BGC Murals Walk: Two ArtBGC Routes for an Easy Date

The BGC murals are a free outdoor walk on two mapped ArtBGC routes between Burgos Circle and Serendra, one of 10 works and one of 12. For an easy first date, walk the 10-work route, keep the second route in reserve, and expect a blank wall or two, because some pieces have been decommissioned.

The routes at a glance

The murals are street art on two mapped routes.

• How many: 10 works on one route, 12 on the other.
• Where: Burgos Circle to Serendra.
• Cost: free.
• Setting: outdoors.
• Heads-up: some pieces have been decommissioned.

The route maps are on the BGC Arts Center's ArtBGC page. Look at a map before meeting, then leave the walls themselves as a surprise. Seeing them fresh is the better way to do it anyway.

Why it makes a good first date

It is free, so nobody owes anybody anything. It is public and outdoors, so it is easy to feel comfortable with someone new. And it is side by side, not face to face: two people looking at the same wall always have something to say.

It also has no fixed length. A walk can end at any corner without it meaning anything, which a dinner cannot.

Choosing a route

The count of works is the easiest guide to how long a route takes.

The 10-work route: the first-date default. Fewer stops means a shorter commitment. If the conversation is good, the walk will feel too short, and that is the right problem to have.

The 12-work route: the second act. Hold it back as the "if it's going well" option. Suggesting the second route is a small, low-risk way to ask whether the other person wants to keep going.

Both: 22 works. For two people who already know they like each other, or for a weekend afternoon with no plans after.

Agree on a starting point at the Burgos Circle end or the Serendra end. "Meet at the first mural" is not a meeting point when some murals are missing.

Street art does not last, and some works on these routes are gone. Three ways to handle it:

• Treat the map as a checklist, not a promise.
• If a wall is blank or repainted, move on to the next pin. It is not a wrong turn.
• Make a game of it. Counting how many of the 10 are still there gives the walk a small shared project.

When to go, and what rain does

Go in daylight. Photographs need the light, and late afternoon keeps the heat down and leaves the evening open.

Rain cancels this plan. The walk is outdoors, and rain is the weak point of BGC as a whole because the High Street spine is open-air. Two fallbacks:

• Before 6pm, Tuesday to Sunday: The Mind Museum, a science museum with a planetarium at JY Campos Park on 3rd Ave. It is indoors and ticketed, under ₱500 a head. The plan for it is in the museum date page.
• Any time: the malls that cover BGC: Uptown, Mitsukoshi, SM Aura and One Bonifacio. A mall lap is not a mural walk, but it keeps a first meeting from being called off.

If it's going well: somewhere to sit down

A walk ends standing up, so have a place in mind.

• Greenlight Burgers: smashburgers ordered through a stoplight system, under ₱500 a head. The low-pressure choice.
• Los Tacos MNL: tacos made with Oaxacan technique, with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, ₱500 to ₱1,500 a head.
• Em Hà Nội: known for phở gà and nem rán, also with a Bib Gourmand, at the same price.

Open each name's map link to see how far it is from wherever the walk ends.

If it is not going well, the walk has already done its job. Say thank you at the last mural and head separate ways.

What it costs

The walk itself is ₱0. With burgers after, two people stay under ₱1,000, and that version is written out in a BGC date for two on ₱1,000.

The profile for people who would always choose a gallery over a bar is the Gallery Wanderer. The general rules for a first meeting, short, public and easy to leave, are in first date ideas in Manila.

The planner covers Cubao now and BGC is next. See which areas are live.

The planner covers Cubao now. BGC is next, and this post is written from the same kind of checked list.