The town proper being a UNESCO heritage site, museums and historically significant places and things abound in just about every corner of Vigan. You have the San Pablo Museum right behind the VIgan Church, and the Nueva Segovia Museum which is in the Archbishop’s palace just a few steps away; however, both were closed during our trip and we could only look longingly at their locked wooden gates.
the Burgos Plaza, with the Vigan Church in the background, fountains lit up at night, but unfortunately, it was being repaired that time
The Way They Were
The thing about VIgan is that you can go anywhere on foot. A stone’s throw away from the plaza is the Burgos ancestral house (for Father Burgos of the GOMBURZA martyred priests), which was bought by the Ayalas and donated to a foundation. It was in turn, converted into a museum.
old beds still fill the bedrooms, with the good old arinola sitting under a chair
musty old books which have been painstakingly catalogued and wrapped in plastic by the caretakers
For our next destination, we decided to rent a calesa at a standard rate of Php 150/hr. Now, that’s what I call traipsing through Vigan in style. 🙂 Manong kutsero took us to the Syquia Mansion, birthplace of President Elpidio Quirino’s wife. In case you’re wondering, Gabby’s ex-wife Jenny Syquia belongs to the this clan, as well as Cory Quirino, who is actually the granddaughter of the former president.


A street perpendicular to the Syquia Mansion’s location is the Calle Crisologo. Perhaps, this street is the most famous tourist attraction in VIgan, with its cobblestone path and colonial houses, and riding through it in a calesa instantly transports you to the Spanish era.



It’s Not All Cultural
Aside from its obvious cultural riches, Vigan is a province which offers a range of more modern attractions for the weary tourist. Even if you didn’t come prepared with an itinerary, just rent the calesa and the manong kutseros are more than able and willing to tour you around the city. It seems they even have all the sites laid out in their minds.





Also a must-see is the Pagburnayan, where you get to see how those terra cotta jars in your garden are made from start to finish. If you want, you can even try your hand at molding!
Jars waiting for their turn in the brick oven:

First stop in Ilocos Norte is Batac, where you can find former President Ferdinand Marcos’s refrigerated crypt beside his family’s ancestral home. It’s quite eerie to be inside the crypt, with the dictator’s body in a vacuum-sealed glass coffin looking more like a wax figure. I think it’s because it’s been kept frozen for more than twenty years now that it has lost its human features. Photos inside are not allowed (out of respect for the family or perhaps due to the camera’s flashes contributing to the body’s decay, I am not sure).


The hotel is also the perfect place to just chill out after touring the province, which is exactly what we did. Their mango cocktail is delicious and so is their halo-halo. Prices are not bad – our tab was only around Php 300.
Up Next: Where to stay and what to eat