What to See in Makati - Top Sights and Attractions

Park in Makati, Philippines. The Ayala Triangle Gardens is a 2-hectare landscaped urban park in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a triangular public garden and courtyard in the center of the Makati Central Business District. It was named after its owner and developer Ayala Land, and opened to the public in November 19, 2009. Inspired by Hyde Park in London, the park, which is dotted with palms, acacia trees, and tropical foliage, is considered one of the few "green" areas in Makati.

The Triangle has become a focal point for social events in the business district, and is popular at Christmastime for its extravagant light-and-sound display. It is also home to the Tower One and Exchange Plaza and Makati Stock Exchange Building, as well as the old Nielson Tower which houses a fine dining restaurant.^[3]

Park in Makati, Philippines. The Legazpi Active Park is a privately owned public space and pocket park in the Makati Central Business District in Makati, Metro Manila, the Philippines. It is located in Legazpi Village in the western side of the CBD, adjacent to Washington SyCip Park and near Greenbelt. The park, best known as the location of a weekend market known as the Legazpi Sunday Market, is maintained by the Makati Commercial Estate Association which is headquartered in a two-storey building at the adjoining parking lot since 2017. Its name is in reference to its location along Legazpi Street within the formerly gated Legazpi Village that was merged with the neighboring gated San Lorenzo Village to form Barangay San Lorenzo.^[4]

Park in Makati, Philippines. The Makati Poblacion Park, often shortened to Poblacion Park, is an urban linear park along the south bank of the Pasig River in Metro Manila, the Philippines. As its name suggests, it is located in Barangay Poblacion, Makati and was formerly known as Casa Hacienda Park. The park is the largest of three public parks in Makati's old downtown area situated at the site of a former plantation house. It is operated by the Department of Environmental Services Parks and Green Division of the City Government of Makati. Together with the Makati Poblacion Linear Park, the park has revitalized around 0.25 kilometers of Makati Poblacion's waterfront between the Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge and Rockwell Center.^[6]

Catholic church in Makati, Philippines. The San Pedro Macati Church, also known as Saints Peter and Paul Parish, is a Roman Catholic Church located in Makati Poblacion, the oldest part of Makati and for that reason, the cultural and heritage barangay of Makati, Philippines. In front of the church facade is Plaza Cristo Rey, which was formerly the San Pedro de Macati Cemetery. The Poblacion Church is a government-recognized cultural property based on the official list provided by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. After 394 years, the Church was re-dedicated, the first dedication happened in 1620 when it became a parish church, the next after the reconstruction of the facade in 1796 and finally again, on the 30th day of January, 2015. The dedication was led by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, D.D. Archbishop of Manila, con-celebrated by Rev. Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos, Ed.D, Parish Priest, bishops, and priests.^[7]

Skyscraper in Makati, Philippines. Tower One & Exchange Plaza is one of the tallest skyscrapers in the Philippines. It is located in the Makati Central Business District and has a height of 160 meters. The building has 35 floors above ground level, and is originally planned to be the first of three towers for the Ayala Triangle. Plans for the construction of the two additional buildings did not materialize though. The area composes of 3 buildings, Ayala Tower One, The Makati Stock Exchange and the former trading floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange, along with 2 buildings under construction.

Tower One & Exchange Plaza was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP. Leandro V. Locsin & Partners was the local architect of record. The building is owned by Ayala Land, a subsidiary of the Ayala Corporation, which is headquartered in the building (see Ownership). Other institutions headquartered at Ayala Tower One include the primary trading floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange (Until February 2018) and Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO). It is the headquarters of the Ayala Corporation, the company that built the Makati Central Business District.^[11]

Mall in Pasig, Philippines. Rockwell Center is a high-end mixed-use area in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, named after James Rockwell, former President of Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company. It is a project of Rockwell Land Corporation which is in turn owned by the Lopez Holdings Corporation. Rockwell Center was first developed in 1998 and is being expanded since 2012. The architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill carried out the design under the direction of former design partner Larry Oltmanns, while Felino Palafox and his company, Palafox Associates, became responsible for the master-planning of the complex. Its centerpiece, the Power Plant Mall, opened on December 26, 2000. The Rockwell Center includes office buildings, condominium towers, a law and business school and a shopping mall.^[12]

Avenue in the Philippines. The Kalayaan Flyover, also known as the EDSA–Kalayaan Flyover, is a four-lane flyover connecting Gil Puyat Avenue, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, Kalayaan Avenue, and 32nd Street in Metro Manila, the Philippines. Located primarily in Makati with a short portion in Taguig, it facilitates access from the Makati Central Business District to the Bonifacio Global City and, ultimately, to Circumferential Road 5.

Preparation work for the flyover began in 1997, when the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) announced the construction of two new primary access points to the Bonifacio Global City, with the flyover serving as the main western access point to the area. Designed by Katahira & Engineers Asia, actual construction of the flyover began in late 1997 with the construction of the segment between Gil Puyat Avenue and EDSA, contracted to the Uy-Pajara Construction Company. Work on the segment between Kalayaan Avenue and the Bonifacio Global City meanwhile began in April 1999, with the work being contracted to F.F. Cruz and Co. one of the Philippines' largest construction companies. Capable of holding up to 4,000 vehicles at one time, the flyover would reduce travel times between Makati and the Bonifacio Global City to five minutes by providing a direct connection between the two business districts instead of needing to route vehicles through EDSA.

The 1.5-kilometer (0.93 mi) flyover was inaugurated by President Joseph Estrada and other government officials on January 25, 2000. Although promoted as a public project, it has been rumored that the ₱950 million spent for the flyover's construction did not come from public funds, but rather was underwritten by the First Pacific group through their local subsidiary, Metro Pacific.

Despite being a flyover, the entire road is designated as National Route 191 (N191) of the Philippine highway network.^[13]

Truss bridge in the Philippines. The Estrella–Pantaleon Bridge, also known as the Rockwell Bridge, is a four-lane box girder bridge crossing the Pasig River in Metro Manila, the Philippines. It connects Estrella Street in Makati on the south bank of the Pasig River, to Pantaleon Street via Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong on the north bank, near the site of the Acqua Private Residences.

It is one of three bridges connecting Makati and Mandaluyong, the other two being the Makati–Mandaluyong Bridge connecting Makati Avenue and Barangay Poblacion to Mandaluyong, and the Guadalupe Bridge carrying Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) between the two cities, ultimately serving to help relieve chronic traffic congestion on the two other bridges.^[14]

Avenue in Makati, Philippines. The Estrella Flyover, also known as the EDSA–Estrella Ramp and the Rockwell Flyover, is a two-lane flyover connecting Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and Estrella Street in Makati, Metro Manila, the Philippines, facilitating access to the Rockwell Center mixed-use development.

Built by Rockwell Land Corporation, the developer of Rockwell Center, construction of the flyover began in 1998, originally to facilitate direct northbound traffic flows to Rockwell Center from the Makati Central Business District and the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig via EDSA. Initial plans for managing traffic around the area with the flyover's construction were devised by local construction consultancy SMDI Consultants, while the flyover itself was originally designed by Katahira & Engineers Asia, taking into account the limited land area on which to build it partially due to the construction of the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT). Final plans for the flyover, however, were completed by Ove Arup & Partners, DCCD Engineering Corporation and CJG & Associates.

On April 23, 2002, Rockwell Land opened the 620-meter (2,030 ft) long, ₱210 million flyover to traffic, with the inauguration led by Oscar Lopez, chair of the Lopez Group of Companies (the parent company of Rockwell Land), and attended by officials of both companies. Although Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Simeon Datumanong, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay were invited to attend the inauguration, they were instead represented respectively at the event by DPWH Undersecretary Manuel Bonoan, MMDA General Manager Jaime Paz, and Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, respectively.

The Estrella Flyover was originally one-way, but on December 21, 2012, the MMDA opened the flyover to two-way traffic from 7:00 to 10:00 am in order to ease traffic congestion as a result of cars turning right onto EDSA from Estrella Street. Done in coordination with Rockwell Land, the move to two-way traffic was initiated in part because of increased traffic flows to the area as a result of the opening of the Estrella–Pantaleon Bridge in 2011. However, on September 5, 2016, the MMDA decided to return to one-way traffic.^[16]