UST Museum

Manila


Housed in the superb American–era main building of the University of Santo Tomas, this museum lays claims to being the oldest in Asia (the university's original campus dates to 1611). The highlight is the wonderful visual arts collection featuring Filipino masters. Otherwise it's a mix of taxidermy, coins, textiles and religious artefacts. The building also has a grim link to WWII, having served as an internment camp that held thousands of Allied soldiers for three years under Japanese occupation.

The building is also noteworthy for its earthquake-resistant design, incorporating construction components interlinked with gaps between.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Manila attractions

1. Bahay Nakpil-Bautista

0.84 MILES

Built in 1914, this beautiful ancestral home is the former residence of Perona Nakpil, the widow of Andrés Bonifacio ( father of the Philippine Revolution…

2. Quiapo Church

0.84 MILES

Quiapo Church is a 1933 replacement of an older structure destroyed by fire. One of Manila’s best-known landmarks, Quiapo is the home of the Black…

3. Plaza Miranda

0.88 MILES

Plaza Miranda has some history. This is where the common folk came to watch beauty contests, political rallies, and various events and festivities, until…

4. Arch of Goodwill

0.91 MILES

One of several ornate arches within Chinatown that distinguish the neighbourhood from its surrounds.

5. Seng Guan Buddhist Temple

1 MILES

The smell of incense wafts out of the large Seng Guan Buddhist Temple, the centre of Manila’s Buddhist community. It's just north of Chinatown in the hard…

6. First United Building

1 MILES

Not only is this one of Manila's finest pieces of surviving pre-WWII art deco, but it's also the centrepiece of the Escolta St revival. Inside are…

7. First United Community Museum

1 MILES

Opened in 2015, this modest museum is dedicated to Sy Lian Teng (1904–2004), a self-made Chinese tycoon whose family still owns the First United Building…

8. Golden Mosque

1.01 MILES

The Golden Mosque was constructed in 1976 as something of a welcoming gift for the late Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, although his scheduled visit…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "philippines/manila/attractions/ust-museum/a/poi-sig/1495540/357305",
      "destination": "Manila",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "Philippines",
      "city": "Manila",
      "position": "superzone"
    }