Philippines · National Capital Region · Manila
Binondo, Manila — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Binondo is Manila's Chinatown, established in 1594 across the Pasig River from Intramuros and still the city's centre of commerce and trade.
About Binondo
Where to stay in Binondo
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Binondo rewards staying inside it. The district covers barely twenty-six hectares beside the Pasig River, so a room anywhere in the Chinatown puts its kitchens, shops, and trading houses within a walk, and the point of the place is lost from a taxi. Rooms are commercial rather than restful.
Santa Cruz and Quiapo next door take the pressure off if you want quiet at night while keeping Binondo's food a few streets away.
About Binondo
What are the main landmarks in Binondo?
Monuments outnumber museums on the walk. Don Roman Ongpin Monument, the Anda Monument, Queen Isabel II Monument, and Charles IV Monument stand along the routes out of Binondo, and the Bonifacio and the Katipunan Revolution Monument marks the same ground. Rizal Shrine and Casa Manila belong to the same list.
San Ignacio Church and Museo de Intramuros carry the name of the walled quarter that Binondo was placed across the Pasig River from.
What is the history of Binondo?
1594 is the founding year. The Spaniards laid out Binondo that year for Catholic Chinese, near Intramuros but across the Pasig River, where the colonial administration could keep watch on it. Trade came before the charter.
Chinese commerce already had a hub here, and the district holds the title of the world's oldest Chinatown. War undid much of it. Commercial buildings were destroyed after World War II and firms left for Makati, yet Binondo stayed the trading centre of Manila, its influence reaching into Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas, and Tondo.
Where is Binondo?
Binondo packs Manila's Chinatown into some twenty-six hectares beside the Pasig River, across the water from Intramuros.
Good for
More areas in Manila
Updated August 2026