the popular city in asia,manila

Manila Travel Guide
Manila, the somewhat daunting capital and pulsating hub of the Philippines, is situated on the east coast of Luzon, the most northerly island, also the largest and the most well developed. The city was founded in 1571 on the site of a Muslim settlement. Its major tourist attraction is the old Spanish walled city, known as Intramuros, which contains some historic buildings and ruins.
Modern Manila is a morass of traffic and people, polluted and chaotic, an industrial metropolis that grew from the ashes of war when in 1945, the United States' forces fought to recapture it from Japanese occupation. It is also a city of theatres, libraries and museums, and the home to the University of the Philippines. The neighbourhoods of the metropolis vary from wide avenues full of palatial homes to squatter camps where the poorest of the poor scratch out a living.
Visitors to the Philippines cannot avoid using Manila as a starting point for their exploration of the other provinces and islands, because most charter flights to the outlying islands leave from the city's airport. The city is also within reach of day and weekend getaways on the island of Luzon; this makes it a good base for travellers intent on touring. One thing no visitor should miss is a famous Manila Bay sunset: a light show created out of the high humidity conditions coupled with the effects of cloud over the city's harbour. This remarkable sight allows a short respite from the more unpleasant aspects of the sprawling city. View the sunset from Rizal Park, Roxas Boulevard or from a cruise boat that plies around Manila Bay.

Rizal Park
The 58-hectare (143 acre) Rizal Park is named for Dr Jose Rizal, renowned Philippine anti-colonialist, writer and philosopher. The park is one of the largest in South East Asia, and is a green lung much used by the residents of Manila for recreation and entertainment. The park features numerous ornamental gardens, a chess plaza and a skating rink. In a pond on the east side of the park the Philippines archipelago has been recreated in miniature. There are also some museums and public buildings within the park, and after sunset a sound and light exhibit featuring the martyrdom of Dr Jose Rizal is to be seen. On Sundays there is a free concert in an open-air auditorium.

San Agustin Church
Within Intramuros stands Manila's oldest stone church, San Agustin, which was completed in 1606 and has since survived the ravages of time and successive invasions. The church has a magnificent intricately carved door, Baroque pulpit, and an 18th century pipe organ. A museum is housed in the Monastery alongside the church, which holds a collection of paintings of saints and other religious art. The Sacristy houses a collection of richly embroidered vestments and Philippine notables are buried in the crypt.

National Museum of the Philippines
The large and comprehensive National Museum of the Philippines preserves and showcases the cultural, historical and natural heritage of the islands with collections housed in two different buildings (within Rizal Park). Exhibits are categorised in five divisions: art, botany, zoology, geology and anthropology. Among the many archaeological exhibits is the skull of ‘Tabon Man’; the oldest human remains found in the archipelago. The section devoted to the Filipino People includes the preserved remains and treasures of the San Diego Spanish galleon that sank in Philippine waters in 1600.

Manila Attractions
Intramuros
The oldest part of Manila is the medieval Spanish walled enclave of Intramuros on the southern bank of the Pasig River, packed with historic buildings and churches, many of which are being or have been restored. The reconstruction of Intramuros has allowed for the inclusion of several parks and performing venues, art galleries, souvenir shops and restaurants, so that the area has become an attractive, entertaining and interesting tourist Mecca. Fort Santiago, for example, was where political prisoners through the ages, from Spanish to Japanese occupation, were held, tortured and sometimes executed. Today it is a lush park full of flowering trees and homing pigeons where visitors can take a ride along the promenade on a horse-drawn carriage. Then, in the Barrio San Luis along Juan Luna Street there are five colonial residences that have been beautifully restored.

Malacanang Palace
The name of this Palace, now the seat of government and official residence of the Philippines head of state, comes from the vernacular ‘May Lakan Diyan’, which means ‘there lives a noble man’. This gracious villa has been a noble residence on the north bank of the Pasig River since the 18th century, when it was built for a Spanish aristocrat. In 1825 the Spanish Government bought the property as a summer house for the Governor General, but it later became the permanent seat of the head of state. There is now a museum housed in the palace that features mementos

American Cemetery and Memorial
Providing a quiet spot to retreat from Manila’s rat race, the American Cemetery near the Makati commercial centre is a welcome peaceful oasis, much visited by tourists, especially veterans of World War II. The hillside cemetery contains thousands of white marble crosses marking rows of graves of those who died in battle. The circular memorial contains the names of those missing in action engraved in marble columns; huge wall mosaics depict battle scenes from WWII, and a small chapel is located here.