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GUIDE: National Museum of the Philippines – Fine Arts, Anthropology & Natural History + Site Museums

Kara Santos

International travelers have returned to the Philippines and social gatherings are back to normal. For tourists in transit in Manila for a few days and urban dwellers who need to entertain visiting balikbayans and relatives near the Intramuros area, the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) complex’s three central museums, namely the Museum of Fine Arts, Anthropology and Natural History, are worth a visit.

Entrance is free and no reservations are required to visit the three museums, which are located within easy walking distance of each other. These three major museums are fairly large, and contain over four to six floors each. Going around each museum could easily take 1-2 hours.

The museums are generally quiet (especially if you go on weekdays), and are family-friendly and senior-friendly with ramps and elevators to the different floors.

In case you’re planning to visit all three museums in one trip, I would recommend starting with the Museum of Fine Arts first in the morning when it opens at 9:00 am, crossing over to the Museum of Anthropology across the street (since these two are nearer each other), taking a break for lunch, and then finishing up with the Museum of Natural History in the afternoon. However, if you don’t have a whole day to spare, you could just pick one or two museums to visit, depending on your interests.

Here are the latest guidelines and tips to help make the most of your visit to three of the central National Museums of the Philippines.

National Museum of Fine Arts

The National Museum of Fine Arts is an arts museum in Manila established in 1998 that houses a collection of paintings and sculptures by classical Filipino artists.

The National Museum of Fine Arts is currently home to 29 galleries and hallway exhibitions comprising of 19th century Filipino masters, National Artists, leading modern painters, sculptors, and printmakers. Also on view are art loans from other government institutions, organizations, and individuals.

Notable masterpieces here include the paintings and sculptures by classical Filipino artists such as Spoliarium and The Parisian Life by Juan Luna, and artwork by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, and Guillermo Tolentino. Other notable artwork includes: Recuerdo de Patay (Memento Mori) of a Child, The Burning of Manila, Rape and Massacre in Ermita, Noli Me Tangere and The Assassination of Governor Bustamante and His Son.

First Floor


Second Floor


Third Floor

Fourth Floor

The museum is housed in the Old Legislative Building (also known as the Old Congress Building), along Padre Burgos Street. This neoclassical building built in 1921 originally housed legislative bodies of the Philippine government.

National Museum of Anthropology

The National Museum of Anthropology, established in 1988, houses Ethnological and Archaeological exhibitions of the Philippines, including the wreck of the San Diego, ancient artifacts, and zoology divisions. This museum also contains a model of an Ifugao house in the courtyard of the building.

The National Museum of Anthropology showcases the Philippine ethnographic and terrestrial and underwater archaeological collections narrating the story of the Philippines from the past, as presented through artifacts as evidence of its pre-history.

First floor

Second floor

Third floor

Fourth floor

Fifth floor

The National Museum of Anthropology is located in the Agrifina Circle or Rizal Park, adjacent to the National Museum of Fine Arts building. The building formerly housed the Department of Finance before it was turned into a museum.

National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History, opened in 2017, houses 12 permanent galleries spread over six floors, which exhibit the rich biological and geological diversity of the Philippines. It includes creatively curated displays of botanical, zoological, and geological specimens that represent our unique natural history.

Situated at the center of the museum is a “Tree of Life” structure that connects all the unique ecosystems in the Philippines, from our magnificent mountain ridges to the outstanding marine reefs.

First Floor

Second Floor

Third Floor

Fourth Floor

Fifth Floor

Sixth Floor

The National Museum of Natural History is located along Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, Manila.

New rules and guidelines

Visiting Hours

The National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology, and National Museum of Natural History are open to the public from Tuesdays to Sundays (except religious holidays) from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Visitors can enter at least 30 minutes before closing time. Entrance is FREE.

Prohibited items

Baggage counters are available upon entry. Big bags, umbrellas, and tumblers must be deposited at the counters. The following items are NOT permitted inside the museum buildings:

Dress Code

There is no dress code when visiting the museum but visitors are encouraged to dress appropriately keeping in mind the sensitivities other visitors may have.

Photography

Taking of pictures is allowed inside the museum premises. However, the use of camera flash and the recording of videos are strictly prohibited.

Decorum

Health and safety protocols (2023)

Contact information

Photo shoots

In case you didn’t know, the different national museums are also open for photo shoots, including pre-nuptial, pre-debut, and other location shoots. According to their guidelines, photo shoots must be done only Monday within office hours from 10:00am – 3:00pm within designated areas only, This includes: the National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology, and National Museum of Natural History buildings’ facade, lobby, public staircase, and courtyard. The applicable location fee is P5,000.

Venue rental

Private citizens can also rent the different national museums for events like media launches, commercial shoots, and weddings, as seen in the recent Hearn-Cojuanco wedding. Here are the guidelines on venue rental for the national museum.

  1. Submit a written request thirty (30) days before the scheduled event.
  2. State the objective/s of the request with a project brief, which will be subject for review, assessment, and approval of the Director-General.
  3. Once approved, submit the accomplished application and guidelines agreement forms (see Annex A: Application Form) to the Museum Services Division (MSD).
  4. Upon submission of required forms, a client coordination meeting will be set by the MSD.
  5. Upon meeting, an event Floor Plan shall be submitted to the Director-General for approval.
  6. The client must secure a notarized Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) two (2) weeks before the event/activity, and will be subject for review and approval of the NMP Legal Office.
  7. An applicable fee (see Annex B: Schedule of Fees) shall be paid in full (tax exempted) to the NMP’s Cash Section in cash or online bank transfer a week before the event.
    a. For bank transfer, payment shall be sent to the following details:
    Account Name: National Museum Income Fund
    Account Number: 0012-1184-30
    Servicing Bank: Landbank of the Philippines – Intramuros Branch
    b. Issuance of Official Receipt is two (2) days upon submission of the original Deposit Slip or receipt of Transfer Confirmation Email from bank.
Designated venues available for rent

Regional, area, and site museums outside Metro Manila

Aside from the three central museums, the National Museum of the Philippines maintains regional, area and site museums all over the country. There are at least 17 NMP-run museums outside the National Capital Region (NCR). These museums have outstanding national artistic, cultural and natural heritage significance. The regional sites are also open for venue rentals.

Regional museums

Area museums

Site museums

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