10 Must-Visit Places In and Around Metro Manila in 2024
Have you checked out all these spots yet?
(SPOT.ph) Many new attractions and exhibits opened abroad this year, like Fantasy Springs, the much-awaited expansion of Tokyo DisneySea, the Nintendo Museum, two new Filipino Madame Tussauds wax figures, and many other novel places that heal our inner child. And with travel back stronger than ever, it's easy for new spots in the Metro to get lost in the shuffle. Don't worry; we got you. We're rounding up some of the best local haunts that opened or reopened their doors this year. Check out our definitive list of must-visit spots in Metro Manila in 2024.
Here are the must-visit spots in Metro Manila that opened (or reopened) this 2024:
Museong Pambata
Museong Pambata officially reopened this year after major renovation work. Now, a new generation of kids can experience the newly refreshed exhibits and colorful spaces where they can learn about Filipino culture through play.
The over 5,000-square-meter space features new and upgraded exhibits and new curations on environmental awareness, social responsibility, and Filipino heritage. While not all the galleries are currently open, several themed halls are available for viewing on the first floor. These include Kalikasan (environment), Karagatan (under the sea), Pamayanan (history and community), Himig (music), and the arts and crafts center, Habi. Each hall features different installations and activities that guests can play and interact with.
Several outdoor expansions are also open, including the Bahay Pukyutan, a nature-inspired outdoor playground where kids can be kids and run around and play the old-fashioned way, and Balay Yatu, an open space for children's events, celebrations, workshops, and creative activities.
In addition to freely exploring the museum, Museong Pambata also offers special guided tours. Theater troupes from all over the Philippines perform to "activate" a space, which quite literally brings the museum to life.
Museong Pambata is at Roxas Boulevard, cor South Drive, Manila City. It is open to walk-in guests on Fridays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Entrance starts at P450.
Centro de Turismo Intramuros
Centro de Turismo Intramuros, also known as the Intramuros Tourist Center, is a comprehensive tourist hub featuring a museum that offers an immersive experience of the Walled City's rich history, vibrant present, and sustainable future.
Inside the free museum-slash-tourist center, visitors will journey through Intramuros' pre-colonial roots, its role as a Spanish fortress, the devastation during World War II, and its present and future through the showcase of carefully curated artifacts and exhibits—essentially making it a renovated and revitalized version of Museo de Intramuros.
Centro de Turismo Intramuros is at Arzobispo corner Anda Street, Intramuros, Manila. Entrance is free.
Pasig River Esplanade
This year, several sections of the Pasig River Esplanade were launched. This government project, a 25-kilometer initiative to rehabilitate and revitalize the Pasig River within the next three years, hopes to replicate the success of the Iloilo Esplanade project and give Metro Manila citizens a new way to enjoy one of the area's major waterways.
Architect Paulo Alcazaren spearheads this project, which aims to highlight the historical significance of the Pasig River as Manila's past lifeline for communication, food transportation, and travel.
While not the entire 25-kilometer stretch is fully renovated and functional as of writing, a 750-meter stretch in Manila is already a crowd favorite for taking photos and late afternoon strolls. Its Neo-Classical-style walkway, meant to blend in with the rehabilitated Jones Bridge and the Central Post Office building, is a highlight.
In addition, a one-story structure with wide walkways, commercial spaces, bike lanes, and a viewing area on the roof deck is located along the river's banks. There's also a 135-meter boardwalk extending from Plaza Mexico to Fort Santiago to improve pedestrian access to Intramuros.
Pasig River Esplanade is at Riverside Drive, Ermita, Manila City.
Superpark McKinley
In 2023, SuperPark, one of the world's largest indoor active play centers, opened in Eastwood City Mall. This year, its second and first branch in the South welcomed guests in a bigger and swankier spot at the Venice Grand Canal Mall.
Much like its predecessor, SuperPark McKinley features a mix of over 25 activities and amenities where kids and adults are free to slide, tumble, jump, and play. It features playgrounds, trampoline platforms, and augmented reality games, encouraging guests to move around and have fun.
Aside from all the gaming and obstacle facilities, SuperPark McKinley also features three much bigger party rooms, perfect for hosting birthdays, teambuilding activities, and other celebrations with SuperPark in the background.
SuperPark McKinley is at 2/F Venice Grand Canal Mall, McKinley Hill, Taguig City. It is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Entrance starts at P650.
Fantasy World SM Fairview
Touted as the largest indoor amusement park in the country, Fantasy World is one of the newest theme parks to hit Metro Manila. It spans over 3,000 square meters and has seven main areas: Naughty Castle, Trampoline Park, Toddler Playhouse, Roller Skating, Bumper Car, Robot Battle, and Railway Theater.
Fantasy World has all your favorite indoor active play activities in one place. Whether you want to slide to your heart's content, relive the childhood joy of playing in a ball pit, or ride modern 3D rollercoasters, this is the place to be for kids and kids-at-heart.
Fantasy World is at 2/F Central Walk, SM City Fairview, Quirino Highway, Novaliches, Quezon City.
Solaire Resort North
Solaire Resort North is Quezon City's first five-star integrated resort. The property is a destination resort, casino, hotel, spa, and more on a 1.5-hectare site located in Quezon City's Vertis North development. It is the second luxury integrated resort under the Solaire brand of the Bloomberry Resorts Corporation (BRC) and is touted to usher in "a new era of luxury and entertainment in the northern Metro area."
It features over 530 rooms, with some boasting stunning views of the Metro Manila cityscape, Sierra Madre Mountains, and Laguna de Bay. It also has a ton of leisure and R&R facilities like pools, onsens, and spas that ensure every member of the family can have a good time here.
Aside from staycations and testing your luck at the casino, Solaire Resort North is home to several of the brand's crowd-favorite restaurants like Red Lantern, Finestra, and Fresh Buffet, ensuring those from the North need not travel South for a taste of what the resort has to offer.
Solaire Resort North is at 1 Solaire Way, Vertis North, Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City.
Label Skatepark
Label Skate Park is the first all-indoor skate park in the Metro. Here, skaters of all ages and skill levels are welcome to experience the thrill of riding, rolling, and shredding their skates in a vibrant and safe environment.
Unlike most rinks, which are mainly used for roller skating and rhythm skating, Label Skate Park is a practice ground for all kinds of roller sports, including skateboarding, in-line skating, and scooter tricks. Aside from flat surfaces where skaters can freely roll about, it also has features similar to outdoor skate parks like quarter pipes, fun boxes, ledges, rails, and banks for practicing ollies, perfecting the kickflip, and generating the most air from your jumps.
Label Skatepark is at 3/F SM Game Park, SM Southmall, Las Pinas City. Rates start at P150. Rates start at P200.
The UP Manila Museum of a History of Ideas
The UP Manila Museum of a History of Ideas finally reopened this December after four years of closure. Located on the University of the Philippines Manila campus, this museum documents the university's pivotal role in shaping our nation.
What makes this museum unique is that unlike most museums, which document the chronological flow of events shaping a nation, the UP Manila Museum of a History of Ideas tracks the reasons, logic, and concepts that set these moments in motion. Here, photos, videos, and sounds found in its five galleries are mere conduits for the real artifacts: the ideas.
If you've ever wondered what pushed certain events to be or the ideas that put them into motion, this is the place for you.
The UP Manila Museum of a History of Ideas is at Padre Faura St, Ermita, Manila City. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance starts at P75.
La Mesa Ecopark
La Mesa Ecopark is one of the few green spaces in Quezon City, so news of its reopening definitely excited many in the Metro. We finally have one more park where we can sit among trees and enjoy the great outdoors.
More than just a park where guests can relax and have a picnic day with the fam, La Mesa Ecopark is rich in flora and fauna, ready to be discovered and spotted.Upon entering the park, you'll be treated to lush green forests, tree-lined roads, and pockets of green where you can sit and enjoy nature. Looking up in the trees, you might even spot a few creatures scurrying and flying around.
But before rushing to the park, you should know that currently, only portions of it are open to the public. The park is undergoing a major renovation, and the different amenities and areas are being developed under a multi-phase scheme, meaning some areas may open ahead of others.
Activities like wall climbing, paintball, archery tag, and short guided birdwatching treks are currently open to the public under the first phase of opening.
La Mesa Ecopark is in Greater Lagro, Quezon City. Entrance starts at P20.
Space and Time Cube +
Bring your cameras and spice up your social media profiles with out-of-this-world photos and FOMO-feeding reels of holograms, 3D optical illusions, and many more at Space & Time Cube+. This new, fully immersive attraction combines interactive projections and physical displays to allow guests to explore the "metaverse" in new ways.
Here, you get to travel back in time, experience the cosmos, and learn more about the world as you immerse yourself in AR attractions, 3D illusions, and holographic displays, thanks to the over 20 themed attractions and somatosensory games.
If you're a fan of exhibits like Teamlab Planets and Borderless in Tokyo, then you're bound to enjoy Space & Time Cube+'s spatial-visual illusions.
Space & Time Cube+ is at G/F S'Maison at Conrad, Seaside Boulevard, Pasay City. Entrance starts at P680.
Check out lists of must-visit places from previous years:
10 Must-See Attractions Here and Abroad We Visited in 2023
10 New Indoor Attractions in the Metro You Should've Visited by Now
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