Manila Attractions And More

Manila, more commonly referred to as “Metro Manila“, is the capital of the Philippines, and the main business hub. Technically known as the National Capital Region (NCR), it is composed of 16 cities and one municipality. That’s a pretty big “city” in any man’s language! However, there are Manila attractions worth visiting in among all this chaos.

When people hear the word Manila, they naturally begin to cringe. Like most Asian megacities it conjures up images of traffic, pollution, millions of people, and a sprawling metropolis of skyscrapers. There is no point sugar coating it because this in fact what Manila is like. While it is true that the Metro Manila population is massive, as a Manila tourist, there is still plenty of fun things to do in Manila.

You can’t escape the traffic!

One of the main problems here when it comes to enjoying the  Manila attractions is travel time. Manila travel can be painstakingly time-consuming and very frustrating due to the densely populated city. However, it is also a rapidly developing city and is constantly improving. Make sure you use Waze! In the time I have been living here since 2003, I have seen many developments completed. Some are good and some are not so good.  Let me give you an example.

There is a fantastic new city that has been built on the outskirts of Makati City called Fort BGC. It is a modern marvel in terms of architecture, amenities, schools, shopping malls, restaurants and office buildings. It really is an amazing development and is set to take over from Makati as the main business district of the Philippines.  However, there are only five roads in and five roads out. So you can imagine what happens during peak hour! Did the town planners ever stop to think about that? :)

Things are improving – slowly….

Having said that, despite the traffic issues, efforts have been made to improve the traffic. The Skyway, which has recently been extended from the south and west side of Manila to the north, can only help improve the traffic. At the time of writing, it is about 75% complete at the time of writing, so time will tell.

There are plenty of good Metro Manila destinations to enjoy and there are some great places to visit. You just need to know where to look and cut through all the clutter. That’s where Deztreks comes in. Manila points of interest are constantly increasing and improving. Manila tourism is increasing accordingly. There are plenty of places to go in Manila for couples if you’re a lovebird and plenty of other places to visit in Manila with friends if you’re not the romantic type. The Makati nightlife is arguably the best in Asia, if not the world and offers something for everyone.

Plenty to enjoy as a Manila tourist

Anyway, I’m hoping that the places I recommend you visit are enjoyable, and show you that Manila really does have plenty to offer aside from traffic and skyscrapers. There are a lot of interesting and historical places to visit as well as restaurants, bars, shopping malls, parks and even world-class casinos. I hope you enjoy Manila! Mabuhay!