Intramuros
The walled Spanish city, flattened in 1945 and rebuilt stone by stone.
Duration
2 hrs 30 min – 4 hrs
Best time
Early morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Intramuros — within the walls — is Spanish Manila, founded in 1571 and ringed by four kilometres of volcanic stone ramparts. For three centuries it was the terminus of the Manila galleon, which linked Asia to Acapulco.
The battle of Manila in February 1945 destroyed ninety-five per cent of it and killed more than a hundred thousand civilians in a month. Only San Agustín church was left standing. The rest — the cathedral, Fort Santiago, the courtyard houses — was rebuilt to the original plans from the 1950s, and the work is not finished.
Getting there
On the Pasig river, west of the centre. LRT Central Terminal station, then ten minutes on foot.
Rules on site
The horse carriages waiting at the gates quote an hourly price then charge by the quarter-hour: agree the fare in writing or not at all. The district empties after six.