Intramuros, Manila, completed in 1606, was once the administrative center of Spain in the Philippines

Introduction: Intramuros is called the Spanish Royal City in Chinese, which literally means "within the city wall". The Royal City was completed in 1606 and immediately became the administrative, military and religious center of Spain in the Philippines. Later, in World War II, it was completely destroyed by the US military and the sunset, leaving only the San Augustine Church intact. In 1980, the then president's wife decided to restore the Royal City.

The Royal City is not a pure tourist attraction. There are also residences, schools, hotels, etc. If you want to walk through them all, it will take 4-5 hours. I have selected a few places worth visiting for you, so that you can walk through them in 2-3 hours:

Baluarte de San Diego: You can see the ruins of the fort, fortifications and watchtowers. (Figure 7 Figure 8)

San Augustine Church: The only intact building that has not been restored. (Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3)

Manila 1945 Historical Marker And Memorial Japanese Massacre Memorial: A monument to the Japanese massacre in Manila. There are bodies sealed inside the monument, which will be opened 100 years later. (I feel the same way, but I didn’t take photos to show my respect for the deceased)

Casa Manila: It was where the nobles lived before, and now it is a museum (Figure 9 Figure 10)

Philippine Presidents' Murals: A row of sculptures of Philippine presidents (I passed by but didn’t take photos)

Manila Cathedral: It is bigger and more spectacular than the Cathedral of St. Augustine (Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6)

Fort Santiago: It was used by the Spanish to deter foreign enemies, and later it was used to imprison and execute important political prisoners. Rizal, the founding father of the Philippines, was also executed here, and there is a statue of him at the highest point of the fortress. (Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 14)

Figure 11 is the old city hall of Casas Consistoriales (Ayuntamiento) next to the Manila Cathedral, which is very beautiful.

When we went there, there were many locals acting as tour guides to solicit customers. They added a seat on the right side of their motorcycles or bicycles to take tourists on sightseeing tours, which is called Lamborghini. If you hire them as a tour guide, you will be charged per person per hour in their car. In fact, the service is pretty good throughout the trip, but you must pay attention to bargaining hard at the beginning! Bargain! Bargain! Bargaining from half price will give you a big discount.

It took me an hour to write, but when I thought about being able to help everyone, I was full of energy. I wish you all a happy journey! !