Discover the oldest city in the Philippines, Cebu city
- Maya del Aire
- Jan 7, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 15, 2019
This itinerary is day one of your ultimate 8 day trip that starts in Cebu old city. This itinerary includes: Cebu city, Bohol Island, Siquijor island, Apo island, Oslob whale shark watching and Kawasan falls canyoneering. This particular day one will give you an idea of how you can spend a day in Cebu city and explore its most prominent spots. The itinerary includes all relevant information in order to have a smooth vacation, so just get ready and follow my lead.
Click below to check out the rest of your ultimate Philippines itinerary
Day 1 Discover the oldest city in the Philippines
For this particular day, I would suggest you to hire any of the agencies to do the tour for you, because places that you can visit don’t offer even close enough information for your visit to be interesting. Pretty much all the important landmarks are quite old and not so well preserved.
However, if you opt to do a walking around the city without a guide, arm yourself with all the information you may found about the places you want to visit .
Map link: <iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/embed?mid=1CSkGyLVqlVx1ttdptrc44-_FNviEmR3Y" width="640" height="480"></iframe>
Fort San Pedro
10:00-11:00
Start your day with a visit to Fort San Pedro and find out about first Spanish settlers in the oldest city of the Philippines. This, now a bit ruined structure, has been built in 1565 by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and named after his ship that he sailed across the Pacific. This Fort features a little museum with pictures and artifacts from all around Philippines. There are not many signs telling you which way to go, so just be curious and explore as much as you can.
Opening hours: 08:00-19:00 daily
Admission fee: 30php
Address: A. Pigafetta Street, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines
Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu Pilgrim and Magellan's Cross
11:15-12:00 900 m, 11 min walk from Forts San Pedro
This is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines and it was founded by Spaniards who arrived there with their first expedition. The Church is quite big, and beside the usual altar and decorative interior, it has paintings explaining the history of bringing Christianity into the Philippines.
Tips and tricks***
In case you happen to be there on Sunday or Friday, the grand mass will be held, traffic will be closed all day, and the church will be very crowded
Address: Pilgrim’s Center, Osmeña Blvd, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines
https://santoninodecebubasilica.org/
#basilicaminoredelsantonino #basilicaminorecebu #religioncebu #explorecebu #magellanscross #catholicchurchcebu
Just outside of the church, you will be able to see big Magellan’s Cross, their biggest historical landmark, which was planted by Spanish and Portuguese explorers.
Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral and Rajah Humabon Monument
12:00-12:30 350 m, 4 min away from Basilica Minore del Santo Niño
Walk for just few minutes to witness gorgeous contraction of this white Cathedral which is the ecclesiastical seat of metro Cebu Archdiocese in the Philippines. This cathedral built in Barque- Rococo style shows influence of Chinese with its Phonenixes, folk art using iconography from
Catholic Church art, and some details depicting Royal Spanish Art.
Address: Mabini St, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu, Philippines
You can stay there for couple of minutes to enjoy the architecture and then cross the street to give a moment of respect to the indigenous chieftain of Cebu. Rajah Humabon. He was very well respected and also the first one to embrace Christianity, sealing his new friendship with Magellan with Blood Compact. Rajah also made this city become an important trading port, hence the name of the city, originating from local language “sibu or sibo” which meant “to trade”.
Heritage of Cebu Monument
12:35- 12:45 270m, 3 min walk from the Rajah monument,
Pass next to the obelisk that stands there to mark the oldest street of Cebu, which was built by Spanish settlers. This street as some say, got its name by Christopher Columbus or Christopher Colon, was an important business hub, while today is pretty much filled with traffic and cheap shops. I wouldn’t say that it can still proudly carry its name, as it has become kind of a landfill, and the smell of the sewage also doesn’t help much the experience.
Heritage Monument is tableau of sculptures made of bronze, steel braze and they depict some of the most important moments of the Philippines history. Sculptures depict scenes of the baptism of Rajah Humabon, the Battle of Mactan between Ferdinand Magellan and Lapu-Lapu, a Roman Catholic Mass, and a Santo Niño procession, and also includes some of he landmarks of Cebu. The monument is fenced and it can be directly accessed at certain hours.
Opening hours: 08:00-17:00 daily
Admission fee: free
Yap-San Diego Ancestral House
12:45-13:30
Just diagonally of the monument, down the street you will spot one old house. This old ancestral house of Yap Sandiego family, in 2008 has been become a museum. It has been originally built out of hardwood and coral stones, and it was restored using coral stones glued with egg whites, molave, balayong and terracotta. This is the oldest house preserved in the Philippines and it displays contemporary and ancient artworks, antique pieces and Cebuano-made native furniture. It also showcases old Chinese dinnerware, glasses and artifacts.
The house is not well preserved, and there are no information about it, so be well prepared before you go there.
Opening hours: 09:00-18:00
Admission fee: 50p
Address: Mabini St, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines
http://g1d.me/yap-sandiego-ancestral-house/
Temple Leah
18:00-19:30
In the evening, I would suggest you to visit the Temple of Leah for the panoramic view of Cebu city. It is quite far from the city center but worth the visit. The temple was built in 2012 by Teodorico Adarna, owner of Queensland motels, as a symbol of his love to his wife Leah Villa Albino-Adarna. Apart from an amazing panoramic view of Cebu city, beautiful roman architecture of the Temple which you can enjoy for free, you may also enjoy visit to the museum and library for a small fee.
Tip and tricks***
There is a shuttle that takes you to the Temple from I.T. Park
Address: Roosevelt Street, Busay, Cebu City Admission fee: PHP 50 (USD 1) per person Opening hours: 6:00-23:00
Dinner with a view
If you didn’t have enough of the panoramic view of Cebu, drive to Tops Lookout. It is one of the most popular places in Cebu. It features few food stalls and it is surrounded by few restaurants where you can have your dinner. I recommend Top of Cebu, as they have extensive menu of must try dishes, affordable prices and an incredible view.
Make sure you book your table before going there, during weekend especially, it can get too busy and waiting can take for more than an hour.
Top of Cebu opening hours: daily 09:00-23:00
Address: Cebu Tops Rd, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines #topslookout #panoramicviewcebu #mustdocebu #mustseecebu #topofcebu #bestviewofcebu #dinnerwithaviewcebu
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