Iloilo City sits at the southern tip of Panay island in the Western Visayas, a university town and regional capital that most travelers pass through on their way to Guimaras or Boracay. That is a mistake. Iloilo has genuine character — crumbling colonial churches, a lively waterfront, and what many Filipinos consider the best food scene outside Manila.
The Calle Real heritage district preserves a row of grand commercial buildings from the American colonial period, their facades still intact if faded. The Jaro Cathedral, with the Jaro Belfry standing oddly separate across the plaza, and Miagao Church — a UNESCO World Heritage Site forty kilometres west — anchor any sightseeing itinerary. In Jaro, the Lopez Heritage House, the Lizares Mansion, Casa Mariquit, and the Ledesma Mansion form one of the best concentrations of colonial domestic architecture in the Philippines. The Old Jaro Municipal Hall recalls Jaro's former status as an independent municipality. The Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) in the business park is a genuinely good modern museum.
But Iloilo's real draw is eating. La Paz batchoy, the city's signature noodle soup loaded with pork offal and chicharron, is the dish that put Iloilo on the Filipino food map, and Ted's La Paz Batchoy at La Paz Market is still the standard. Seafood from the Iloilo Strait is excellent and cheap.
The Iloilo River esplanade has been cleaned up in recent years, making for a pleasant evening walk down to the Smallville Complex entertainment district. From the city, Guimaras Island — known for its mangoes and quiet beaches — is a fifteen-minute pump boat ride from the Parola wharf.