SPOT.ph Roundup: Metro Manila Malls With Open Spaces You Can Unwind In
Old, new, and soon-to-come malls included.
(SPOT.ph) If there is one thing malls and parks have in common, it’s that they’re great places to unwind. For malls, whether it’s window or actual shopping, and eating at restaurants, watching movies, or more; for parks, it’s just doing absolutely nothing but touch grass and inhale fresh air. And ICYDK, there are malls—old and new, and even soon-to-come—in the Metro that combine the two. If not parks, then wide, open spaces that allow you to breathe.
Also read: SPOT.ph Roundup: Malls With Open Spaces in Alabang
Check out new and old malls around the Metro with parks and open spaces:
Parqal
Just by its name—a portmanteau of the words “park” and “kalye”—Parqal is your next buzzy spot to eat, shop and chill in Parañaque. It recently opened its doors to the public, but even a few weeks before, people were already walking, jogging, and even biking bike around the area, fur babies included. They have open spaces and even an amphitheater, an open-air venue with semi-circular seats facing grass, plus a courtyard surrounded by even wider walkways.
Parqal is at President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard corner Cabrera Drive Aseana City, Parañaque City.
Eastwood Mall
Eastwood Mall has an open space, complete with picnic tables and a cool fountain lights show in the evenings. The mall is also pet-friendly, so you can let your four-legged best friends tag along on your shopping trips, and then let them rest and hang around the open space for a little bit. There are great food spots surrounding the open area and sometimes food stalls for quick bites.
Eastwood Central Plaza
Just a quick walk from the Eastwood Mall is an open area covered by a roof filled with big colorful balls on the ceiling that illuminate the venue at night. Called the Central Plaza, this area is surrounded by restaurants with al fresco dining options all around. Bring your fur babies along since Eastwood is one of the best pet-friendly places around the Metro.
Eastwood Mall and Eastwood City Walk is at 116 Eastwood Ave, Bagumbayan, Quezon City.
Gateway 2 Mall
Gateway Mall in Araneta City has a prime location that sees Filipinos of all demographics on their way to different parts of the Metro on the daily. No doubt you’ve already seen Gateway 2 just beside it. It's filled with more stores, restaurants, and, of course, pocket gardens—one of which is an upcoming Sensory Garden.
It’s a landscaped deck that will “serve as a refuge” from all the shopping you’re about to do. While the mall is already open to the public, you might have to wait slightly longer for the Sensory Garden. No exact dates on when it’s going to open, so stay tuned!
Gateway Mall 2 is at 255 General Araneta, Araneta City, Quezon City.
Fairview Terraces
If you’re looking to avoid the crowd at SM Fairview, take a stroll and breathe fresh air around the Central Garden at Fairview Terraces. You can spot a huge tree as you walk outside the mall—and lush greens as you walk further—but look out for the dry-deck fountain around said tree. The upper floors will give you an overlooking view of the tree. There are benches where you can chill with your friends and surrounding restaurants should you want to grab a bite with a relaxing view of nature.
Fairview Terraces is at Barangay corner, Quirino Highway, Maligaya St, Novaliches, Quezon City.
The Garden at Robinsons Magnolia
The Garden is an al-fresco dining area at Robinsons Magnolia where you can get some respite from all the walking and shopping. The open space is situated so that the rest of the mall curves around it. There’s a green area dotted with tall trees where people can sit—even have a picnic with food from surrounding restaurants—on a wonderful sunny and breezy afternoon. If you like sitting outside, with an umbrella to cover yourselves from the hot sun, there are chairs and tables around the area.
Robinsons Magnolia is at Aurora Blvd. corner Dona Hemady St., Quezon City.
Parklinks Mall
Granted, this mall is not yet set to open anytime soon. But it’s another buzzing spot to look forward to. Parklinks already has parks and open spaces around the bridge for people to visit. This family-oriented mall won’t be any different. It will open basketball, volleyball, and badminton courts—not to mention the Central Plaza, which is a piazza-inspired convergence area.
Parklinks will also have a three-hectare park touted as the Eco Center. It will have a view of the Marikina River with, according to their website, “sprawling lawns fringing well-curated retail establishments, river park terraces, and riparian gardens fashioned after the natural landscape.”
Parklinks is accessible via C5, Amang Rodriguez Avenue, and Ortigas Avenue.
Ayala Malls Manila Bay
We can't just mention malls with plently outdoor spaces and not mention Ayala Malls Manila Bay. The Parañaque mall has loads of green, open spaces to hangout and bond with your friends and families. They have the Central Garden, the Sun Garden, the Patio, plus al fresco dining areas dotted around the establishment.
Ayala Malls Manila Bay is at Asean Ave. Cor Diosdado Macapagal Blvd. Aseana City, Parañaque.