Angeles is a city in Pampanga province. The city is rich in history and heritage, with old and historical significant buildings dotting its landscape, but these days it is best known for its high concentration of casinos and sometimes questionable nightlife (though that’s changing; see “Drink” below). Aside from these, it is also famous for its extreme sports adventures in the lahar flows of Mt. Pinatubo.
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Angeles is a thriving regional city partly due to its long history of western influence: its Clark Freeport Zone was the massive American Clark Airbase (previously named Fort Stotsenberg) from 1898 until 1991. In 1899, it became the seat of the Philippine government under General Emilio Aguinaldo and the site of the first anniversary celebration of Philippine independence. After World War II, it had the highest concentration of American expatriates as well as Filipino mestizos, some of whom chose to permanently settle here. Today Angeles is known for its booming nightlife and is becoming increasingly popular as a tourist destination, particularly from South Korea. Its center, Balibago, is especially known for its fine restaurants, hotels and shopping malls. Within Balibago is the neon-lit Fields Avenue, known for its bars, nightclubs and what could be one of the world’s largest concentration of go-go bars. Adjoining Clark Freeport Zone is the site of world-class resorts, casinos, duty-free shops and beautifully landscaped golf courses. The city, and the rest of the Pampanga region, is known as the culinary center of the Philippines.
While Angeles is administratively separate from Pampanga, Wikivoyage treats this as part of Pampanga. This page also covers Mabalacat, while a city on its own, is more of a suburb of Angeles.
- 1 Clark International Airport (CRK IATA) (in Clark Freeport Zone, approximately 5 km from Angeles). Also called Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA)
Many budget airlines fly to Clark because it is reasonably close to Metro Manila and has lower landing fees than Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport. For travellers, Clark is often more convenient than heavily-congested Manila, especially if your final destination is in the northern Philippines. If you are headed further south, to the Visayas or Mindanao, then Cebu Airport is another alternative.
The airport has adequate travel facilities such as currency exchange, duty free shopping center, souvenir shops, free wireless internet, a tourist information center, hotel and travel agency representatives, and car rental services. The roadways around the airport are fairly rural, making transport between the airport and the city quick and hassle-free.
Flights include:
- Scoot Air – Singapore.
- Jin Air – Seoul and Busan.
- Cebu Pacific –Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau.
- Asiana Airlines. – Seoul.
- Cathay Dragon. – Hong Kong.
- Qatar Airways. – Doha.
- Emirates. – Dubai.
- Jetstar Asia. – Singapore.
- China Eastern Airlines. – Shanghai
Domestic flights are offered by Cebu Pacific and Air Asia to Cebu. Davao, and Kalibo which gives access to Boracay.
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