Intramuros & Ermita

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/5

Where it sits

The circle is Intramuros & Ermita and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• Binondo (Chinatown) food14 min walk1.2 km
• Quiapo Church & market17 min walk1.4 km
• Manila Bay sunset25 min walk2.1 km
• A jeepney ride28 min walk2.3 km
• Makati & Greenbelt19 min taxi6.4 km
• Ayala Museum19 min taxi6.5 km
• Filipino food20 min taxi6.6 km
• BGC High Street & street art27 min taxi9.1 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 1.Intramuros & Fort Santiago — The heart of old Manila — the 16th-century Spanish walled city, its stone bastions, gates and cobbled streets, and Fort Santiago, the riverside citadel where the national hero José Rizal spent his last night before execution. Explore on foot or by horse-drawn kalesa, soak up four centuries of history, and start any visit to the city here.
• 2.San Agustin Church — The oldest stone church in the Philippines, a UNESCO World Heritage site that survived every war and earthquake since 1607 — a magnificent baroque interior with a trompe-l'œil ceiling, carved doors and a beautiful cloister museum. A serene, awe-inspiring stop in the middle of Intramuros, and a favourite for the grand Spanish-era weddings still held here.
• 3.Manila Cathedral — The grand Romanesque cathedral at the heart of Intramuros, rebuilt many times over four centuries — a soaring, peaceful interior of stained glass, a great rose window and one of the finest pipe organs in Asia. Free to enter between the frequent weddings; a beautiful, calm counterpoint to the noise outside, and the spiritual centre of Catholic Manila.
• 4.Rizal Park (Luneta) — The great green heart of the city, where national hero José Rizal was executed and is now memorialised by an honour-guarded monument — sweeping lawns, fountains, gardens and locals at leisure, with the national museums lining one side. A pleasant, historic stroll and the symbolic centre of the Philippines; lovely in the cool of early morning or late afternoon.
• 9.National Museum complex — Three superb free museums in grand old government buildings by Rizal Park — Fine Arts, home to Juan Luna's vast, thrilling 'Spoliarium'; Anthropology, with pre-colonial gold and the Banaue cultures; and a lovely Natural History hall under a soaring 'Tree of Life' atrium. World-class, air-conditioned and free; a brilliant half-day and the best of the country under three roofs.