Vigan and Laoag in a Day

A one day tour around Vigan and Laoag is like browsing through pages of a history book. Just to give you an idea of what’s there to see, I’d like to share some of the photos I took of buildings, museums and old things from our tour a week ago.

Having stayed in Fort Ilocandia, Laoag, we hired a tour van to drive us all the way to Vigan for an hour and a half. From there, the tour begins.

Syquia Mansion. Built in 1830, this mansion was the ancestral home of the wife of former President Elpidio Quirino, Dona Alicia Syquia. Entrance at P20.

Crisologo Museum. This is a private museum, and is the ancestral home of former congressman Floro Crisologo. No entrance fee, but give a donation!
Burgos Museum. The ancestral house of the (we found out, good-looking) martyr-priest, Padre Jose Burgos. Entrance at P20.
Cafe Uno. At around noon time, we were taken to Cafe Uno for some Vigan Longganisa and Pakbet — which, aside from Bagnet and Empanada, are two of Vigan’s best delicacies. Budget is less than P200 per person.
Calle Crisologo. One of the most beautiful streets in the Philippines. I have a separate post here.
Baluarte. Chavit Singson’s “interactive wildlife sanctuary”, to be honest, was a bit empty during our visit. Where is the famous tiger and orangutan? No entrance fee.
GR Jars Pottery. Here you can try pottery for free! Just make sure you give kuya a tip — or what he calls pang-yosi.
Market. Our driver took us to a market somewhere in Vigan to buy some longganisa (P120 a dozen for big ones, P100 a dozen for small ones) and bagnet (P380 per kilo) to take home to our families in Manila.
Marcos Mausoleum. This is in Ilocos Norte. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, but this is where you’ll find the preserved body of deposed president Ferdinand Marcos. The bantay said the corpse can be preserved that way for 30 years.
Paoay Church. Also known as the St. Augustine Church in Paoay, this is one of the historical churches in Ilocos Norte.
Malacanang of the North. Owned by the family of Ferdinand Marcos and with a pretty good view of the sea. Entrance is P30.
Sinking Bell Tower. Just like with the Paoay Church, the bell towers during that era (1600’s) were usually separate from the cathedral itself. This is owned by St. William’s Cathedral, which is actually pretty far from it. They call it “sinking” because apparently it’s too heavy for the sandy foundations it was built on and it actually does sink through time.