Calamba's draw is twofold: it is the birthplace of national hero José Rizal, and it sits at the base of Mount Makiling on a belt of hot springs that have made it one of the country's best-known weekend resort towns. The Rizal sites cluster in the old centre, around the parish church where he was baptised. The hot-spring resorts sprawl along the highway towards Pansol, a few kilometres east.
If you have a day, the classic combination is Rizal Shrine and the parish church in the morning, lunch of buko pie at the highway, and a hot-spring soak in the afternoon. With more time, the trails of Mount Makiling on the Los Baños side are an easy add-on.