Manila Intramuros Walking Tour — 450 Years of History

Intramuros (literally "within the walls") is the original city of Manila, built by the Spanish in 1571 and enclosed within massive stone walls that still stand today. The 3-hour walking tour is the best introduction to Philippine history — a skilled guide brings the Spanish colonial era, the American occupation and World War II to life through the buildings, ruins and streets.

Key stops: Fort Santiago (the Spanish military fortress where José Rizal, the national hero, was imprisoned before his 1896 execution — his footprints are embedded in the exit path), San Agustin Church (1607, the oldest stone church in the Philippines, UNESCO World Heritage Site), Casa Manila (a reconstructed 19th-century Spanish colonial house), and the Baluarte de San Diego garden inside a former Spanish bastion.