Artwork on display inside the Pinto Art Museum.

© Salvador Maniquiz/Shutterstock

Pinto Art Museum

Top choice in Manila

LoginSave

This fantastic museum in Antipolo, in the hills just east of Metro Manila, showcases some of the Philippines' best contemporary artists. There are six impressive galleries, outdoor art installations, and an indigenous arts wing where you can get an authentic Kalinga (North Luzon) tattoo. The beautifully landscaped grounds, with sweeping views of smog-choked Manila, are a welcome escape from the urban madness. Figure on P450 each way for a taxi from Makati (50 minutes).

Alternatively, take an Antipolo- or Tanay-bound jeepney or public van from SM Megamall in Ortigas. Get off at the Ynares Center and take a short tricycle ride or walk 1km to the museum.

Plan on having lunch at the superb Cafe Rizal (mains P200 to P300) on the museum grounds. The road leading out to Antipolo is lined with shops and sunset-facing restobars offering beer buckets and impressive panoramas of Manila.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • 500px Photo ID: 133312595 - Established in 1976, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila is the first Philippine art institution to offer a bilingual and pedagogical program. It is partially subsidized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP or the Central Bank of the Philippines). In 1979 the 'Met' was incorporated into a foundation known as the Metropolitan Museum of Manila Foundation, Inc. officially changing the status of the Museum to an independent, private, nonsectarian, non-political and non-profit cultural foundation...The Museum is responsible for the conservation of some of the country's national treasures. The basement gallery showcases pre-Hispanic gold and pottery artifacts--proof of a flourishing pre-colonial Filipino society actively engaged in international trade and showcasing hallmarks of Filipino art and culture from the 8th to 13th centuries.

    Metropolitan Museum of Manila

    8.5 MILES

    The 'Met' is a world-class gallery tracing the evolution of Filipino art from the early 20th century to the present. Virtually all great Filipino painters…

  • Main gate of Fort Santiago in Manila, Philippines.

    Fort Santiago

    9.45 MILES

    Guarding the entrance to the Pasig River is Intramuros' premier tourist attraction: Fort Santiago. Within the fort grounds is an oasis of lovely manicured…

  • San Agustin Church at Intramuros, Manila, Philippines.

    San Agustin Church

    9.1 MILES

    The San Agustin Church was the only building left intact after the destruction of Intramuros in WWII. Built between 1587 and 1606, it is the oldest church…

  • Chinese Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

    Chinese Cemetery

    8.72 MILES

    As in life, so it is in death for Manila’s wealthy Chinese citizens, who are buried with every modern convenience in the huge Chinese Cemetery. It's far…

  • The Ayala museum at Makati city, Metro Manila, Philippines.

    Ayala Museum

    6.31 MILES

    This gleaming museum features four floors of superbly curated exhibits on Filipino culture, art and history. At the heart of the collection is a brilliant…

  • The National museum of Anthropology, Manila, Philippines.

    National Museum of Anthropology

    8.71 MILES

    Within a resplendent neoclassical building, this superb museum houses a vast and varied collection, including the skullcap of the Philippines’ earliest…

  • 500px Photo ID: 136281609 - The main industry that Marikina is famous for – shoemaking – began in 1887 through the pioneering efforts of Don Laureano “Kapitan Moy” Guevarra. Kapitan Moy started experimenting with shoemaking when the soles of his own imported shoes broke. For want of a shoe repair shop nearby he tried to fix his shoes. At that time only the Chinese located in Manila were engaged in shoe repair and manufacture. Marikenos were already engaged in the limited production of slippers and clogs, or bakya, even before the coming of the Spaniards...Kapitan Moy separated the different parts of his shoes, studying closely the intricacies of how the shoe was put together. Tiburcio “Busyong” Eustaquio, a wooden clog maker, made a pair of shoe lasts for Kapitan Moy to help him in his experiments. The tools used in making the first Marikina shoes were borrowed from blacksmiths in Marikina and Pasig. Kapitan Moy, after several unsuccessful attempts, succeeded in making the first pair of Marikina shoes.

    Marikina Shoe Museum

    2.98 MILES

    A must for Imelda Marcos junkies is the Marikina Shoe Museum. There's the footwear of various Filipino luminaries on display here, but it's Imelda’s shoes…

  • MANILA, PHILIPPINES - 2014/03/11: Casa Manila Courtyard and Fountain - Casa Manila is housed in a Spanish era building that shows the colonial lifestyle during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. Casa Manila is an imposing stone structure circa 1850, one of the grand houses in Barrio San Luis of Intramuros and across the street from San Agustin church. (Photo by John S Lander/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Casa Manila

    9.11 MILES

    This beautiful reproduction of a Spanish colonial house offers a window into the opulent lifestyle of the gentry in the 19th century. Imelda Marcos had it…

View more attractions

Nearby Manila attractions

1. Marikina Shoe Museum

2.98 MILES

A must for Imelda Marcos junkies is the Marikina Shoe Museum. There's the footwear of various Filipino luminaries on display here, but it's Imelda’s shoes…

2. People Power Monument

3.56 MILES

Honours the 1986 'People Power' revolution that overthrew then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

3. Art In Island

4.39 MILES

This is an art museum where you become the subject. It contains scores of three-dimensional murals and paintings designed to play tricks on your camera…

4. Mind Museum

4.97 MILES

This excellent science museum succeeds in balancing education with fun, with plenty of cool interactive exhibits, including a planetarium, a printing…

5. Manila American Cemetery

5.13 MILES

A poignant and peaceful spot, this sprawling war cemetery on a grassy, beautifully manicured plot is the resting place of 17,206 soldiers killed in battle…

6. Pineapple Lab

5.36 MILES

A gallery and creative events space in Makati. Soon to relocate to upper Burgos St.

7. Museo Ng Makati

5.43 MILES

Down by the river, the Museo Ng Makati is a classic old Manila house from the 1800s (look for the capiz-shell windows). Inside are some great photos of…

8. Vargas Museum

5.48 MILES

This art museum on the leafy University of Philippines Diliman campus has a mix of changing modern and experimental art shows, and a permanent collection…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "philippines/manila/attractions/pinto-art-museum/a/poi-sig/1568715/357305",
  "destination": "Manila",
  "continent": "Asia",
  "country": "Philippines",
  "city": "Manila",
  "position": "superzone"
}