Permanent Roommate (husband, btw) and I love Intramuros. Back in USTe (and payat) days, we would visit Intramuros often for a quick culture & heritage fix.
Then, we knew nothing about any tours offered by Intramuros Administration (or if there was any actually), and we would just randomly go around Intramuros, visit churches around, chill at museums on foot.
That was 2013-ish.
Fast forward to today, visiting Intramuros seems to be close to impossible, especially with a toddler around.
Will she appreciate it?
Will she actually know what's going on?
Honestly, I'm more worried cos Charleybear might be destroying any artifacts and we will be considered persona non grata ....
in.
our.
own.
country.
But we're tired of going to the malls, and we wanna try something new. Besides, in celebration of International Museum Day last May 18, Museo de Intramuros, Bahay Tsinoy, Destileria Limtuaco offered free entrance on that day while Casa Manila, and Bagumbayan Light & Sounds Museum offered free entrances on May 18 and 19 - so a trip to Intramuros on International Museum Day seemed pretty good.
Until we got there.
Charleybear super loved the colorful maps of Intramuros we got from our first stop, Casa Manila. The map was cute and informative. It was loaded with lots of information about Intramuros, the museums (including rates and schedules), shops where one can buy pasalubongs and souvenirs, and restaurants. Getting around Intramuros on foot was soooo easy because of this.
Casa Manila
This was our first stop, and it was just right across San Agustin Church. This was a lifestyle museum that features the domestic life of the 19th century upperclass family.
Imagine houses in Calle Crisologo and Suyuan sa azotea of Noli.
Museo de Intramuros
This is a new museum that features religious images, artifacts, and paintings.
Of course, a picture with St. Thomas is a must for us, Thomasians.
Destileria Limtuaco Museum
So, okay this is not for kids. Daddies will appreciate this more as this is the oldest distillery in the country. You'll be toured on how they make wines, rums, and alcoholic drinks. I think it's more of a family business' museum, so you may want to emphasize that to your toddler when you bring him or her there.
They also offered free tastes for a minimum price (MUST TRY: Intramuros).
Sorry, I know we're not supposed to, but I couldn't help but show her to we use the old telephones.
Bahay Tsinoy
This houses dioramas and artifacts featuring Chinese influences. Charley enjoyed this place the most, prolly because the dioramas are life-sized and the displays really look legit. I learned so much about the Chinese influences - from the galleon trade, to the building of the Intramuros walls, to the roles of the Sangley before, to the Chinese version of Doctrina Christiana (yes, apparently there is!!).
Bagumbayan Lights & Museum
Sadly, we were not able to visit this because it was already fully booked. I'm pretty sure Charleybear would have enjoyed this place, and now it gives us more reasons to go back to Intramuros!
Ristorante de La Mitre
A trip to Intramuros would not be complete without eating at Mitre that serves yummy, but affordable Filipino dishes and cake. Their dishes are named after different bishops in the Philippines!
We had Salmon sinigang, crispy pata, halo-halo, and mango smoothie!
Overall, Charleybear enjoyed her first ever museum trip! We are looking forward to visiting it again once Charley's ready to deal with her historical buff Mom!
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| San Agustin |
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| Casa Manila |
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| with a friendly guardia civil from the museum |
