Manila Cathedral

Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

The green-domed cathedral rebuilt time and again

⚠ No sleeveless tops or short shorts

Hours

Daily masses, open between services; check exact visiting hours on site

Tickets

Free (donations welcome)

Address

Corner of Cabildo and Beaterio streets, facing Plaza de Roma, Intramuros

Across Plaza de Roma you see the green dome and the bell tower. The first church here, in 1571, was bamboo and palm thatch; fire, typhoons, earthquakes and the 1945 bombing knocked down its successors one after another, and the present building was finished in 1958. Inside it's brighter than you expect, with stained glass throwing colour onto the marble floor, and if a mass is on, the pipe organ rolls around the stone. San Agustin is all old weathered stone; this one is tidy and grand.