The walls
A walk on top at sunset.
lumoplank — CC0 · Brenden Brain — CC BY-SA 3.0 · P199 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0
The old walled city at the heart of Manila; its Spanish name means «within the walls». The Spanish founded it in 1571 as the capital of their colony, and in those days it alone was called Manila, holding the governor-general's seat, the high court, churches, convents and schools, ringed by stone walls, moats and bastions. Most of its buildings were destroyed in the Battle of Manila in 1945, during the Second World War, leaving the walls and a few buildings, and large parts were later rebuilt in the old style. Today you walk its paved streets among Spanish-style houses with wooden balconies, Manila Cathedral, San Agustin Church on the World Heritage list, and Fort Santiago at its northern end. Among its finest corners are Casa Manila, a recreation of a wealthy nineteenth-century home with its furniture and courtyard, the Baluarte de San Diego with its garden, and the walk along the walls themselves at sunset. You can tour it on a bamboo bicycle or in a horse-drawn calesa. Walking the streets and walls is free; some sights inside charge small fees. It is hot and humid most of the year, so start in the morning or before sunset.
A walk on top at sunset.
A 19th-century mansion.
A tour by horse cart.
Intramuros, Manila, on the south bank of the Pasig River
San Agustin Church, ManilaThe oldest stone church in the Philippines, completed in 1607 within the walls o1 minute walk4.5
Fort SantiagoA stone citadel the Spanish built in 1571 at the mouth of the Pasig River to gua9 minutes walk4.4
National Museum of Fine ArtsThe largest art museum in the Philippines, housed in the Old Legislative Buildin9 minutes walk4.6
National Museum of AnthropologyThe museum of the history and archaeology of the Filipino peoples, in a neoclass10 minutes walk4.7
Rizal Park (Luneta)Manila's best-known and largest park, covering 58 hectares between the walled ci11 minutes walk4.6Yes, the streets and walls are free to walk. Some sights inside charge small fees, such as Fort Santiago at about 75 pesos.