10 Unique & Fun Things to Do in Manila

For travelers, backpackers and province-based tourists, Manila is often just thought of as a stopover between flights on the way to another destination. The big city can be overwhelming with the heavy traffic and crowded streets. It’s often seen as gritty and chaotic, especially if you visit the areas of Quiapo and Divisoria.

I often take the tourist sights in Manila for granted because I live here. But if I were a first-time tourist in the Philippines or if I had to take around foreign tourists, balikbayans, expats or province-based friends, what would I do and where would I go? 

NOTE: Given the traffic in the metro, I’ve edited this list from my previous version highlighting the things to do in the Old Manila / Pasay area which are geographically near the airport and some areas in Makati & Taguig, which you can reach by MRT. I’ve also tried to zero in on the unique and fun activities that are distinctly Filipino or representative of the local culture in Manila or the most popular attractions you can only find here.

1. Ride a bamboo bicycle around Intramuros

Intramuros is the oldest district and historic core in Manila, Philippines. It’s the only district of Manila where old Spanish-era influences are still plentiful. Top tourist spots here include Fort Santiago, a well-maintained park, the Baroque San Agustin Church and Manila Cathedral. Visitors can walk around Intramuros or ride a kalesa (horse-drawn carriage). The “Walk this Way Intramuros Tour” by famous tour guide Carlos Celdran is a popular choice for foreign visitors who want to learn a bit of history.

BOOK A GUIDED WALKING TOUR HERE

A unique way to go around the historic walled city of Manila is by bamboo bicycle with Bambike Ecotours. The bicycles with bamboo frames are handmade by Gawad Kalinga villagers, a social enterprise in the Philippines. Tourists can cover more ground than if on a walking tour and it provides a more active way to get around compared traveling around by motorized transport.

Foreign tourists who want the services of a knowledgeable guide and a background on the history of each destination can avail of the Intramuros Experience, a 2.5 hour long tour to visit 10 key sites (P1,200 per person). The price is inclusive of bike & helmet rental, bottled water and entrance fees. Tour schedule: 10:00 am – 12:30 pm and 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm.

The Express Tour is a 1 hour tour where you can choose your own adventure for P600 per person per hour. If you want to explore on your own without a guide, you can simply rent bikes for P200 per Bambike per hour. For inquiries, contact Bambike Intramuros. Plaza San Luis Complex, Real St. cor. General Luna St. Intramuros, Manila. Open 9 am to 6 pm. Contact: 5258289.

Be sure to stop by the San Agustin Church of Manila, one of four Philippine churches constructed during the Spanish colonial period designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, under the collective title Baroque Churches of the Philippines. It was named a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1976.

BOOK YOUR INTAMUROS BAMBIKE TOUR HERE

2. Spend the day exploring museums

If you’re into history and culture, there are a lot of museums, both traditional and modern around Manila that you can visit depending on your interests. This includes the National Museum, Casa Manila, San Agustin Museum, Metropolitan Museum, Ayala Museum, Yuchengco Museum, Bahay Tsinoy and the Planetarium.

One of the most popular is the National Museum of Natural History in Rizal Park, which offers several galleries featuring the country’s rich biodiversity. The “Tree of Life” elevator, its central feature, is an attraction on its own. This museum also contains the skeleton and remains of Lolong, the world’s largest saltwater crocodile ever captured (length: 6.17 meters; weight: 1,075 kilograms).

3. Experience top festivals, food & iconic landmarks in one space

Lakbay Museo is an interactive museum in the Mall of Asia complex that just opened in July 2019 that will appeal to international tourists. This museum gives visitors a chance to walk through replicas of iconic landmarks found around the country, taste samples of regional cuisine, see rare handwoven textiles, and take part in traditional folk dances. The museum gives visitors a chance to travel across the Philippines and learn more about its rich history and culture in just under two hours.

It also features one of the largest collections of food replicas, focusing of regional specialties and native delicacies of the Philippines.

4. Go liquor-tasting on craft spirits

If you like drinking and are looking for something unique to do after the regular tourist circuit in Intramuros, how about going alcohol tasting at a Liquor Museum? Destileria Limtaco, the oldest and largest distillery in the Philippines founded in 1852, opened their liquor-themed museum in Intramuros in February 2018.

The museum offers optional liquor tasting of their brews and craft spirits after guided tours. They have their own line of craft spirits including sugarcane wine, mango rum, premium lambanog or coconut vodka, and coffee liqueur highlighting local flavors and ingredients.

5. Chow down on local specialties 

The most famous traditional Filipino dishes that first-timers should try are Adobo (usually chicken or pork cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic), Sinigang (Filipino soup or stew seasoned with tamarind), Sisig (grilled pork face, ears, brains, snout, cheeks, and chicken liver etc.) and Kare-Kare (Oxtail stew).

Most typical street food (a wide variety of inexpensive cuisine that you can buy from vendors or peddlers on the streets) can be a bit of a shock to foreigners. The most popular Pinoy street food includes fish balls, kwek-kwek, kikiam, adidas, taho, sorbetes (ice cream), and the infamous balut (duck embryo).

For a more upscale dining experience where you can get street food platters, try Locavore Kitchen & Drinks, which serves great Filipino comfort food made fun and creative (like Sizzling Sinigang and Oyster Sisig!) Locavore originally started in Kapitolyo, Pasig but now has four branches including one in Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

  • 10 Brixton Street, Barrio Kapitolyo, Pasig City
  • Unit 5-7AB Forbeswood Parklane, Taguig City
  • A1-A2 Three Central, Salcedo, Makati City
  • Level 1 S Maison, Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Sampaguita (Jasminum sambac) is the national flower of the Philippines. It’s a very sweet smelling tropical flower which vendors usually sell in garlands or necklaces to serve as air fresheners for cars or to hang in religious statues. If you’re in the Intramuros/Manila area, you can pass by Ilustrado restaurant to try their unique version of Sampaguita Ice Cream.

Seaside Dampa, where you can pick out fresh seafood from a market stall and have them cook it for you are also popular with tourists looking for a different kind of dining experience. The Seaside Dampa in Macapagal is a good option for those based in hotels in the Manila area.

Halo-halo is one of the most popular Filipino desserts with mixtures of shaved ice and evaporated milk added various ingredients, including boiled sweet beans, coconut, sago, gulaman (agar jelly), tubers and fruits.

6. Hunt for street art

Street art or public art is a big part of urban culture. Unlike art you find in museums, this kind of media staged in the streets, walkways and buildings makes art more accessible to the public. One of the best places to see big scale public art in Manila is Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, where international and local artists painted large murals on buildings as part of the Art BGC Festival. 

READ MORE: Art in the City: Murals in BGC 

DIY walking tours around BGC are FREE. For guided tours, go to the Alveo Showroom on Bonifacio High Street, where walking tours will depart daily at 5:30PM. Bambike also offers an Art Tour of BGC on Bamboo Bikes for P1,200/head. Reservations required.

You can also spot lots of interesting street art made by local graffiti artists in Manila around the Intramuros area.

READ MORE: 5 Places to Spot Street Art in the Metro (ALBUM: Biking x Street Art)

“Ang Bakunawa at Minokawa” by Ang Gerilya on Gen. Luna Street corner Anda Street, Intramuros features Philippine mythological creatures. The Bakunawa is a giant sea serpent that swallows the moon causing an eclipse. The Minokawa is a giant bird from the dragon family that swallows the sun.

7. Go food-tripping around Binondo

“Wok your way” around Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594. Binondo is a well-known cultural and foodie haven in Manila where you can find over 100 + restos from authentic hole-in-the-wall haunts to upscale family-style buffet Chinese dining. 

Old Manila Walks offers guided food tours around Binondo called the Big Binondo Food Wok, which allows guests to eat their way around the most intimate alleys of Binondo, Manila’s historic Chinatown. My top 5 recommendations in Binondo are: 

  • Dong Bei Dumplings (kuchay and pork dumplings, deep-fried scallion cakes, tofu Burger, xiao long bao)
  • New Po-Heng Lumpia House (lumpia)
  • Sincerity Cafe & Restaurant (fried chicken, oyster cake)
  • Cafe Mezzanine (Kiampong, stir-fried tofu, wintermelon tea)
  • Eng Bee Tin Chinese Deli (take-out goodies, crispy mikiron)

BOOK THE BIG BINONDO FOOD WOK TOUR HERE

READ MORE: Food Trip: Binondo

8. Go bargain-hunting

Bargain hunters and shopaholics might want to check out the various weekend markets, bazaars, thrift stores and antique shops around the city. Popular places for shopping include Quiapo, Divisoria, Greenhills, Bangkal, Tiendesitas, Dapitan Arcade & the Salcedo Weekend Market.

Quiapo is referred to as the “Old Downtown of Manila.” It’s home to the Quiapo Church, where the feast of the Black Nazarene is held with millions of people attending annually. Quiapo has also made a name for itself as a place for marketplace for bargain hunting. It can get pretty crowded around Quiapo though, which might be a culture shock for foreign tourists.

You can get your fortune told from traditional fortune-tellers right outside the Quiapo church. You can also find vendors selling anting-antings (or amulets) which are believed to fight evil spirits. The charms are believed to bring luck to individuals’ lives, from curing all sorts of illnesses to adding financial blessings. For vintage furniture, thrifted clothes, vinyl, secondhand books and more, check out Escolta Weekend Market or secondhand thrift shops called Ukay-ukay (where you literally have to dig through piles of clothes) are popular around Manila.

9. Visit malls and casinos

If you’re really into shopping, you can visit the SM Mall of Asia or MOA, a shopping complex in the Bay City, Pasay area. This is currently the 4th largest shopping mall in the Philippines and 11th in the world. At the back of MOA, you can find the MOA Eye, a 55 meter (180 feet) tall Ferris wheel that offers a 360 degree view of the SM Mall of Asia and surrounding areas of Pasay City.

There are a lot of casinos relatively near the airport including Resorts World Manila, City of Dreams and Okada Resort Manila, the largest ultra-luxury integrated casino resort in the Entertainment City. One of the top draws in Okada is The Fountain, currently the biggest multi-colored dancing fountain in the world which rivals other spectacular fountains in Dubai and Las Vegas. Fountain shows, which run every hour are free for the public to watch. The Fountain is open from Monday to Sunday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

For leisure travelers looking for a party vibe, the Cove Manila, an indoor beach club by day and a club destination by night, offers an upscale party hub and is currently the most glamorous party destination in Manila.

10. Sample the local beer

The most popular mainstream / commercial beers in the Philippines, available in most restaurants and bars everywhere include San Miguel Pale Pilsen, San Miguel Light and Red Horse. You can find these almost anywhere in the country. These are often paired with pulutan (bar chow) favorites like sisig, crispy pata, chicharon or chicken skin.

But aside from the commercial beers, the craft beer culture is booming in Manila, with lots of small microbreweries around the country producing small batches of craft beer. Many of these use local ingredients specific to different provinces like Sagada black mountain rice (Cerveza Sagada) & Palawan honey (Palaweno Brewery) or feature beer labels with interesting trivia about Philippine culture and destinations (Crazy Carabao).

READ MORE: Craft Beers in the Philippines

There are an increasing number of places in the metro where you can enjoy a fresh pint of local handcrafted beer including: The Bottle Shop by Global Beer Exchange in Fort and Magallanes (widest selection of international and local craft beers), The Perfect Pint, The Brewery at the Palace and Spektral Beer Lounge in Makati, to name a few. Several craft beer bars and taprooms can be found in the Poblacion area of Makati including the steampunk-inspired Joe’s Brew, Pedro Taphouse and Nipa Brew.

READ MORE: Craft Beer Bars in Manila

For a wide selection from different brewers and a space that’s distinctly Filipino with a modern flair, Alamat Filipino Pub + Deli in Poblacion specializes in reinvented Pinoy street food paired with local craft beer and Pinoy cocktails. The bar, which is decorated with an artistic mural featuring creatures from Philippine folklore and mythology, serves traditional Filipino food like Kare-Kare and Tokwa’t Baboy in skewers and a wide range of artisanal sausages including sisig, bopis, dinuguan and adobo and salted egg sausages.

17 thoughts on “10 Unique & Fun Things to Do in Manila”

  1. Hi Loredana. Glad you found this post useful. I’ll try to update this with the newer interesting museums opening up in the area soon (once I get to visit them).

  2. Great feature, really cool stuff, Kara! Love the craft beer part–I go for Joe’s Brew! While I’d have to try the Binondo food crawl myself sometime. Anyway, when you update, you might want to have a look at the activities we offer at Hiking Buddies PH (@hikingbuddiesph on IG). Basically, we offer weekend day hikes in mountains near Manila providing our buddies with a breathtaking, all-inclusive, worry-free Philippine adventure. 🙂

  3. Hi Rich. Awesome beers from Joe’s Brew! Thanks for the suggestion. I just focused on the places in the city for those who don’t have a lot of time but I’ll be writing a separate post on Day Trips near Manila soon. Will check out your page and hiking tours. For foreign tourists who may have a hard time commuting, joining day hiking tours near Manila might be a good option 🙂 Cheers!

  4. Fantastic list! Will be great if you can include a top 10 list of massage centre/spa? Guess 99% of human race luv getting a good rub-down… Cheers!

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