · Binondo
The sheng jian bao that blew up on TikTok: golden base, molten soup inside, permanent queue on the pavement.
Tip: Bite a small hole first and let the steam out: the filling comes out scalding.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot into Binondo
Featured in: TikTok viral
Show on mapPlaza San Luis · Intramuros
Filipino-Spanish dinner under colonial arches, with a folk dance show and a kamayan buffet.
Tip: The dance show runs at noon and 7pm: book those slots or you'll miss it.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal plus 12 min on foot down General Luna
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapCabildo Street · Intramuros
White-tablecloth dining inside the walled city: paella, callos and the classic Ilustrado kare-kare.
Tip: One of the few properly air-conditioned rooms in Intramuros: the perfect midday pause.
🚇 LRT-1 Central Terminal plus 12 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapRemedios Circle · Malate
The bohemian cafe that invented Malate nightlife in 1979: churros, callos and windows open onto the circle.
Tip: It stays open late: churros with chocolate at midnight is the local ritual.
🚇 LRT-1 Quirino Avenue, 8 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapRoxas Boulevard · Malate
Open 24 hours since 1936: the chicken barbecue with java sauce every Filipino knows by heart.
Tip: Order the barbecue with java rice and pancit: the trio locals have ordered for eighty years.
🚇 LRT-1 Quirino Avenue, 10 min on foot toward the bay
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapRizal Park Pier · Ermita
A restaurant on stilts over the bay: seafood, cold beer and Manila's best sunset from your table.
Tip: Book a waterside table for 5:30pm and order sisig with an ice-cold San Miguel.
🚇 LRT-1 UN Avenue plus 15 min on foot through Rizal Park
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapNielson Tower · Makati
The 1937 airport control tower turned art deco restaurant, overlooking the Ayala gardens.
Tip: Ask for a second-floor table at dusk: you watch all of Ayala Triangle light up.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Tatler
Show on mapGreenbelt · Makati
The corned beef sinigang that rewrote the national soup: modern Filipino cooking that never misses.
Tip: Order the sinigang na corned beef: the dish people have come for since 2002.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Tatler
Show on mapJupiter Street · Makati
An ambassador's family recipes served among portraits and porcelain: grand-house Filipino cooking.
Tip: Get 'Tito Greg's crispy hito' and the kare-kare: the two signature plates.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala plus a 5-min Grab to Jupiter
Featured in: Tatler
Show on map25th Street · BGC
Spanish tapas with a terrace and afternoon sangria: BGC's liveliest after-office for a decade now.
Tip: Sunday paella with free-flow sangria: book ahead, the whole terrace sells out.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapRizal Drive · BGC
Michelin recommended: the sisig and crispy pata bites that made Filipino food go viral online.
Tip: Order the three-way sisig and the tuna kinilaw: the two everyone films.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Michelin
Show on mapDon Pedro Street · Poblacion
Filipino craft beers and regional pulutan from all 7,000 islands: the best first stop in Poblacion.
Tip: Order the mixed pulutan board and the house beer: the best intro to the barrio.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 7-min Grab into Poblacion
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapAlfonso Street · Poblacion
A cocktail bar built on foraged Philippine botanicals, amid amulets and mythology. Spectacular and strange.
Tip: Order a lambanog cocktail: the Filipino coconut spirit is the soul of the list.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 7-min Grab into Poblacion
Featured in: Tatler
Show on mapFelipe Street · Poblacion
Tacos al pastor and micheladas on the pavement until 4am: the Poblacion night ritual.
Tip: After midnight you eat standing on the street: that's the charm, don't hunt for a table.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 7-min Grab into Poblacion
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapWest Capitol Drive · Kapitolyo
A baroque bazaar of lamps and antiques where the food is full-on Filipino celebration cooking.
Tip: Book ahead: it's small, always full, and the crispy binagoongan runs out early.
🚇 MRT-3 Boni or Shaw Boulevard plus an 8-min Grab to Kapitolyo
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapEast Capitol Drive · Kapitolyo
The Fil-Mex that put Kapitolyo on the map: sisig tacos, giant nachos and a queue at the door.
Tip: No reservations and the wait can hit an hour: sign up and walk Kapitolyo meanwhile.
🚇 MRT-3 Boni or Shaw Boulevard plus an 8-min Grab to Kapitolyo
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapEast Capitol Drive · Kapitolyo
For many, Metro Manila's best burger: meat ground in house, in a room the size of a garage.
Tip: Order the Charlie's Classic with cheddar and arrive before 6pm: few tables, fills fast.
🚇 MRT-3 Boni or Shaw Boulevard plus an 8-min Grab to Kapitolyo
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapPioneer Street · Mandaluyong
A 2026 opening: rotisserie chicken with natural wines, in a Mandaluyong shed packed with a young crowd.
Tip: Get half a chicken with the dripping potatoes and a glass of chilled red: that's the move.
🚇 MRT-3 Boni, 10 min on foot along Pioneer
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapSantolan Town Plaza · San Juan
A recent opening: an izakaya-bar with fire-driven Japanese cooking and cocktails, in San Juan's quietest corner.
Tip: Go on a weekday: Fridays fill with the Greenhills crowd and the bar has no room.
🚇 MRT-3 Santolan-Annapolis plus a 6-min Grab
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapMalingap Street · Quezon City
Maginhawa's pioneer: creative Filipino cooking and a vegetarian menu that arrived twenty years early.
Tip: Order Pipino's vegetarian kare-kare: it beats plenty of meat versions.
🚇 LRT-2 Katipunan plus a jeepney to Teachers Village, or Grab
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapCalderon Street · Marikina
A Marikina mansion turned garden restaurant: a calm brunch far from Metro Manila's noise.
Tip: Pair it with Marikina's old town: it's a ten-minute walk away.
🚇 LRT-2 Santolan or Marikina-Pasong Tamo plus a jeepney
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapEsteban Street · Legazpi Village
Number 34 in the world in 2026: the roaster that taught Manila to drink specialty coffee.
Tip: Ask for the filter of the day with Philippine Sagada beans: it rotates weekly.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: World's 100 Best Coffee Shops
Show on mapLegazpi Street · Makati
Specialty coffee and all-day brunch on a Legazpi corner: the classic that never drops standards.
Tip: Weekend brunch fills by 10am: book or come on a weekday.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapLegazpi Street · Makati
Coffee bar by day, speakeasy by night behind the same door: two of Makati's best counters in one room.
Tip: After 6pm walk through the back curtain: that's where the cocktail bar begins.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Tatler
Show on mapL.P. Leviste · Salcedo Village
A nine-metre minimalist bar where coffee is the only thing that matters. No wifi, no noise, no excuses.
Tip: There's deliberately no wifi: come for an espresso and a chat with the barista.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapPolaris Street · Poblacion
Specialty coffee with 100% Philippine beans and a day kitchen; at night it turns into a neighbourhood bar.
Tip: Ask for the Benguet or Kalinga beans: they buy direct from mountain growers.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 7-min Grab into Poblacion
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapCarlos Palanca · Legazpi Village
A 2026 opening: Japanese bakery meets specialty coffee, with shokupan gone before noon.
Tip: The Japanese milk bread comes out at 9am and disappears: go early or call to reserve.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapJimenez Street · Makati
A neighbourhood micro-roaster with Philippine single origins and a barista who walks you through each lot.
Tip: Buy a 250g bag of Sagada beans: Manila's best edible souvenir.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapRada Street · Legazpi Village
The bakery all of Makati breakfasts at: almond croissants, sourdough loaves and the famous squidilicious.
Tip: Get there before 9am: the almond croissants always sell out first.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Booky
Show on map5th Avenue · BGC
Kyoto's white minimalism landed in BGC: flawless lattes, long queues and the obligatory cup photo.
Tip: The queue peaks mid-morning at weekends: come at 8am or after 4pm.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: TikTok viral
Show on mapBonifacio High Street · BGC
Imported from Hong Kong: ice cream sandwiches, cold brew and a patio built for BGC people-watching.
Tip: The ice cream sandwich on a salted cookie is the shot everyone films.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Booky
Show on map32nd Street · BGC
An Australian roaster with a bright, roomy space: BGC's best spot to work for hours on good coffee.
Tip: Sockets at nearly every table: the favourite office-cafe of BGC's digital nomads.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Booky
Show on map4th Avenue · BGC
A roastery with its own kitchen and unhurried breakfasts: the BGC cafe people never leave before noon.
Tip: The eggs benedict with longganisa is the one dish to order.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapOngpin Street · Binondo
Binondo's firefighters' cafe: every cup funds the neighbourhood's volunteer brigade. Kopi and siopao.
Tip: Order the kopi with condensed milk and an asado siopao: a mandatory food-crawl stop.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot along Ongpin
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapOngpin Street · Binondo
The Macanese egg tarts, blistered on top and served warm, right on Ongpin Street. Dangerously good.
Tip: Ask when the next tray comes out: warm from the oven they're a different thing entirely.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 10 min on foot along Ongpin
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapMother Ignacia · Quezon City
A neighbourhood cafe in the TV district: competition-level baristas and a crowd of writers and actors.
Tip: Order the house cold brew: in QC heat it's the best decision you'll make.
🚇 MRT-3 GMA-Kamuning, 8 min on foot
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapMaginhawa · Quezon City
A tiny Maginhawa roaster with pour-over methods and student prices: pure third wave, zero posturing.
Tip: Ask for a V60 with Mount Apo beans: the coffee jewel of the Philippine south.
🚇 LRT-2 Katipunan plus a jeepney along Maginhawa
Featured in: TikTok viral
Show on mapSgt. Esguerra · Quezon City
A bright cafe with its own kitchen behind the TV studios: calm brunch and properly made pour-overs in QC.
Tip: Come midweek: Saturdays fill with production crews from the nearby networks.
🚇 MRT-3 Quezon Avenue plus 10 min on foot or a jeepney
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapTimog Avenue · Quezon City
A late-night specialty cafe on Timog: opens late, closes later, best playlist in QC.
Tip: One of the few specialty cafes open past midnight in Metro Manila.
🚇 MRT-3 GMA-Kamuning, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapCapitol Commons · Pasig
A Filipino roaster buying direct from Cordillera growers: the most traceable coffee in the city.
Tip: Ask for the three-origin Philippine flight: cheap and genuinely educational.
🚇 MRT-3 Shaw Boulevard plus a 6-min Grab to Capitol Commons
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapChino Roces Ext · Makati
A sourdough bakery and coffee bar next to Karrivin: hand-laminated croissants and country loaves.
Tip: Pair it with Toyo or Metiz: two blocks from the Karrivin complex.
🚇 MRT-3 Magallanes plus a 6-min Grab
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapAustin Street · Marikina
A cafe facing the Marikina River, wooden deck outside and bikes leaning on the rail. Small-town pace.
Tip: Rent a bike on the riverside linear park: the loop passes the door.
🚇 LRT-2 Marikina-Pasong Tamo plus a tricycle to Riverbanks
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapJ.P. Rizal · Marikina
A cafe in an old house in Marikina's historic centre: local bread, Cordillera coffee and zero tourists.
Tip: Fifty metres from the church and the shoe museum: the perfect pause on that walk.
🚇 LRT-2 Santolan plus a jeepney to central Marikina
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapMOA · Pasay
One of Asia's largest malls, right on the bay, with a giant ferris wheel and postcard sunsets.
Tip: Head out to the bayside promenade at 5:30pm: sunset from MOA is one of Manila's best.
🚇 LRT-1 EDSA plus the MOA shuttle bus, or the EDSA Carousel to Taft
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapAyala Center · Makati
Five luxury buildings around a tropical garden with a chapel: the prettiest mall in the Philippines.
Tip: Greenbelt 5 holds the Filipino designer labels; Greenbelt 3 has the restaurants and bars.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapRockwell · Makati
Manila's most elegant, least crowded mall, inside an old power station: local boutiques and arthouse cinema.
Tip: At The Grid, the basement food hall, you'll eat better than in most Philippine malls.
🚇 MRT-3 Guadalupe plus a 6-min Grab to Rockwell
Featured in: Tatler
Show on mapOrtigas · Mandaluyong
Five buildings, an ice rink and every brand imaginable: the mall Metro Manila actually uses.
Tip: The Mega Fashion Hall holds international labels; Building A has the Filipino and cheap stuff.
🚇 MRT-3 Shaw Boulevard or Ortigas, direct footbridge
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapEDSA · Mandaluyong
Ortigas's luxury mall, with an East Wing of Filipino design and the city's best independent cinema.
Tip: Look for the Filipino designer labels on the East Wing's fourth floor.
🚇 MRT-3 Shaw Boulevard, direct footbridge connection
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapSan Juan
The pearl bazaar: hundreds of stalls with South Sea pearls, electronics and clothes. Always haggle.
Tip: Open at half the asking price and pay cash: you'll get up to 40% off.
🚇 MRT-3 Santolan-Annapolis plus a jeepney along Ortigas Avenue
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapDivisoria · Manila
Divisoria's glorious chaos packed into one building: everything costs a fraction and everything is negotiable.
Tip: Bring small bills, wear your bag in front and go early: after noon it's unmanageable.
🚇 LRT-1 Doroteo Jose or Carriedo plus 12 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapDivisoria · Manila
The 1887 railway station turned into the country's biggest wholesale market. Architecture plus haggling.
Tip: In Ber season the aisles fill with parols: the cheapest place in Manila to buy one.
🚇 LRT-1 Doroteo Jose or LRT-2 Recto plus 10 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapUptown Bonifacio · Taguig
BGC's newest mall: international brands, premium cinema and a restaurant floor that never empties.
Tip: Come Ber season they build a huge Christmas display: BGC's most photogenic mall.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapAyala Center · Makati
The great Filipino department store since 1951: the best edit of local designers anywhere in the country.
Tip: Head to the Filipiniana floor: barong shirts and embroidered piña from the country's best houses.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Tatler
Show on mapChino Roces Ext · Makati
The Filipino gallery exporting artists worldwide, with a New York outpost too. Museum-grade shows.
Tip: Free entry, closed Sundays: check what's on before you travel.
🚇 MRT-3 Magallanes plus a 7-min Grab
Featured in: Tatler
Show on mapArnaiz Avenue · Makati
Three floors of Filipino craft: capiz shell, rattan, carved wood and island textiles. Souvenir shopping done right.
Tip: Ask about international shipping at the back counter: they'll send the bulky stuff home.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapArnaiz Avenue · Makati
Selling hand-embroidered piña barongs and pearls since 1945: Manila's most historic souvenir house.
Tip: A real piña barong isn't cheap: ask them to show you the difference from polyester.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapDapitan · Quezon City
Filipino decorators' best-kept secret: two blocks of stalls with ceramics, baskets and decor at wholesale prices.
Tip: From September it fills with parols and Christmas decor: the Filipino mecca of Christmas shopping.
🚇 LRT-1 Blumentritt plus a jeepney down Dapitan, or Grab
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapOrtigas · Mandaluyong
A boutique mall with Ortigas's best bookshop and its most carefully curated Filipino design stores.
Tip: The third-floor bookshop has the best section of translated Filipino authors.
🚇 MRT-3 Ortigas, direct footbridge
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapCapitol Commons · Pasig
An open-air mall with a park, weekend market and independent design shops. Modern Pasig at its best.
Tip: Sundays bring a producers' market to the park next door: fruit and coffee straight from source.
🚇 MRT-3 Shaw Boulevard plus a 6-min Grab
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapRoces Avenue · Quezon City
A cult Filipino stationery house since 1968: recycled cards, folk art and handmade gifts in QC.
Tip: The capiz ornaments and small parols are the lightest Filipino souvenir there is.
🚇 MRT-3 GMA-Kamuning plus 10 min on foot or a jeepney along Roces
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapSM Mall of Asia · Pasay
The Filipino store par excellence: barongs, regional food, pearl jewellery and craft from across the archipelago.
Tip: The best place to grab regional sweets and Benguet coffee before your flight.
🚇 LRT-1 EDSA plus the MOA shuttle bus
Featured in: Booky
Show on mapFirst United Building · Escolta
Escolta's creative market: independent designers, zines, vinyl and young Filipino art on an art deco floor.
Tip: The last Saturday of the month usually brings a fair and live music to the ground floor.
🚇 LRT-1 Carriedo, 6 min on foot along Escolta
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapGeneral Romulo Ave · Cubao
A courtyard of old shoe shops turned into bars, record stores and vintage shops: QC's indie soul.
Tip: Vintage shops by day, all bars by night: pick your hour by what you want.
🚇 MRT-3 or LRT-2 Araneta Center-Cubao, 8 min on foot
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapSalcedo Park · Makati
The Saturday market where Makati has breakfast: growers, cheeses, paella and sweets from all over the country.
Tip: Saturdays only, 7am to 2pm: arrive before 10 and eat breakfast on site, that's the whole point.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 10 min on foot into Salcedo Village
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapLegazpi Active Park · Makati
Salcedo's Sunday sibling: handicraft, mountain coffee and producer food under the trees.
Tip: Sundays only, 7am to 2pm: the best Cordillera weaving and baskets are here.
🚇 MRT-3 Ayala, 6 min on foot
Featured in: Time Out
Show on mapSerendra · BGC
A fair-trade store stocked by Filipino communities: organic food, weaving and natural cosmetics.
Tip: The tablea chocolate and Kalinga coffee are the best gifts you can carry home.
🚇 BGC Bus from MRT-3 Ayala, or Grab
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on mapAraneta City · Quezon City
Manila's best-loved wet market: tropical fruit, live seafood and stalls that cook whatever you buy.
Tip: Buy seafood in the wet section and take it to the paluto stalls: they'll cook it for pennies.
🚇 MRT-3 or LRT-2 Araneta Center-Cubao, 5 min on foot
Featured in: Spot.ph
Show on map