Philippines travel Forum

Cebu
A typical jeepney © Philippines Department of Tourism
The island-province of Cebu sits in the centre of the Philippine archipelago and is served by international and domestic charter flights to and from its airport. As Cebu is also a shipping crossroads, it is a good jumping-off point for island-hopping to the tropical islets of the central Visayas region. Within easy reach are the caves and lagoons of Calanggaman and Gato; the beaches of Argao, Oslop and Carmen; and the favourite dive spots of Moalboal, Badian, Mactan and Olango.

The Cebu metropolitan area is the country's second-biggest city, and, along with its adjacent Maktan Island, has become a bustling package-tour destination, particularly for Japanese visitors. It abounds with shopping malls, fast food outlets, casinos, golf courses and all-inclusive resort hotels to cater for the holidaymakers who come to enjoy the sandy beaches and glorious balmy weather.

Cebu's main claim to fame is its colourful festival, held every third Sunday in January, known as the Sinulog. The festival is a religious celebration wherein various tribes in dazzling costumes hold aloft images of the infant Jesus. The revellers wend their way through the city streets from early morning to evening, singing and dancing.

Cebu is also the country's oldest Spanish colonial city and has several historic landmarks, including the original cross, planted by Magellan in 1521 when he baptised the first group of Filipino natives into the Catholic faith. The cross is now housed in a roofed kiosk in Magallanes Street. Downtown Cebu is dominated by Colon Street, the oldest street in the Philippines, dating from the 16th century and today is lined with stores, shopping malls, office buildings and movie theatres.



Resorts

See our separate guides to the following Cebu holiday resorts: Boracay and Bohol


Attractions

Santo Nino Basilica, Cebu © Philippines Department of Tourism

Basilica Minore de Santo Nino

The oldest religious relic in the Philippines, an icon of the infant Jesus, is housed in the Basilica Minore de Santo Nino. The icon miraculously survived fire and other catastrophes through the years since it was first presented by Magellan to Queen Juana...  see full details



Mactan Island © Philippines Department of Tourism

Beaches

Numerous islets and beaches are connected to, or easily accessed from, the Cebu metropolitan area as day trips. Mactan Island is linked to Cebu City by a bridge and is the site of hundreds of beach resorts, most of which offer full scuba...  see full details



Casa Gorordo Museum © ~MVI~ (on disaster response mode)

Casa Gorordo Museum

The Casa Gorordo Museum was originally the home of the first Filipino Bishop of Cebu. It is now restored and serves as a re-creation of a typical Filipino home of the late 19th Century, furnished with religious relics, paintings, antique furniture and household items....  see full details



Fort San Pedro

Fort San Pedro

Fort San Pedro, located at Cebu City's wharf area, was the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement in the country. It began as a single triangular bastion, built in 1565, and was not completed for another 200 years. Over the centuries the fort...  see full details



Citrus Butterfly © georgeparrilla

Jumalon Museum

Located in the Basak district, this private museum created by late lepidopterist Professor Julian Jumalon houses his unusual collection of mosaics, which are made up of butterfly wings. The garden of Jumalon's home continues to be a haven for thousands of butterflies, and the...  see full details



Excursions


The Chocolate Hills

The Filipino province of Bohol's most famous tourist attraction, and a regular feature on lists of the top 10 things to see in the Philippines, the area known as the Chocolate Hills is a geological marvel: a vast plain consisting of 1,776 conical...  see full details

Events

Fete de la Musique © nilujeperchut

Fête de la Musique

Originally an idea conceived in France, the Fête de la Musique festival is now celebrated in about 100 countries around the world on the same day. Cebu has one of the biggest and best of these musical meetings, with 150 bands of different...  see full details



Moriones Festival © makeastatement

Moriones Festival

The Moriones Festival is one of the biggest and most colourful in the Philippines, having run annually since 1807. Beginning on Holy Monday and running through Easter Sunday each year, residents of Marinduque Island dress in costumes and masks to recreate the story of...  see full details



Sinulog © dbgg1979

Sinulog

The Sinulog festival, held the third Sunday of January every year, is a melting pot of cultures. It celebrates the vision of the Santo Niño, who was once the patron saint of Cebu City; however, it now also commemorates the Islamic and Pagan...  see full details


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