Ayala Museum

Two collections carry this museum. The first is a run of sixty dioramas made by hand in the 1970s, each a small stage set of carved figures showing an episode from the country's history, done with a level of craft that holds attention far longer than the format suggests. The second is the gold: ornaments, sashes, funerary masks and belts worked before the Spanish arrived, from a period most visitors know nothing about, displayed in a dark room that makes the case. Upper floors carry textiles, maritime models and changing contemporary shows. The building reopened after a long renovation and is cool, quiet and well lit.

What you actually see

• The sixty dioramas - hand-carved miniature scenes running through the country's history.
• The gold collection - pre-colonial ornaments, sashes and funerary masks in a darkened room.
• The textile galleries - woven cloth from across the archipelago with the techniques explained.
• The boat models - scale reconstructions of traditional Philippine watercraft.

When to go

Open most of the week with one closing day and evening hours some days; check before travelling across Manila. Weekday afternoons are quietest. Makati traffic is worst between five and eight in the evening, so plan the trip in or out around that. Two to three hours is right.

Honest expectations

It is the most expensive museum ticket in the city by a wide margin, and after the free national museums that stings. The permanent collection is not large and can be walked in ninety minutes. The dioramas have small labels and a queue forms along them at busy times. It sits inside a shopping district, so the approach is malls and car parks rather than anything atmospheric.

Nearby

Greenbelt's gardens and the Makati business district surround it; Poblacion's food streets are ten minutes away.