The main tourist sites of Manila are mostly located along Manila Bay.

Landmarks

• Baywalk - South of the Luneta is the renovated Baywalk a linear park adjacent to Manila Bay. Restaurants formerly on the actual Baywalk have been moved inwards to allow a clear view of Manila's legendary sunsets.

• Bonifacio Shrine - A shrine in honor of Andres Bonifacio who was one of the Filipinos who struggled and fought for freedom for the country against the Spanish forces.

• Chinatown - Manila has one of the largest and oldest Chinatowns in the world, where one can find exotic Chinese goods and delicious cuisine.

• Coconut Palace

  - a residence commissioned and built along the waterfront by First Lady Imelda Marcos for Pope John Paul II's visit in 1981. While open to the public at some point, it is currently (as of June 2011) occupied by the current Vice President and still open for public visits (by appointment by calling the Office of the Vice President, leaving a return call number and waiting for a confirmation).

• Intramuros - At the northern end of the Bay lies the remnants of the old walled Spanish settlement of Manila, Intramuros (Spanish for 'within the walls'). Intramuros contains some of the city's most interesting museums, ruins, and churches including the

  Manila Cathedral

  and San Agustin Church one of the finest churches in the city.

• Mabini Shrine - Apolinario Mabini's former home. Mabini was a Lawyer and fought for Philippine Independence. During the American Occupation, this home became the first intellectual headquarters of the First Philippine Republic.

• Malacañan Palace - Manila is the host of the official residence of the president of the Philippines. While heading your way here, you will see wonderful places. People can roam the garden afterward.

• Manila Hotel - Just outside Intramuros and on the edge of Manila Bay is the beautiful and historic Manila Hotel, a legacy of the American colonial era and the place where General Douglas MacArthur made his home before World War II.

• Plaza San Luis - A commercial complex consisting of five house; Casa Manila, Casa Urdaneta, Casa Blanca, Los Hidalgos and El Hogar Filipino. Plaza San Luis showcases Filipino-Hispanic Architecture. Other than Souvenir shops there is a museum in Casa Manila.

• Roxas Boulevard - A wide boulevard which runs along the shores of Manila Bay, it is known for its view of Manila's famous sunsets and a stretch of coconut trees. The boulevard offers a wide selection of hotels, restaurants, and significant cultural landmarks.

• University of Santo Tomas (Unibersidad de Santo Tomas (UST)). This University is the oldest and first University in the whole of Asia and the Philippines. It was used as a camp by the Japanese during their occupation where the imprisoned about 10,000 people even though it only can hold 4,000.

• Quezon Memorial - An Ethnic-Islamic inspired mausoleum and monument honoring the first formally recognized President of the Philippines. It is surrounded by parks and playgrounds as well as good native-inspired restaurants and horticulture, herbal medicine seedling stalls. The exotic durian is sold in one of the stalls.

• Manila Metropolitan Theater - The Manila Metropolitan Theatre or MET is an art deco building designed by the Filipino architect Juan M. de Guzman Arellano, and inaugurated on December 10, 1931, with a capacity of 1670. The theater is located on Padre Burgos Avenue, near the Manila Central Post Office. Renovated under the auspices of Imelda Marcos, it now falls back under the management of neglect and decadence.

• Manila Central Post Office - Designed by Filipino architect Juan Marcos de Guzman Arellano, located in a very prominent visual and commanding spot of the first Civic Center in Manila and could have been perfect location for a Senate building, the Post Office building was built in neoclassical architecture in 1926. It was severely damaged in World War II and rebuilt in 1946 preserving most of its original design. It is located in the Intramuros district of the city, at the bank of the Pasig River. The front of the building faces the Liwasang Bonifacio plaza (now known as Plaza Lawton).

Museums

Manila has seen a drastic improvement in its museum offerings with the recent renovation of old favorites such as the National Museum of the Filipino People and the Ayala Museum. Other must-see museums in the city are the Bahay Tsinoy (Chinese House), Casa Manila, San Agustin Museum, the Museum of Philippino Political History, and the Museo Pambata (Children's Museum).

• National Museum of the Philippines (Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas), P. Burgos Ave, ☎ +63 2 527-1209. Built and opened in the 1900s, the museum showcases significant collections from archaeology, arts, cultural properties, zoology, botany and many more. The National Museum of the Philippines is a government institution in the Philippines and serves as an educational, scientific and cultural institution in preserving the various permanent national collections featuring the ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological and visual artistry of the Philippines. Since 1998, the National Museum has been the regulatory and enforcement agency of the National Government in the restoring and safeguarding of important cultural properties, sites and reservations throughout the Philippines.

The National Museum operates the National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, and National Planetarium, all located in the vicinity of Rizal Park.

As of July 1, 2016, entrance to the National Museum of the Philippines is now free of charge.

• The National Art Gallery is the repository of works by Filipino masters. The more than life-sized painting of Juan Luna titled "Spolarium", a powerful image in the mold of classical themes and Romanticist in style, is the museum's version of "Mona Lisa", meaning the most prized Philippines artwork.

• Museum of Philippine Political History (National Historical Institute Museum), T.M. Kalaw Ave. Includes documents such as the signing of Independence displayed in a holy grail-like showcase.

• Metropolitan Museum of Manila (Met Museum), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Blvd (Located along Roxas boulevard, across from the Manila Yacht club.), ☎ +63 2 521-1517. M-Sa 09:00-18:00. Inaugurated during Imelda's heyday, it used to display works by Caravaggio. This, the premier art museum of Manila, showcases both traditional, Hispanic and modern art with its exhibits.

• Bahay Tsinoy. One of Manila's well-known museums; see Chinese biographies and their contributions in the history of the Philippines.

• Museo Pambata, Roxas Boulevard cnr South Drive (From EDSA, turn right on Roxas Boulevard then take a U-turn on T.M. Kalaw Street. From Quiapo, take Quezon Bridge going to Padre Burgos Street then turn left on Roxas Boulevard. Or you may take the LRT-1 or a jeepney (A. Mabini route), get off on United Nations Avenue, and walk to Roxas Boulevard. Museo Pambata is right beside the U.S. Embassy), ☎ +63 2 523-1797. Aug-Mar: 08:00-17:00, Apr-Jul 09:00-17:00. A children's interactive museum, the first of its kind in the Philippines. Opened in 1994, Museo Pambata is the dream come true of Nina Lim-Yuson, who was inspired by the Boston Children’s Museum to open up a similar facility in Manila.

Parks

• Rizal Park. Right outside the walled city is Rizal Park more widely known as the Luneta. The Luneta is the venue for the national museums, bayside restaurants, an open-air theater featuring free classical music concerts and acclaimed international films, a planetarium, an open gym for early morning jogging and tai chi enthusiasts, or a night ballroom, as well as Japanese, Chinese, Filipino gardens, an orchidarium, an aquarium, and a children's museum. It is a popular meeting spot for family picnics and lovers' trysts and was the site of the execution of Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, as well as the inaugural grandstand for the incoming President.

• Paco Park was actually built as a final resting place for Spanish families residing in Manila. After Jose Rizal's execution, his remains were sent and buried here, which is today commemorated by a monument in the park. It is now a public park with jogging lanes and open-air concerts and is also a popular venue for weddings. It is accessible by taxi and bus, as well as a 10-minute walk from the LRT-1 United Nations Station.

• Arroceros Forest Park Situated in the heart of downtown Manila, Arroceros Forest Park is a 2.2-hectare piece of land behind the old art deco Metropolitan Theater. Arroceros got its name, which means “rice dealers,” from the rice trade along the Pasig riverbank during the early colonial period.

Nature and Wildlife

• Manila Zoo. Is rather decrepit, and in need of drastic renovations. The Manila Zoo covers an area of 0.055 square kilometers. Accessible via LRT-1 Quirino station.

• Manila Ocean Park is a much better maintained marine wildlife facility which was recently opened in 2008 and is located behind the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park. The 8,000 square meters (86,000 sq ft) oceanarium is larger than the Sentosa Underwater World oceanarium in Singapore and features a 25 meters (82 ft) underwater acrylic tunnel. Mostly accessible by taxi, but can be walked if you are in the vicinity of Rizal Park.

• Balara Grounds

Churches

Spanish Colonial Churches

Baroque colonial churches, where once proud showcases of the past especially before World War II but the wanton destruction of the Japanese and the equally guilty American soldiers during the Battle of Manila in 1945 dissolved all that except for a handful remaining. Lack of maintenance, vandalism, theft, and no proper awareness, guidance, or education by administering priests and architects who undertook renovation blunders (multiplied more incidents in the provinces) complicated the already pathetic state of remaining churches.

• San Agustin Church
• Manila Cathedral
• Malate Church
• Santa Ana Church
• Binondo Church
• Santa Cruz Church
• San Nicolas Church
• Tondo Church
• Basilica of San Sebastian - The only all-steel church of Asia; the Europeans were tired of building the church over and over again after fires and earthquakes, they finally decided to build the cathedral in solid steel. The materials were ordered from Europe while the architect is Gustav Eiffel; the architect of the Eiffel tower in France. Its Gothic architecture might make you think you're somewhere in the middle of Europe.

Iglesia ni Cristo Churches

Aside from the interesting Spanish Colonial Churches, there is one group of church-structures belonging to the Iglesia ni Cristo, a homegrown reformist church established by a Manileño named Felix Manalo in 1914 that is uniquely Filipino somewhat parallels with the Latter-Day-Saints Mormons (its cultish-ness and disciplined regimen demanded from its congregation), that merit some curiosities. These unique churches have two outstanding features: that they are kept in pristine white condition (with some little color highlights), and they soar to the sky like those gothic cathedrals, or Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, or the Salt Lake Temple in Utah. In some cases, they jot out in the middle of a green countryside off the suburbs of Metro Manila. But even in the midst of urban jungle in Manila, one can't help but notice its towers and spires projecting through the clouds among the busy skyline.

No name yet is given to this architectural style but it may safely be called Philippine Gothic Revival and the churches show the usual suspects of Gothic tracery, lacework, and rosettas, with the emphasis of verticality and noticeable indigenous geometric motifs as a substitute. The detailing is tasteful and awesome.

Its "Vatican" is located in the New Era District of Quezon City and can be easily seen from about two to three miles away from all directions heralding in a Cinderella-like castle fashion, their main shrine and headquarters.

Saint Days

Manileños are mostly very pious Catholic people. On a different angle, being afflicted with problems and ailments, Manileños may not have much alternative and feel that some things are just out of their control and the best way is to ask for answers and solutions to their favorite saints. It would be interesting to note that some streets leading to a patron saint's home church are extra tight during their special days.

For the anthropologically curious, it also provides a good peek into the daily life of the locals, young and old, men or women.

• St. Jude Thaddeus Shrine, San Miguel District, Manila - Near Malacañan Palace, this church is the busiest on Thursdays.
• Our Lady of Perpetual Help Shrine, Baclaran District, Pasay City. - Near the border of Parañaque and served by LRT Line 1, this Church is the liveliest on Wednesdays much more especially so because the surrounding area is carpeted by a flea market.
• The Black Nazarene Minor Basilica, Quiapo District, Manila - Its feast day is on January 9 but its special day of the week falls on Fridays.