Cebu

Nature

Visayas

The Visayas is one of the Philippines' three main island groups, alongside Luzon and Mindanao, comprising Cebu and numerous other islands scattered around the Visayan Sea. Along Cebu's southern coast, you can look out over the sea bordering this vast archipelago, making it a great place to feel the Philippines' geography firsthand. The draw here isn't any particular facility, but the open coastline and the view of islands stretching into the distance.

Nature

Mactan

Mactan is an island just off the east coast of Cebu, a densely populated area divided between Lapu-Lapu City and the municipality of Cordova. As the home of Cebu's international airport, it serves as the gateway to Central Philippines travel, with resorts and diving and snorkeling spots lining its coast that draw many travelers for marine activities.

Temples & religious sites

Minor Basilica of the Holy Child

The Basilica del Santo Niño, founded in 1565 by Augustinian friars Andrés de Urdaneta and Diego de Herrera, is the oldest church in the Philippines. It is said to stand on the spot where Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi's expedition rediscovered the image of the Santo Niño de Cebú.

Temples & religious sites

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Cebu, dedicated to St. Vitalis. As one of the earliest churches in the Philippines, tracing its origins to the founding of the Diocese of Cebu in 1595, it still shows the religious architecture of the Spanish colonial era.

Heritage & monuments

Magellan’s Cross

Magellan's Cross is a small stone pavilion in downtown Cebu, Philippines, housing the Christian cross erected on April 21, 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation expedition arrived in Cebu.

Views & landmarks

Marcelo Fernan Bridge

The Marcelo Fernan Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Mactan Channel, connecting Mandaue on mainland Cebu with Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island. It is the second-longest cable-stayed bridge in the Philippines after the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, and was formerly known as Consolacion Bridge, named after the neighboring town.

Museums & galleries

Fort San Pedro

Fort San Pedro is a fortress built during the Spanish colonial period that served as the center of Cebu's first Spanish settlement. The current stone structure was completed in 1738 and is known as the oldest surviving triangular bastion fort in the Philippines.

Nature

Olango Island Group

The Olango Island Group lies about 5 km east of Mactan Island in Cebu, consisting of the main Olango Island and surrounding islets such as Caubian, Camungi, Caohagan, Gilutongan, Nalusuan, Pangan-an, and Sulpa. It includes the Philippines' first Ramsar wetland site and is known as a wildlife sanctuary where migratory shorebirds can be observed along its mudflats and mangrove forests.