ruthdelacruz

travel & lifestyle blog by ruth dela cruz

Uncategorized

5 Reasons Why You Must Visit Vigan: One of the New 7 Wonder Cities of the World 2014

July 6, 2014

Vigan has been chosen as one of the new 7 Wonder Cities of the World along with Beirut, Doha, Durban, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and La Paz.

Four years ago, the travel bite stung so wild that I felt the need to see and explore places. One of the places I so longed to see and experience was Vigan City. My friend and I fought with flight schedules, time and distance to see and experience Vigan even just for one night and one day. I am so glad we did!

Flash forward today, Vigan City is the lone nominee from the Philippines in the New 7 Wonders of the World for 2014.  It was recognized by UNESCO for Best Practice in World Heritage Site Management recently.

If you have been to Vigan, you are like me who instantly fell to the romantic sights and scenes of this century old city. For those who are still planning to visit the historical place, let me tour you around and give you 5 reasons why you must visit and vote for Vigan City.





1. Calle Crisologo in Vigan City is More than a Tourist Attraction. 

Calle Crisologo is a beautiful lane romanticized by cobble stones, brick road and dazzling lights that would take you back to the old Spanish era. When I got to Calle Crisologo I was just waiting for Maria Clara and Crisostomo Ibarra to

Click Read More to see more pictures of Vigan City..

When the sun starts shining in the beautiful city of Vigan, the quiet streets of Calle Crisologo transforms into business hubs. 
If you think that Vigan City is all about old houses, antiques and collectibles. You must go around the city and see businesses settled in old cobble stone houses that provide entertainment and services to the locals. 


Hello, I want to party!
2. Vigan City knows Good Food!
From crunchy cornicks, crispy bagnet to tasty langgoniza, and empanada, Vigan has everything and anything for the discerning palates of both Filipinos and tourists. 

Original Vigan Empanada!

 Thumbs up for Empanada!
3. Vigan City has different attractions for tourists and locals of any age and interests!
From museums to old churches, and historical churches, Vigan has everything one need for cultural and historical meditation. The sites are easily accessible through a calesa or tricycle ride which helps provide jobs to the locals. 
Governor Chavit Singson’s residence also features a mini-zoo, butterfly garden and pony rides. It is commonly called the Baluarte. A more modern recreational zone is also built called, ChEER Zone (Children’s Ecology and Energy Recreational Zone) that provides adventure area at Mira Hills for zipline, monkey trail, etc. 

In Baluarte, I am arte!
For the nature lovers, one must not miss the Hidden Garden’s and the Bantay Belfry Tower (the caretaker does know how to take beautiful pictures!)
Other places to visit in Vigan include Plaza Burgos, Filipino-Spanish Friendship Park,Abel Weavers and Damili Village for hand pottery. 
4. Vigan City Celebrates Colorful Historical Festivities.
The Vigan City Fiesta held every third week of January to commemorate the feast of the Conversion of St Paul and the anniversary of Vigan’s cityhood features the Longganiza Festival. 
The World Heritage Cities Solidarity and Cultural Festival is held every second week of September highlights events like Repazzo de Vigan, Historia Ora, Visita Museo, and Food and Trade Fair. 
Every last week of October, Vigan celebrates the Raniag, The Vigan Twilight Festival which features candle floaters, street dancing sky lanterns and electric parade of floats. 
5. Vigan Locals Make Your Visit a lot More Fun!
Our short visit to Vigan was one of the best travels I had. We got to see and experience a lot of things in such a short time, and it was made possible because of the nice people of Vigan who helped us with our itinerary and trip. They are kind, helpful and appreciative. The caretaker at the Belfry Tower graciously took our pictures (and he does know how to use DSLR and digital cameras!), the tricycle driver who took us around Vigan patiently waited for us on our side trips, and the staff in our hotel are just amazing! They made us forget about simple travel stresses! Thank you!

I seriously miss Vigan! Since this beautiful city has given me much love, time to give it back to her.. Help Vigan City get the spot to the New 7 Wonders of the World for 2014. Simply vote by going to this link:

1. Choose 7 cities, and don’t forget to include VIGAN
2. Log in with your social media account to make the vote valid.
3. You may also text VIGAN to 29290777.
Mayor Eva Marie Medina of the Vigan City says “Being in the finals has added to our pride as residents of this small city with big dreams and hard earned achievements. Officials from Vigan are relentless in their continued efforts to make this city the “best” place. We hold on to our commitment to sustain our gains in heritage conservation and excellence in governance because these are the very instruments that ensure the well being of our people”.`



The beautiful pictures used for this blogpost are taken by yours truly and my friend Teepee 🙂

More travel stories here, and here.

Don’t forget to join my giveaay!



Stay connected with me, subscribe to my blog!
Enter your email address:
Delivered by FeedBurner
If you like this post, click the like button or the Facebook Share button! Spread the love. Like my Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/ruthiliciousblog or follow my updates on Twitter @ruthilicious.
If you are reading this post somewhere, it is originally written by Ruth and published in www.ruthdelacruz.com.


More stories here:

Tokyo DisneySea | Klook Experience Things to Do in Santiago Ilocos Sur + Side Trip to Vigan woman in red dress fell in love in IloiloTravel: 7 Reasons Why I Fell in Love with Iloilo, Philippines Places to Visit in Irosin and Juban, Sorsogon
New 7 Wonders of the World Travel Vigan
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *