# Manila: map, what to do and when to go

Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is the city of Spanish Intramuros, the Chinese quarter of Binondo and the jeepney, on the shore of the bay. It was the Asian port of the Manila galleon between 1565 and 1815, and its center was rebuilt after the battle of February 1945.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Manila: are the airport terminals in the same building?** There are four terminals, separate from each other: check which one you land at and which one you depart from, because transferring between terminals takes 20 to 60 minutes.
- **Manila: what's the climate like at different times of year?** No season is cold, and the jacket usually stays in the suitcase.
- **Manila: how do you show respect when speaking to someone?** Adding “po” when speaking to someone older or to whoever is serving you is the basic mark of respect, and “opo” is the respectful “yes.”

## Intramuros, Rizal, and the bay
Enter Fort Santiago at 8am, before the heat: Rizal's cell, the museum, and the bronze footprints to the gate take about 90 minutes.
- Fort Santiago
- San Agustín Church
- Manila Cathedral
- Casa Manila
- National Museum of Fine Arts
- Rizal Park (Luneta)
- San Sebastián Church

## The river, Binondo, and Quiapo
Start at 8am with a Chinese-Filipino breakfast on Ongpin street: lumpia, fried siopao, and thick hot chocolate; stop at Eng Bee Tin for hopia.
- Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo)
- Escolta and the Central Post Office
- Chinese Cemetery

## Fort Santiago
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-forte-santiago
A Spanish fortress at the tip of Intramuros, over the mouth of the Pasig, begun in 1593 and rebuilt after 1945. It holds the cell where José Rizal spent his last night and the bronze footprints that retrace his 65 steps to the firing squad. Entrance around ₱75.
Check access

## San Agustín Church
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-igreja-de-san-agustin
Up to half an hour
Completed in 1607, it is the oldest stone church in the country and the only building in Intramuros left standing in 1945. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993; the trompe-l'œil ceiling was painted in 1875 by the Italians Alberoni and Dibella, and the adjoining convent is a museum.
Check access

## Manila Cathedral
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-catedral-de-manila
Up to half an hour
The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The current building, from 1958, is the eighth on the same site since 1581: the earlier ones fell to fire, typhoon, earthquake, and war. The Dutch Kleuker organ has about 4,500 pipes.
Check access

## Casa Manila
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-casa-manila
Up to half an hour
A reconstruction of a 19th-century townhouse on Plaza San Luis, opened in 1981. It shows how people lived in a two-story house with capiz-shell windows, a charcoal kitchen, and a side-by-side double latrine.
Check access

## National Museum of Fine Arts
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-museu-nacional-de-belas-artes
Ermita · One to two hours
In the former Legislative Building, by Juan Arellano (1926). It holds Juan Luna's “Spoliarium”, a 4 by 7.6 meter canvas awarded a prize in Madrid in 1884. Admission to the whole National Museum complex has been free since 2016; the neighboring Anthropology and Natural History museums complete the ensemble.
Check access

## Rizal Park (Luneta)
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-parque-rizal
Ermita · One to two hours
58 hectares between Intramuros and the bay, on the former Bagumbayan field. Richard Kissling's monument, unveiled on December 30, 1913, holds Rizal's remains; a group of bronze sculptures marks the exact spot of the execution, and it is where the country's road distances are measured from.
Check access

## Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo)
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-basilica-do-nazareno-negro
Santa Cruz · Up to half an hour
Holds the dark image of Christ brought from Mexico in 1606, a survivor of fires and earthquakes. In the Traslación procession, on January 9, millions of barefoot devotees follow the carriage for 15 to 20 hours to Quiapo.
Check access

## San Sebastián Church
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-igreja-de-san-sebastian
Up to half an hour
Consecrated in 1891, it is the only all-steel church in Asia: the neo-Gothic pieces were cast in Belgium and assembled in Manila by Genaro Palacios. It has been under restoration for years because of corrosion; check whether the interior is open before going.
Check access

## Escolta and the Central Post Office
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-escolta
Up to half an hour
Escolta street holds the country's largest concentration of art deco (First United (1928), Calvo (1938), Regina (1934)) with studios and fairs inside the buildings. Next door, the 1926 Central Post Office burned in May 2023 and is under restoration; the new Pasig esplanade runs at its feet.
Check access

## Chinese Cemetery
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/manila/#g-lugar-cemiterio-chines
Santa Cruz
North of Santa Cruz, opened in the 19th century for Chinese residents barred from Catholic cemeteries. The mausoleums have two stories, a mailbox, a bathroom, and in some cases air conditioning; visit in the morning and with a local guide.
Check access

**Manila: are the airport terminals in the same building?**
There are four terminals, separate from each other: check which one you land at and which one you depart from, because transferring between terminals takes 20 to 60 minutes.

**Manila: what's the climate like at different times of year?**
No season is cold, and the jacket usually stays in the suitcase. From December to February the northeast monsoon (amihan) blows, with 24 to 31°C, lower humidity, and little rain, and it's the best window; from March to May comes the dry heat, with 33 to 37°C at midday. From June to November the southwest monsoon (habagat) and the typhoons arrive, peaking from July to October, and August is the wettest month.

**Manila: how do you show respect when speaking to someone?**
Adding “po” when speaking to someone older or to whoever is serving you is the basic mark of respect, and “opo” is the respectful “yes.”

**Manila: is it dangerous for tourists?**
The risks here are opportunistic, almost never violence aimed at foreigners.

**Manila: what is adobo?**
Pork or chicken cooked in vinegar, garlic, black pepper, and bay leaf, with soy sauce added after the Chinese arrived.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan this day on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/manila/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/manila/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/manila.md