For the history and the food. Intramuros, the walled Spanish city, holds Fort Santiago and San Agustin Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the National Museum gathers the country's art and archaeology; and Binondo and Makati cover the eating. As the gateway to the islands, it is worth a night or two at either end of a trip.

Is Manila worth visiting, or just a transit stop?

Worth a day or two if you have them. A night near the airport serves a flight connection, but a full day covers Intramuros, the National Museum and a Binondo food walk, and an evening on the bay or in Makati shows the modern city.

How do you get around Manila?

By ride-hailing app, for most visitors. The LRT and MRT trains are cheap but crowded and limited, and taxis vary. Stay near what you plan to see, since crossing the city can take an hour or more, and allow plenty of time for the airport.

When is the best time to visit Manila?

December to February, the coolest of the dry months. March to May is hot and dry, and June to October is the wet season, with typhoons that can flood streets and delay flights.

What is there to do in Manila?

Walk Intramuros and Fort Santiago, see San Agustin Church and the National Museum, eat your way through Binondo, which claims to be the oldest Chinatown in the world, and watch the sunset over Manila Bay. Makati and BGC add galleries, markets and rooftop bars.

Boutique Hotels in Manila - Intramuros, Pasay & Makati

Where to stay in Manila

The Henry Hotel Manila fills a compound of restored 1950s houses in a tropical garden off F.B. Harrison Street in Pasay, with interiors by the designer Eric Paras and an artists' enclave in the grounds, a short drive from the airport. It suits a first or last night either side of the islands, and members book it at rates we hold for the Club. For a longer stay built around restaurants and nightlife, Makati and BGC are the districts; for the history, Intramuros and Ermita.

When to go

December to February is the coolest and most comfortable time for walking the city; March to May is hot and humid but dry. The rains run from June to October, when typhoons can flood streets, worsen the traffic and delay flights.

Christmas starts early here, with lights and carols from September, and the city empties over Holy Week as families head to the provinces.

How to get around

Ninoy Aquino International Airport sits between Pasay and Parañaque, close to the bay districts and Makati but a long way from the north of the city in traffic. Ride-hailing apps are the simplest way around; the elevated LRT and MRT lines are cheap but crowded and reach few of the places visitors want. Plan one district per half-day and leave generous time for any airport run.

What to eat and where the locals actually go

In Binondo, a walk from Ongpin Street through the side streets covers dumplings, fresh lumpia, hopia pastries and noodle houses that have fed the quarter for generations. In Makati, the Salcedo Saturday market and the Legazpi Sunday market bring cooking from across the islands together in a single morning.

For the Filipino classics, adobo, sinigang and kare-kare, the city's long-running family restaurants are the place, and halo-halo is the way to finish.