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Vigan Travel Diaries: Guide, Destinations and Activities”

Vigan, Ilocos Sur is one of the places in the Philippines that I’ve been wanting to visit for a long time now. I have planned several times to visit this city whenever I spend my vacation in the Philippines but time and circumstances wouldn’t allow me.

At long last though, this trip finally happened last month. I was in awe on how much the city was able to preserve its heritage, culture and history. The trip was short but fun and exciting so the long wait to visit this place is really worth it.

Vigan is a small city but is rich with a lot of beautiful spots for both local and foreign tourists. We were able to visit almost all of the tourist destinations, tried some local delicacies and enjoyed a couple of activities all in one day!

So if you are planning to visit Vigan, here’s a short guide of places and activities that you can enjoy.

  1. Walk around Calle Crisologo

This is probably the highlight of the trip since Calle Crisologo allowed us to have a view of the spanish architectures that was well preserved in the city. Check my previous post Travel Diaries: Calle Crisologo for more details.

  1. Visit old Churches.

Vigan Cathedral, Bantay Church and Nueva Segovia are among the churches that you can visit in Vigan.

Bantay Church also houses a chapel called Chapel by the Ruins, apparently this area was a remnant of the original church which was damaged during world war II.

  1. Enjoy the view from Bantay Bell Tower

Check Vigan Travel Diaries: Bantay Belfry Watchtower for more details.

  1. Safari experience at Baluarte

Check Vigan Travel Diaries: Baluarte for more.

  1. Learn & experience the basic steps of pottery.

  1. Visit Museums.

Vigan is also rich with different museums that every tourist can visit like Crisologo Museum, Syquia Mansion, Padre Burgos National Museum and Museo Nueva Segovia.

  1. Take a Kalesa Ride

Kalesa is one of the most common mode of transportation in the city and it costs just P150.00 for one hour.

  1. Dine and taste native delicacies

When traveling or visiting a new place, it’s always a good idea to try their signatured delicacies. In Vigan, well Ilocos in particular, their bagnet, empanadas and bibingka are the most common ones.
We chose to buy bagnet and bibingka in the stores that our kalesa driver recommend which ended up a good idea since both tasted really good!

He also recommended a restaurant called Cafe Leona which apparently is one of the best restaurants in the City. I personally liked the restaurant because of the ambiance and their friendly servers. The food was just okay but there’s nothing really extraordinary about it.

We have also tried another delicacy but unfortunately I forgot what it’s called which is a shame because it was surprisingly good.

  1. Shop

There’s also a few antique and gift shops at the city center where you can buy some unique souvenirs.

  1. Visit Hidden Garden

This is one of my favorite destinations in Vigan because of the variety and creativity that you can see in the garden. There is also a restaurant inside but unfortunately it was close for renovation when we visited.

And that’s our one day itinerary in Vigan, hope you enjoyed this not so long post! (??)

Thank you for reading!

And oh by the way, the Avocado ice cream is the best! (my cousin bought it from an ice cream vendor stationed along Calle Crisologo).

Much love❤,

Arlene Kischaen Aboli

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