Top 3 Spot ( Calle Crisologo Vigan )

Vigan Heritage Village

Calle Crisologo, Vigan

Calle Crisologo is one of the main tourist attractions in the city of Vigan. A fairly well-preserved cobblestone street, a few hundred meters in length, and lined with many old buildings (that are intact, restored or in disrepair), it certainly takes one back a century or more to Vigan at its peak. It was interesting to see the names on several of the old buildings, as they obviously referred to the families that owned them or lived in them at some point.

Vigan, a town established in the 16th century, and was named after a giant plant bigaa, growing abundantly on the banks of Mestizo River, is the no. 4 tourist destination in the Philippines, followed by Palawan, Cebu and Bohol, according to the Department of Tourism.

Built in varying Spanish, Mexican, and Chinese architectural styles, thick brick walls, tile roofs, and red clay, the Vigan mansions stand side by side each other as if frozen in time. According to UNESCO, Vigan’s architecture reflects the coming together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines, from China and from Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that have no parallel anywhere in East and South-East Asia.

All Vigan houses have similar proportions (height, massing and roof shape). They share related architectural detailing, and are built of terracotta, wood, shells, stone and lime, all obtained from the surrounding area.

Since it was inscribed on the World Heritage List as the "Historic Town of Vigan," the government has realized the universal value of its heritage. Legislation such as the “No vehicle inside the town” policy was being enforced to preserve that heritage which is appreciated by tourists.