Manila

Neighborhoods

Metro Manila is a conglomeration of 17 municipalities, with neighborhoods ranging from the historic sights of Intramuros to sophisticated business centers in Makati to the squatter shantytowns of Tondo.

Rizal Park is at the city's physical center. To the north of the park is Intramuros, an old, walled city built by the Spanish. Although Intramuros was heavily damaged during World War II (1939–45), it is being restored and is an area of great cultural and historical interest. To the south of Rizal Park are Ermita and Malate, areas that previously housed Manila's middle and upper classes, but that now form the tourist belt. These areas are home to many hotels and restaurants, as well as to Manila's vibrant nightlife.

City Fact Comparison
Indicator	Manila	Cairo	Rome	Beijing
	(Philippines)	(Egypt)	(Italy)	(China)
Population of urban area¹	7,832,000	10,772,000	2,688,000	12,033,000
Date the city was founded	1571	AD 969	753 BC	723 BC
Daily costs to visit the city²
Hotel (single occupancy)	$134	$193	$172	$129
Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)	$48	$56	$59	$62
Incidentals (laundry, dry cleaning, etc.)	$12	$14	$15	$16
Total daily costs	$194	$173	$246	$207
Major Newspapers³
Number of newspapers serving the city	38	13	20	11
Largest newspaper	People's Bagong Taliba	Akhbar El Yom/Al Akhbar	La Repubblica	Renmin Ribao
Circulation of largest newspaper	508,000	1,159,339	754,930	3,000,000
Date largest newspaper was established	n.a.	1944	1976	1948
¹United Nations population estimates for the year 2000.
²The maximum amount the U.S. Government reimburses its employees for business travel. The lodging portion of the allowance is based on the cost for a single room at a moderately-priced hotel. The meal portion is based on the costs of an average breakfast, lunch, and dinner including taxes, service charges, and customary tips. Incidental travel expenses include such things as laundry and dry cleaning.
³David Maddux, ed. Editor&Publisher International Year Book. New York: The Editor&Publisher Company, 1999.

Manila's business center is Makati, a modern showplace of shopping centers and skyscrapers. Residential districts,

Manila, nicknamed the Pearl of the Orient, rests on the Manila Bay. ()

home to wealthy Filipinos and foreign residents, surround the business hub. Forbes Park is Makati's most exclusive address, housing millionaires behind locked gates and under the protection of private security forces. Many embassies, consulates, polo clubs, and golf clubs also claim Makati addresses. In contrast to Makati is Tondo, a slum area near the Tayuman train station, where an estimated 180,000 of Manila's citizens live in subsistence conditions.

Manila's Chinatown is a long-established, lively area of restaurants, mah jong clubs, teahouses, and intriguing small shops. It is located partly in Santa Cruz and partly in Binondo.

Each of the other towns that make up Metro Manila has its own character. A government center and home to the main campus of the University of the Philippines, Quezon City also contains many elegant residential neighborhoods. Cubao is Quezon City's commercial center, and houses the Araneta Coliseum, the site of sporting events.

Paranaque and Las Pinas are both old salt-making towns, each known for their distinctive churches. The Las Pinas Church houses a world-famous organ made of bamboo. At Paranaque's Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the novenas held each Wednesday attract large crowds and turn the neighborhood into an informal marketplace of merchandise and food vendors. Malabon's fame also stems from religious roots, for each year on Good Friday, this fishing village is transformed by parades of masked devotees whipping themselves over the shoulders as a demonstration of their religious ardor.