Best Things to Do in Manila

Manila's finest days contrast the volcanic-stone walls and baroque cloisters of the Spanish colonial era with Hokkien street-food alleys in the world's oldest Chinatown and the contemporary art and parks of the southern districts.

1. Walk or ride a bamboo bike around walled Intramuros. Explore the 64-hectare pentagonal Spanish citadel built from 1571 onward, gliding along cobblestone lanes and elevated stone bastions such as Baluarte de San Diego on a handmade Bambike (bamboo bicycle).
2. Step inside UNESCO-listed San Agustin Church and Museum. Completed in 1607 on Calle Real del Palacio, the oldest stone church in the Philippines survived earthquakes and war with its trompe-l'oeil painted vault, carved molave choir stalls and tranquil cloister museum intact.
3. Tour Fort Santiago and the Rizal Shrine. Guarding the mouth of the Pasig River at the northern tip of Intramuros, this stone fortress traces the final footsteps of national hero Dr José Rizal in bronze footprints pressed into the courtyard.
4. Visit Casa Manila and Plaza San Luis. Cross the cobbled patio behind San Agustin Church to tour a faithful reconstruction of an 1850s aristocratic bahay na bato (stone-and-hardwood townhouse) furnished with sliding capiz-shell windows and Sino-Hispanic antiques.
5. Spend half a day at the free National Museum Complex. Flanking Rizal Park, three monumental neoclassical buildings house Juan Luna's vast canvas Spoliarium (Fine Arts), pre-colonial gold and textiles (Anthropology), and the glass-domed Tree of Life courtyard (Natural History).
6. Graze down Ongpin Street in Binondo (Chinatown). Cross Jones Bridge over the Pasig River into Binondo, established in 1594 as the world's oldest Chinatown, to sample pan-fried shengjianbao, fresh lumpia spring rolls and purple yam hopia pastries.
7. Stroll Rizal Park (Luneta) at late afternoon. Walk the historic gardens where Philippine independence was proclaimed, pausing at the Rizal Monument, the relief map of the archipelago and the Chinese and Japanese gardens.
8. Tour the Ayala Museum and Greenbelt Gardens in Makati. View sixty hand-carved historical dioramas and the dazzling Gold of Ancestors pre-colonial treasure collection before walking through the tropical rain-tree park of Greenbelt.
9. Explore street art and dining along Bonifacio High Street in BGC. Walk the kilometre-long open-air park spine of Bonifacio Global City to spot giant building murals, visit the Mind Museum and dine on modern Filipino dishes.
10. Watch sunset over Manila Bay from the Pasig River Ferry or bayfront. Catch the breeze as the sun sinks behind the Bataan Peninsula across Manila Bay.