Main gate of Fort Santiago in Manila, Philippines.

© Sean Hsu/Shutterstock

Fort Santiago

Top choice in Manila

LoginSave

Guarding the entrance to the Pasig River is Intramuros' premier tourist attraction: Fort Santiago. Within the fort grounds is an oasis of lovely manicured gardens, plazas and fountains leading to an arched gate and a pretty lily pond. Within is the beautifully presented Rizal Shrine museum, the building where Dr José Rizal – the Philippines’ national hero – was incarcerated as he awaited execution in 1896. It contains various fascinating displays of Rizal memorabilia and a recreation of his cell and the courtroom trial.

At the far end of the fort are outlooks over an industrial section of the Pasig River leading to Baluarte de Santa Barbara, a restored 18th-century Spanish military barracks where hundreds of Filipino and American POWs were killed in WWII; it's now the Rizaliana Furniture Hall, displaying Rizal's family furniture. Also of interest are various dungeon cell blocks, including one that Rizal spent his last night in. Brass footprints set into the pavement mark his final steps to the execution spot in Rizal Park.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • 500px Photo ID: 133312595 - Established in 1976, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila is the first Philippine art institution to offer a bilingual and pedagogical program. It is partially subsidized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP or the Central Bank of the Philippines). In 1979 the 'Met' was incorporated into a foundation known as the Metropolitan Museum of Manila Foundation, Inc. officially changing the status of the Museum to an independent, private, nonsectarian, non-political and non-profit cultural foundation...The Museum is responsible for the conservation of some of the country's national treasures. The basement gallery showcases pre-Hispanic gold and pottery artifacts--proof of a flourishing pre-colonial Filipino society actively engaged in international trade and showcasing hallmarks of Filipino art and culture from the 8th to 13th centuries.

    Metropolitan Museum of Manila

    2.36 MILES

    The 'Met' is a world-class gallery tracing the evolution of Filipino art from the early 20th century to the present. Virtually all great Filipino painters…

  • San Agustin Church at Intramuros, Manila, Philippines.

    San Agustin Church

    0.5 MILES

    The San Agustin Church was the only building left intact after the destruction of Intramuros in WWII. Built between 1587 and 1606, it is the oldest church…

  • Artwork on display inside the Pinto Art Museum.

    Pinto Art Museum

    9.45 MILES

    This fantastic museum in Antipolo, in the hills just east of Metro Manila, showcases some of the Philippines' best contemporary artists. There are six…

  • Chinese Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

    Chinese Cemetery

    3.04 MILES

    As in life, so it is in death for Manila’s wealthy Chinese citizens, who are buried with every modern convenience in the huge Chinese Cemetery. It's far…

  • The Ayala museum at Makati city, Metro Manila, Philippines.

    Ayala Museum

    4.53 MILES

    This gleaming museum features four floors of superbly curated exhibits on Filipino culture, art and history. At the heart of the collection is a brilliant…

  • The National museum of Anthropology, Manila, Philippines.

    National Museum of Anthropology

    0.96 MILES

    Within a resplendent neoclassical building, this superb museum houses a vast and varied collection, including the skullcap of the Philippines’ earliest…

  • 500px Photo ID: 136281609 - The main industry that Marikina is famous for – shoemaking – began in 1887 through the pioneering efforts of Don Laureano “Kapitan Moy” Guevarra. Kapitan Moy started experimenting with shoemaking when the soles of his own imported shoes broke. For want of a shoe repair shop nearby he tried to fix his shoes. At that time only the Chinese located in Manila were engaged in shoe repair and manufacture. Marikenos were already engaged in the limited production of slippers and clogs, or bakya, even before the coming of the Spaniards...Kapitan Moy separated the different parts of his shoes, studying closely the intricacies of how the shoe was put together. Tiburcio “Busyong” Eustaquio, a wooden clog maker, made a pair of shoe lasts for Kapitan Moy to help him in his experiments. The tools used in making the first Marikina shoes were borrowed from blacksmiths in Marikina and Pasig. Kapitan Moy, after several unsuccessful attempts, succeeded in making the first pair of Marikina shoes.

    Marikina Shoe Museum

    8.74 MILES

    A must for Imelda Marcos junkies is the Marikina Shoe Museum. There's the footwear of various Filipino luminaries on display here, but it's Imelda’s shoes…

  • MANILA, PHILIPPINES - 2014/03/11: Casa Manila Courtyard and Fountain - Casa Manila is housed in a Spanish era building that shows the colonial lifestyle during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. Casa Manila is an imposing stone structure circa 1850, one of the grand houses in Barrio San Luis of Intramuros and across the street from San Agustin church. (Photo by John S Lander/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Casa Manila

    0.47 MILES

    This beautiful reproduction of a Spanish colonial house offers a window into the opulent lifestyle of the gentry in the 19th century. Imelda Marcos had it…

View more attractions

Nearby Manila attractions

1. Rizal Shrine

0.04 MILES

The building where José Rizal was incarcerated has been turned into a shrine-museum dedicated to his life. There's a re-creation of his cell block, the…

2. Rizaliana Furniture Hall

0.08 MILES

Baluarte de Santa Barbara, a restored 18th-century Spanish military barracks where hundreds of Filipino and American POWs were killed in WWII, is now the…

4. Ayuntamiento

0.26 MILES

Once the grandest building in all of Intramuros, the Ayuntamiento was destroyed in WWII and spent years as a parking lot before a faithful recreation of…

5. Manila Cathedral

0.29 MILES

First built in 1581 (and rebuilt seven times since, most recently in 1951 following its destruction in WWII), Manila Cathedral's present edifice looks…

6. Puerta del Postigo

0.29 MILES

This gate to the walled city of Intramuros, built in 1662, led to the palaces of the Spanish governor general. José Rizal passed through here on the way…

7. Memorare Manila

0.39 MILES

This simple but moving outdoor memorial in a small shady square honours the approximately 150,000 civilian Manileños who perished in the Battle of Manila…

8. Bahay Tsinoy

0.39 MILES

The vast Bahay Tsinoy museum showcases the important role played by the sangley, as the Spanish called the Chinese, in the growth of Manila (sangley means…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "philippines/manila/attractions/fort-santiago/a/poi-sig/391251/357305",
  "destination": "Manila",
  "continent": "Asia",
  "country": "Philippines",
  "city": "Manila",
  "position": "superzone"
}