It is in human nature to love and adore something that is free and doesn’t cost any kind of money at all.
If you are someone on the same boat, it is important that you know of the amazing things and experiences that you can have in Manila that won’t cost you a dime. It is not unknown that the Philippine Airlines flight tickets don’t come cheap which is why it is important that you gather around experiences which are one of a kind but won’t cost you anything.
Let us take a look at some of the best ones in the lot, shall we?
Explore the National Museum
The best part of visiting Manila is the fact that you can actually experience things that won’t cost you a dime. The National Museum is open to the public and won’t cause you any kind of money at all which is definitely something that is completely unparalleled. The main reason why the entry to this museum is free because of the fact that the government wants the people visiting to have a better notion of the place and the history behind it.
Explore art galleries
Next on the list that you can do in Manila for free is to explore the art galleries by the mall for free. The display is made by some of the best local artists around, thus making it worth your experience without you spending any money at all. If you like something enough to buy, then you can proceed to make the purchase.
Take up a language course
If you are visiting Manila for quite a long period of time, there is another thing that you can definitely do while there – take up a language course. There are several of the technical departments from the Government which does offer free language courses for you to indulge in. You can learn Japanese, Spanish and a lot more and none of it would cost you anything at all.
Take a stroll around Luneta Park
View this post on Instagram
The Rizal’s Park, otherwise known as the Luneta Park is yet another one of the spot that you can visit around in Manila that won’t cost you anything. The place is surrounded with beautiful statues, gardens and just the light breeze and a quick walk down the area makes it an experience worth the while.
Watch free foreign movies
You will find a number of movie houses around in the Metro which offers you to watch free movies without any hidden charges at all. Alliance Française de Manille is one of the most popular spots around which is known for screening some of the most popular French movies which you can definitely watch if that is something that you are interested in. Even if you aren’t, just go, it’s free. There are also quite a number of annual film festivals in the metro such as EIGASAI.
There are a number of other experiences in Manila that you can get for free. If you are tight on a budget following the booking of your Clark to Manila online air tickets, these are some of the best options you can take a look into.
When I was still living and working in Manila, I go to art galleries in Makati or free exhibits launched by local artists. I also like just to roam around BGC without buying anything, well maybe just 1 BLK cup. Gosh I miss Eigasai! They went here in Baguio last year and I was binge-watching all day! I miss it!
Hi Rae! Baguio hasn’t been part of Japan Foundation Manila’s EIGASAI’s run; the last one was in 2017 (I was there and the year prior kasi). It might be the screenings by the local Japanese festival there 🙂
Yung National Museum yung gusto ko puntahan sana ulit kaso nagkaroon ng Pandemic. First na punta ko High School fieldtrip pa namin and 20 years ago na yun.
That would be something interesting to read about – how different the museum is now from your previous visit years ago 🙂
I’ve been wanting to explore the National Museum for a long time and hanggang ngayon di ko pa din nagagawa 🙁 Hopefully, when this pandemic is over, mapuntahan ko na sya 🙂
I have done soooo many activities here in Manila already but it’s just now that I learned about Alliance Française de Manille. I really should try that. Good read. Thanks for the recommendations!
You’re welcome, May! They’re located in Makati but for now, check them out on FB 🙂
YES. i love how we have upgraded our museum here as well as ineencourage nga na mag visit by giving free entrance. ive been meaning to visit it but i still got no time to do so. hanggang inabot na ng pandemic. nakakasisi na hindi ko na gawa prior coz my son really wants to visit pati yung planetarium. hay naku.. hoep this pandemic ends na
Same! I got caught up with a lot of things that on my free time, I’d rather stay at home. Ayun, nakalimutan ko na until lockdowns happened 🙁
Language courses are super, super fun! Aside from actual personal classes, there are also plenty of resources online that are also free. 🙂 It’s been a LONG while since I walked around Luneta Park…
Yes to free online resources but I personally like having face to face interaction since, for languages, it’s important to see and hear how every word is spoken and used in context. Though that can be done through online classes, it feels a bit limiting.
I used to be a firm believer that all fun things are worth something. This post made me realize that what I believe in does not hold truth for there are things we can experience without paying money. Taking a stroll around Luneta Park really caught my interest because I have never visited that landmark. Although, I always get to pass by it, since my younger sister’s school is in Manila, I never considered it as something worth visiting until today. Thank you so much for sharing!
Glad to have offered you another perspective on things, Aaliziyah! There’s actually a lot that we can do without necessarily spending a lot of money or even traveling far from home. Having a mindset of contentment and appreciation makes us look at the beauty around us 🙂
Oh wow! I didn’t know you can learn a new language for free and that Alliance Francaise offers free film showing :O thank you so much for this blog post! I’ll definitely look these up soon for things to do <3
You’re welcome! The Spanish embassy also hosts screenings and other events online 🙂
Manila, sans the picture of poverty, is a wonderful place to live in. It is historic, it is majestic and homey all at the same time.
I agree! Also glad that the current administration is in the business of restoring and enriching the city 🙂
Great list! I didn’t know there’s a place called Alliance Française de Manille that offers FREE screening of popular French movies! I hope I can try that out soon. 🙂
It’s in Makati, near SM Jazz if I’m not mistaken. Check them out on Facebook if they have any upcoming online screenings 🙂
These ideas are wonderful and you know what else these ideas will be good for? For dates!!! Especially when you want to spend as much time together, but don’t have much money to spend. But yeah, not like I’ll be going on dates any time soon. Hahaha
These are such great tips when having a tipid date – whether with a special friend, friends, and family. I actually love those dates after walking along a park then tusok-tusok after.
It is! Traveling doesn’t always equate to spending lots of money naman. Having the right mindset helps 🙂
I have thought about exploring more art galleries oncwe this pandemic is over 😀 I have a love and hate relationship sa art kasi gustung gusto ko matuto atleast mag drawing man lang pero di talaga…ayaw yata ng art sakin. HAHAHA But you know, I can feel the emotion sometimes pag may mga nakikita akong art material. It usually speaks to me about something and that’s how I have fallen inlove w/ art galleries. Kaya OMG! May list na nga ako sa mga pupuntahan ko in the future.
I can relate to your love-hate relationship with art! The closest thing that I can do is origami or cross stitching. I can’t draw or even do watercolor painting properly 🙁 which art gallery are you aiming to see first? 🙂
OMG! I didn’t know that you can learn a new language for free here in the PH? and I didn’t know that we could also watch free foreign films? I’ve always wanted to try learning a new language but I get sad na medyo may kamahalan ang ibang tutorial services. For the film naman, jusko gumagastos pa kami ng bf ko to watch movies HAHA These are all from pre-covid! Now that times has changed, I hope to do these things hopefully next year!
Hi Thea! There’s actually a lot of foreign film festivals in the country (mostly within the metro cities though) that have free screenings. I cover quite a number of those, pre-covid. Well, now, they’re all online na din 🙂 For foreign languages, they offer during open house events but I also see that the language schools or cultural offices are offering free online classes.
Exploring the National Museum with my kids will be our first thing to do once we step foot in Manila. Matapos na sana ang pandemic para mka gala na 🙂
Yey! Hopefully po makapag gala na kayo. A day’s not enough to see all the National Musems in Manila 😀
Another input is vlogging in Manila and in entire Philippines is free. Meaning, you will have less restriction in capturing footage, people tend to wants to be included in your frame and you don’t have to worry about blurring their faces coz they want to be part of your project.
That experience is hard when you travel outside the country.
Maybe a little restriction in terms of places that might require you to get a permit or something, like sa BGC na medyo confusing yung rules hehe. I do see a lot of travel vlog content where people like being filmed. 🙂
Know what, I actually have an itinerary around last part of March to check the Manila museum for a content. Luluwas talaga dapat kami from Pampanga to Manila. Then Covid happened. Sayang tuloy.
Awwe, that’s sad to hear po 🙁 maganda pa naman mag museum hopping sa Manila kasi madami mag kakalapit. Hopefully ma push niyo po yan in the near future 🙁
I miss hanging out in museums in Manila. There were weekends when I was bored in my condo then I’ll just ride a bus and head to Manila to walk inside NatMu. 🙁
Our lives have changed a lot noh? I can’t wait until we can all safely travel leisurely again. I haven’t seen the NatMu of Natural History 🙁
I didn’t know that you can actually take language courses around Manila for free, been always interested to learn spanish for a long time. For now, I’ll try to self-study at home. 🙂
Usually the language schools offer at least a free trial during their open house events 🙂
i was very happy to know the National Museum is free. so that was one of the first places i brought my sons to when we went home. but i am surprised about the free language courses. that’s great!