Private Intramuros and Historic Manila Tour by Car

Intramuros, Manila's walled city

Intramuros, Latin-Spanish for within the walls, was founded in 1571 on the south bank of the Pasig River where it meets Manila Bay. For more than three centuries it was the seat of the Spanish colonial government, a fortified town of churches, convents, schools and grand family houses enclosed by stone walls about 4.5 km long, with bastions, moats and gates.

Much of it was destroyed in 1945, yet the walls, gates and key landmarks have been restored, and this private Intramuros tour lets you discover them without the heat and crowds of a large group. Your driver moves you between sights in an air-conditioned car while your licensed guide tells the story of each corner. The walled district is open every day; museums inside keep their own hours, and some close on Mondays, which we take into account when planning your visit.

Fort Santiago, the citadel on the river

Fort Santiago guards the northwestern corner of Intramuros at the mouth of the Pasig River. A wooden stockade of 1571 was rebuilt in stone in the 1590s, and the fort served the Spanish, American and Japanese administrations in turn before being heavily damaged in 1945. Today it is a calm historic park of thick ramparts, a carved stone main gate, old powder rooms and dungeons, gardens and wide views over the river.

Your entrance fee is included. With a private guide you can take your time on the ramparts, listen to the history of the fort's role as a prison and a stronghold, and stop for photos at the gate and along the walls. Fort Santiago opening hours run daily from morning into the evening, and visiting early or late in the day is the coolest and most pleasant option.

Manila Cathedral and the UNESCO-listed stone church

At the centre of Intramuros, Plaza de Roma is framed by Manila Cathedral, the mother church of the Philippines. The present building, with its green dome and Romanesque facade, dates from the 1950s and is the latest of several cathedrals on this site, earlier ones having been destroyed by fire, earthquakes and war. Inside, the stained glass and the great pipe organ are highlights.

A short drive away stands the baroque stone church completed in 1607, the oldest stone church in the country and the only building in Intramuros to survive the destruction of 1945. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing of baroque churches of the Philippines, admired for its trompe-l'oeil ceiling and carved wooden doors. Visits inside depend on services; please dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered.

Casa Manila and the colonial houses

Across the street from the old stone church, Casa Manila is a faithful recreation of a nineteenth-century colonial mansion, built in the bahay na bato style: a ground floor of stone for storage and carriages, and an upper floor of wood with sliding windows of translucent capiz shell. Its rooms are furnished with period furniture, porcelain, religious art and household objects, giving you a vivid idea of how wealthy families lived in old Manila.

The house surrounds a cool courtyard with a fountain, and the complex around it includes shops and small cafes in restored colonial buildings. The Casa Manila entrance fee is not included and is paid locally; your guide will help with tickets. Like several museums in Intramuros it is usually closed on Mondays, so on that day the guide will suggest other sights instead.

The walls, gates and historic Manila around them

Between the sights, your car follows the line of the old walls past bastions, gates such as Puerta Real and the green moat lands now used as gardens and golf greens. From the top of the ramparts you can see how the walled city once stood beside the bay, and how modern Manila has grown around it.

If time allows within the four hours, your guide can also show you Rizal Park, the large public park just outside the walls, and the bayfront where Manila's famous sunsets are watched. Is Intramuros worth visiting on a short stay? With a private car and guide it is the most comfortable way to understand Manila's history in a single morning or afternoon, and the airport option even lets you start straight after landing.