Casa Manila

Casa Manila is not an old house - it was built in the 1980s as part of the Intramuros restoration programme, reproducing the plan and detail of a nineteenth-century bahay na bato townhouse on a site where such a house once stood. What it does well is show the interior life that no surviving Intramuros building can, because the walled city's houses were destroyed in 1945: the stone lower floor with its zaguan and carriage entrance, the wooden upper storey with capiz-shell sliding windows, the sala with its European furniture and chandeliers, the bedrooms, the kitchen with its clay stoves, and - the detail everyone remembers - a double lavatory placed so that two people could sit and converse. The rooms are furnished with period pieces and reproductions. It faces San Agustin Church across the street and sits inside a courtyard complex with shops, so it fits neatly into an Intramuros walk.

What you actually see

• The stone-and-wood structure - the bahay na bato plan in full.
• The capiz windows - shell panels in the sliding frames.
• The furnished sala - period furniture, chandeliers and portraits.
• The service rooms - kitchen, bath and the double lavatory.

When to go

Mornings, before Intramuros heats up. It keeps museum hours and closes on certain days - check before going, especially on Mondays.

Honest expectations

It is a 1980s reconstruction, not a surviving house, and the furnishings are a mix of originals and reproductions. It is small - an hour is enough. Photography rules vary by room.

Nearby

San Agustin Church is across the street; Manila Cathedral, Fort Santiago and Bahay Tsinoy are within Intramuros.