Cebu City (also known as The Philippines Queen City of the South) is one of the Philippines’ most important cities, along with the capital city of Manila. It is also one of the main ports for international travellers heading to destinations in the Philippines.
During my brief stay in Cebu, I was able to explore the historic downtown of the city, which is said to be reminiscent of other Latin American cities. Cebu City is not the most beautiful city in the country. It also faces the same congestion problems as Manila, making it difficult to get in and out.
Locals consider Cebu City to be one of many cities on the island Cebu. Most well-heeled tourists will make a beeline for Mactan Resort Island, where many resorts and hotels occupy the little island.
Fort San Pedro (Fuerza de San Pedro)
Fort San Pedro, a triangular fort, was a military outpost during Spanish colonial time, briefly taken over by Japanese during the war and converted to a hospital. It has now become a small museum containing historical artifacts from Cebu.
A ₱20 / US$0.40 / €0.30 / S$0.50 entry fee gets you a guided tour by a local. When I asked questions beyond the rehearsed remarks, our guide didn’t have a good answer. I’ll chalk it up to the luck of who you get. At the end, a friendly, respectful and cheerful tour guide at a new site is what you paid for. The fort wasn’t that big and we walked around it all in under an hour.
Magellan’s Cross
The Magellan’s cross is a marker of European Spanish and Portuguese religious influence on the country. It is a large cross that is housed inside an octagonal shelter with colourful religious murals painted above. It is said that explorers planted it to convert the first inhabitants of the island to Christianity.
Basilica Minore del Santo Niño
This large church across from Magellan’s Cross is a beautiful and large site of worship dedicated to the statue of Santo Niño (Holy Child), supposedly the oldest religious relic in The Philippines, with its roots tracing all the way back to the 1500s when the Spanish first arrived and colonised the country. It’s nice to walk through the church and the beautiful courtyards. Many devotees sit in the pews at all hours of the day.
Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House
A historic residence that has been preserved and open to visitors for a fee of ₱50 / US$0.95 / €0.80 / S$1.30, Yap-Sandiego is a living example of the community’s Chinese-Filipino mix.
Our guide was much more knowledgeable and enthusiastic than I, and was able to answer many more questions. Our guide told us stories about the house, its furniture, art, and garden.
Casa Gorordo
Casa Gorordo is a two-level air-conditioned museum, a former house that explains houses in Cebu. It’s only ten minutes away from Yap Sandiego Ancestral House. This museum was more like the museums we are used to seeing in other countries. It had sit-down close curtain video presentations, changing digital screens, and a timeline of Cebu’s progress from the 1300s, when the Chinese first arrived, to the 1500s, when the Spanish arrived, to Cebu today.
This museum is dedicated to the traditional Cebuano house, which began as huts but evolved into wooden colonial homes with multiple levels that showed the opulence and wealth of a Cebuano family living in them.
Lapu Lapu Monument
If you live on Mactan Island, stop at the Lapu-Lapu Monument. It is a monument that has historical significance to the locals.
Lapu Lapu is a local hero, who defeated Ferdinand Magellan’s men in 1521. He is considered to be one of The Philippines’ first local heroes. Tourist shops selling trinkets of all kinds line a street outside the monument. If you want to buy a souvenir, you can stop at any of them.
Of course, Cebu Island offers far more than just this, including whale sharks in Oslob (animal tourism still gets me a little… hmm, but do it sustainably if you’re going to engage in said activities), the views from Osmeña Peak, the number of islands around with powdery white sand and clear azure blue waters, flower gardens in Sirao Garden etc. This would have been better explored with a car. Renting a car is the best way to explore the entire island of Cebu Island, beyond the historic and storied Cebu City.
