Vigan is the only Heritage City in the Philippines inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the only surviving colonial town in the country. It is the capital of Ilocos Sur Province and located on the western coast of Luzon.
Vigan is around 400 kilometers from Manila; 80 kilometers from Laoag City and 140 kilometers from La Union. My whole family went there during Holy Week of 2012 and it took me 13 hours to drive from Subic to Vigan! Yeah, so many closed roads from La Union due to road repairs which made me vow to take the plane next time. Hopefully the repairs are done by now.
Calle Crisologo is a part of the Heritage Village, the most photographed part of the city. I've seen so many photos of this place and being there will really captivate you to get trigger happy and yet no pictures would be enough to capture how bewitching this city is, you just have to see it and savor everything with your naked eye. That being said, let me share some of my "unworthy" photos...
Vehicles are not allowed in Calle Crisologo so the only vehicles you will see are the famous kalesas which adds magic to the place. Stepping on its half-kilometer stretch of cobblestoned streets will bring you back to 18th century Spanish times, the well-preserved Spanish colonial houses are now mostly converted into antique shops and souvenir stores which will entice you to shop and good thing because their prices are reasonable.
 |
| the kids enjoyed their kalesa ride, P150 for 1 hour, not bad right? |
 |
 |  |
 |
| with family |
So are you ready to be captivated by Vigan's magic?
|
|
I sure miss Vigan. Was there predigicam age. I love the place and the food.
ReplyDeleteit's as beautiful as what the photos showed.. i wanna visit and explore vigan again..
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for dropping by T Liza! Yeah I saw your photos too, I wasn't able to go to laoag though, hope to visit it next time. ;)
Deletei always love places where our rich cultural heritage can be experienced and one that take me to another time. awww!! always wanted to visit Vigan - Ilocos...
ReplyDeleteVigan looks so nice! It reminded me of the Spanish times, kind of like a better view of Intramuros. Lol.
ReplyDeletevi, dont forget to vote vigan for the new 7 wonders cities :))
ReplyDeleten7w.com
cheers!
oops yeah thanks for reminding me! I will put the link at the end of this post so the readers can vote too. thanks Edmar! ;)
Deletei remember the kalesa ride but my most memorable vigan experience is haggling with the salespeople and getting good bargains... was tough because I need to buy a lot of items to get the lowest price possible but i have lots of people to give "pasalubong" to and all in all, i still saved a lot! LOL!
ReplyDeleteVigan is truly a world class heritage city.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful place, it's like traveling back in time..
ReplyDeletebeautiful shots again vigan is a timeless place
ReplyDeleteIf there is Little China in Chinatown, Binonda then Vigan is definitely Little Spain. I wish to visit Vigan soon not only because of the historical places but also because of the food.
ReplyDeleteYou had me at the first picture. Vigan is definitely one place I'm visiting next year. Your pictures made me wish I could just fast forward time.
ReplyDeleteI have been hearing a lot of beautiful words about Vigan. This is truly a beautiful place and included in my travel list.
ReplyDeleteit sure is a beautiful place... it's like you got out of a time machine and travel back in time... hope we preserve this place as it is and do what is needed to be repaired. Yahweh bless.
ReplyDeleteThe colonial houses are quite beautiful, a real touch of history
ReplyDeleteWow!!I'm very like to visit those historical houses...like as what I see
ReplyDeletei've always wanted to go to vigan but i've never really had the chance to go.
ReplyDeletei guess it's through your pictures and those from the others that i'd see colonial houses.. for now. :)
I haven't been to Vigan. I can see in pictures though that it's a great place to visit and spend the family's vacation.
ReplyDeleteI never been to Vigan, hope to visit that beautiful place soon.
ReplyDeleteI heard a lot about Vigan and I want to see for myself how beautiful Vigan is. This place looks outside the Philippines! :)
ReplyDeleteI so missing the calesa... the last time i took a calesa ride was almost 2 decades ago... :D
ReplyDelete