Manila.s Finest

Manila is the place to be The great urban sprawl of Metro Manila, home to about eleven million people, is actually a grouping of ten areas that have all been conferred city status in their own right. These cities stretch from Caloocan in the north to Las Pinas in the south. Tourists tend to see only a few of them, usually Paranaque (where the airport is), Pasay , Manila and Makati . Manila is the key tourist district, fronting Manila Bay along Roxas Boulevard, taking in the neighbourhoods of Ermita and Malate , and stretching north to the old walled city of Intramuros and over the Pasig River to Chinatown , also known as Bindondo. On Manila Bay are landmarks such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines and, at the north end of the bay, the stately Manila Hotel. Makati is the central business district (CBD), built around the main thoroughfare of Ayala Avenue, and home to banks, insurance companies, five-star hotels and all the other paraphernalia of modern life. Leaving Makati and heading north through the heaving traffic on Epifano de los Santos Avenue (commonly referred to as EDSA ) brings you to the newer commercial district of Ortigas , which is trying to out-Makati Makati, with its hotels, malls and air-conditioned theme restaurants. Beyond Ortigas is Quezon City , which has some lively nightlife catering to the nearby University of the Philippines .