As part of the celebration of International Museum Day 2024, Metro Manila offers a wealth of cultural experiences with these 10 must-visit free museums. From historical artifacts to contemporary art, explore the diverse and vibrant heritage of the Philippines without spending a peso on entrance fees.
1. Ayala Museum
For International Museum Day, the Ayala Museum will offer free admission. Visitors can also be among the first to view the updated "Gold of Ancestors: Pre-colonial Treasures in the Philippines" exhibit.
Location: Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Greenbelt Park, Makati City
Museum Hours: May 19, 10 a.m to 6 p.m
Entrance fee: Free entrance
2. Yuchengco Museum
The Yuchengco Museum, which opened in September 2005 in Makati, aims to enhance public appreciation of art through top-quality international and local exhibits and programs. It serves as both an art showcase and a place for discussion and education. The Museum was established to display Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco's art collection and celebrate his achievements as a businessman, diplomat, collector, philanthropist, art patron, and education advocate.
Location: RCBC Plaza, Ayala corner Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati City.
Museum Hours: May 17 to 18, 10 a.m to 6 p.m
Entrance fee: Free entrance
3. Casa Manila Museum
Casa Manila Museum is a living museum showcasing the lifestyle of a wealthy Filipino family during the late Spanish colonial period. The building's façade is based on a house that once stood on Jaboneros Street in Binondo in the 1850s. The interior reflects late 19th-century tastes, with furniture and decorations from Europe and China.
Vote for Intramuros as Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction at https://www.worldtravelawards.com/vote and show your screenshot at the museum entrance.
This is a great chance to explore the rich cultural heritage and history in these iconic museums within the Walled City.
Location: Casa Manila, Plaza San Luis Complex, General Luna cor. Real Sts., Intramuros, Manila
Museum Hours: May 18, 9 a.m to 5 p.m
Entrance fee: Free entrance
4. Museo de Intramuros
The Museo de Intramuros includes the rebuilt San Ignacio Church and the Mission House of the Society of Jesus, now showcasing a large collection of religious artifacts. The Mission House was finished in 2018 and opened to the public in 2019 for the 40th Anniversary of the Intramuros Administration.
You can support Intramuros by voting for it as Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction at https://www.worldtravelawards.com/vote and showing your screenshot at the museum entrance.
Location: Corner Arzobispo, Anda St, Intramuros, Manila, 1002
Museum Hours: May 18, 9 a.m to 5 p.m
Entrance fee: Free entrance
5. National Museum - Book Cover Design Activity
The National Museum of the Philippines is hosting a Book Cover Design Activity at the National Museum of Anthropology's Central Library and Archives. Along with designing, participants can join a book talk and gallery tour to celebrate National Heritage Month in May.
The Digital Drawing Activity is from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., and the Traditional Drawing Activity is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Visit the National Museum's Facebook page to register, as there are only 15 slots available.
Location: Padre Burgos Ave, Ermita, Manila, 1000 Metro Manila
Museum Hours: May 17, 9 a.m to 5 p.m
Entrance fee: Free entrance
6. Manila Clock Tower Museum, Manila City Hall
The Manila Clock Tower Museum is itself 7 storeys high including mezzanine floor. The architecture stands at a towering height of almost 100 feet, making it the largest clock tower in the Philippines. The ground floor of the museum is dedicated to Manila’ history, especially during World War II. Manila’s historic and political past is showcased in the museum, with one area designed to replicate the office of the city mayors. There is also a mini-library where one can find titles related especially to the city itself.
The museum’s 6th floor is where one can find the mechanisms for the four clocks. The highlight of the museum has to be the 7th floor where one can access by the spiral staircase. Here, one can get a circular view.
Location: The Manila Clock Tower Museum is at 4/F Manila City Hall, Padre Burgos Avenu, Ermita, Manila.
Museum Hours: Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m to 3 p.m
Entrace fee: Free admission (registration form)
7. The Met Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Manila
The Metropolitan Museum of Manila envisions a world where people from all walks of life appreciate the arts. Founded in 1976, it aims to amplify the Filipinos’ sense of cultural and artistic heritage from the past, present, and beyond, becoming the leading hub for contemporary art by Filipino and international artists engaging in the ever-renewing contemporary discourses and experiences that shape our understanding of society.
Today, with a refreshed dynamism for the 21st century, the museum re-introduces itself as The M as it reopens its new art spaces in the heart of the emerging vibrant cultural hub that is Bonifacio Global City (BGC). It renews its commitment to its core mission of Art for All, with a bold curatorial direction that takes an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach to art exhibition programming in a location with greater accessibility to a wider and more inclusive audience.
Location: MK Tan Centre 30th Street, Bonifacio Global City
Museum Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m to 5 p.m, Saturday 10 a.m to 5 p.m
Entrace fee: Free entrance (registration form)
8. Museo El Deposito
The Museo El Deposito narrates the rich history of the underground reservoir and the Carriedo waterworks as a whole. It aims inspire everyone to value water as a natural resource and appreciate the people who make access to it easier for everyday Filipinos.
Museo El Deposito lets you in on the history of the 1882 Carriedo Waterworks, which provided potable water to Manila during the 19th century. The museum features original artifacts, which attest to the long history of El Deposito, including an original Carriedo waterworks hydrant.
The museum has three galleries featuring various artifacts recovered from the site, scale models, and interactive modules.
Location: Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine, Pinaglabanan St., Corazon de Jesus, San Juan City
Museum Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m to 4 p.m
Entrace fee: Free entrance
9. Gravity Art Space
Gravity Art Space (GAS) is a space for contemporary art founded by artist Indy Paredes in 2021. The word Gravity in the space's name speaks to the weight it grants to artistic process and how this is grounded by the collaborative relationships between the space, artists, curators, and its public.
Just like the force of gravity, while these aspects of exhibition-making and programming are not always remarked, they are always part of its consideration and what makes the space's existence possible and its programs worthwhile. Working with a network of co-artists and colleagues of this generation, Gravity Art Space aims to become a collaborative space for companions and contemporaries and a hub for productive discussions, exhibitions, and discoveries in art.
Location: Mother Ignacia Ave, Dilimanm Quezon City
Museum Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 1 p.m to 7 p.m
Entrace fee: Free entrance (registration form)
10. Ronac Art Center
Ronac Art Center, known to be the mecca of contemporary art and streetwear in the Philippines. Ronac is a four-storey edifice that houses local artists through individual galleries and events.This art center features a gallery, yogurt bar, a mattress showroom, design studio, basketball court, and a number of lifestyle boutiques, where it’s about the owner Bigboy Cheng’s vision to create a space that promotes art, fashion, and design for people with a passion for all things urban cool.
Location: 424 Ortigas Avenue, Greenhills North, Quezon City
Museum Hours: Monday to Sunday, 9 a.m to 6 p.m.
Entrace fee: Free entrance