Places to Visit in Vigan

Since I attended an annual convention of the Philippine Society of Nutritionist-Dietitians in Vigan last 18-19 June 2015, I took the opportunity to explore the City of Vigan before I head back to Manila.

Getting there: (MLA-VIGAN)
In Cubao Partas bus terminal, we rode the Deluxe Bus bound to Vigan at 10:00PM. The deluxe bus is airconditioned, with a large, cozy seat with bigger leg room. The bus fare was relatively more expensive compared to the regular buses (Php 805), since you paid for the on-the-road comfort. Imagine traveling for approx. 7 hours, with an uncomfortable seat! Better save up on booking deluxe buses to avoid a restless travel! :)
Upon reaching Vigan, you can already ride tricycles towards your desired location. It would be a lesser hassle if you have hired a private vehicle beforehand. :)

All about Vigan & its places

One of the oldest towns in the Philippines, Vigan is the capital city of Ilocos Sur, and was known by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Just this year, it has been declared one of the New Seven Wonder Cities around the world, along with Beirut (Lebanon), Doha (Qatar), Durban (South Africa), Havana (Cuba), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and La Paz (Bolivia).

Well, who would have doubted? Vigan has highly maintained the Spanish culture, and even preserved its fused Asian and European colonial architecture and design. Once you’re there, you feel like you went back in the Spanish era where the houses were made with dark woods and cobblestones, and the mode of transportation was through riding a ‘kalesa’ or a horse-drawn calash.

Won't miss a photo opp with our kelasa horsie! :)

With just Php150, you can already tour around the town proper while riding the kalesa! Of course, we didn’t let the opportunity pass and had our own kalesa tour! Yay! The places we were able to visit were as follows:

BANTAY BELL TOWER

Built in 1951, the Bantay Bell tower served as the people's watchtower in cases when possible enemies enter the city. When you reach the peak, you can see the beautiful panoramic view of Vigan. For a belfry, it's relatively easy to climb (except for older people).

Upon entering the Bell Tower compound

The old, huge bell found at the top of the bell tower

Just a few meters from the bell tower is the St. Augustine Church built in 1590. It is one of the few oldest churches which survived shocks of earthquakes for the past decades.

In front of the St. Augustine Church

CALLE CRISOLOGO

Known as Vigan's most famous district, it is where you can find an array of heritage houses which had survived centuries of calamities and disasters. It is also where antique and souvenir shops are located.

The very picturesque district in Vigan

There were also some restaurants on the district, and we tried Lampong's! It was an ultimate bagnet station where majority of the items in the menu are made from Bagnet (Lechong Kawali).

BURGOS NATIONAL MUSEUM
Also known as the Padre Burgos House, the museum is one of the most historic structures found in Vigan. Unfortunately, we weren't able to explore the museum since it's already closed (4:50PM). They probably don't accept last minute visitors since they strictly close by 5PM.

To know more about the collections available in the museum, you can have a glimpse by visiting their website. :)

BURNAYAN (POTTERY-MAKING)
Burnayan comes from the root word Burnay, which refers to hand-crafted pots made from Bantog clays. In here, you can find different sizes of jars made by the locals. You can also watch them demonstrate pot-making, which really looked fun and at the same time, challenging and tedious! Was not able to take photos of the place, but the internet sure has a lot of pictures available.

Beside the Burnayan is a small compound where you can buy souvenir items for a cheaper price! We even felt bad that we already bought native blankets from the public market, whereas the blankets available in the souvenir shops were more colorful and a little more cheaper!

PLAZA SALCEDO
This was not included in our kalesa tour, but you'll surely pass by this plaza anytime. Try not to miss the Dancing Fountain held every 7:30 PM in the plaza. The exhibit runs for 30 minutes which presents 3-4 colorful song and water-dance numbers! It was fun and relaxing to watch all the swirling colors changing with the beat!

These are just few places you can visit when you go to Vigan! Make sure to do researches on the places you wanna go for a more stress-free trip! In my case, I only squeezed in the Kalesa tour with the convention I attended in Vigan, so I was not able to really stroll around the city. But I think that's the beauty about having limited time, you've got to appreciate everything you were able to see and will promise yourself to definitely come back! :)