Iloilo Museum Tour: Exploring 4 Museums in 1 Day

When I moved to Iloilo four years ago (before the pandemic hit), I planned to explore the province as much as possible and discover its heritage and culture.

Iloilo is known for its old heritage houses (which I am so curious about!) and Spanish colonial churches being the second Spanish colony in the Philippines after Cebu. In Spanish, Iloilo has been dubbed “La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad de Iloilo”“ which translates to "Most Loyal and Noble City".

When the establishments fully opened, I got the chance to tour 4 Iloilo museums and I highly recommend these as a go-to place for some art therapy and cultural education. Of course, not all of them will fit everyone's liking.

Find out which one you should not get your hopes high on and which one you should mentally prepare for!

1. ILOMOCA (Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Arts) 

I first visited ILOMOCA in 2019 and definitely loved all the pieces. 

According to its website, ILOMOCA is the first museum in the Visayas region dedicated to modern and contemporary art. The museum has 3 floors—but don’t
worry, they have escalators! It is also conveniently located in Iloilo Business Park so it’s close to hotels and malls.     

Entrance Fee:

• Regular: P150.00
• Senior/PWD: P120.00 (ID required)
• Students: P100.00 (ID required)
• Children (4 years below): FREE

They are open daily from 10 AM – 6 PM, except on Mondays. 

Personal take: Aside from the beautiful pieces, I love the ambiance of the place! The soft lighting and relaxing music makes it perfect for some art therapy—or even a casual date. 😉 

I recommend going to this museum first and grab lunch in nearby mall restaurants/food chains before heading off to the next museum destination!

2. Museo Iloilo

Entrance Fee:

• Adults – P50.00
• Students – P25.00

They are open daily from 10 AM  - 4:30 PM, except Mondays. 

Personal take: I was expecting more cultural pieces since this was supposed to be a provincial museum. Its main hall showcases a few artifacts, religious statues and some framed bits, and pieces of old, random items. 

Another smaller room houses some war relics, potteries, and brief history and background of fabric pieces in Iloilo. I think we stayed here for less than 20 minutes because some of the random pieces did not really pique my interest.

Check out some snaps on my TikTok vid by clicking here.

3. National Museum Western Visayas

You can’t miss this museum on your museum tours. I actually thought it was going to be a long walk down the road, but it’s literally just right beside Museo Iloilo.

National Museum Western Visayas was actually an old provincial jail built in 1911
(more than a hundred years ago, wow!). It was already up during WW2 and had been used by Japanese soldiers back then as an internment camp for prisoners of war. 

Now, aside from the prison bars which would remind visitors of the building's former function, this two-storey building has been converted into a museum and the place boasts of Ilonggo Heritage and cultural pieces. 

Entrance Fee: FREE 

        They are open daily from 9 AM  - 5 PM, except Mondays. 

Personal take: No shade to the previous museum, but this one has no entrance fee but looks better maintained, has cooler air-conditioning, and is more child-friendly. 

They actually have some stations where kids and adults can have some activities like drawing and knitting (materials provided). The roof deck is also a good place to visit, it has nothing really-- just faux grass (I think?) but the old prison guard towers just gives a glimpse of the building’s history. 

Check out some snaps on my TikTok vid by clicking here.

4. Metro Iloilo Modern Arts Park (MIMA) or Musée d' Arsie 

Metro Iloilo Modern Arts Park (MIMA) or Musée d' Arsie is not an actual museum, but a 7-storey commercial building with pieces of thought-provoking art displayed along walls and staircases. Don’t expect a hall full of paintings and sculptures, but also, don’t underestimate the displays!

The arts would send your imagination to another level, especially the ones that are kept in the basement. 

• Adults – P100.00
• Students – P50.00 

They are open daily from 9 AM  - 6 PM. 

Personal take: When we were told that the viewing would start at 7th floor, my first thought was “wow, that much?” – and then we got to 7th floor and was told to just take the stairs down until the we reach the basement. The key to touring this museum? Take it easy. Absorb each art pieces, no matter how weird some of them are (for me, at least), taking time to really strike a conversation with a friend (or with your self) will help you forget the many flight of stairs you have to go through. But it’s not that hard, because every art piece and sculpture here is really interesting – weird (again—for me!), but interesting! 

Check out some snaps on my TikTok vid by clicking here.

All in all, including taxi fares, I spent less than P500 pesos on cabs with Iloilo Business Park as my start and end point. It was really nice to just sit and relax in one of Festive Walk Mall’s al fresco cafés and watch the afternoon sky turn from blue to indigo after a long day. 

There are many other cultural places in Iloilo that I wish to go to soon (and hope to share via this blog too) – so let me know if you any suggestions!