Things to see in Cebu

Nature

Visayas

The Visayas, or the Visayan Islands, are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, it consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are also considered the northeast extremity of the entire Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan peoples.

Nature

Mactan

Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova.

Temples & religious sites

Minor Basilica of the Holy Child

The Basílica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebú, or simply the Santo Niño Basilica, is a Catholic minor basilica in Cebu City, Philippines. It was originally founded by Augustinian friars Andrés de Urdaneta and Diego de Herrera in 1565. It is the oldest church in the country and is purported to have been built on the site where the image of the Santo Niño de Cebú was rediscovered during the expedition of the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi.

Temples & religious sites

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Cebu and Parish of Saint Vitalis of Milan or commonly known as the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral is the ecclesiastical seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cebu in Cebu City, Philippines. The church is dedicated to Saint Vitalis of Milan. Cebu was established as a diocese on August 14, 1595. It was elevated as a metropolitan archdiocese on April 28, 1934, with the dioceses of Dumaguete, Maasin, Tagbilaran, and Talibon as suffragans. Before being raised as a primatial church in Cebu, the church was one of the first churches in the Philippines, dedicated to St. Vit...

Heritage & monuments

Magellan’s Cross

Magellan's Cross Pavilion is a stone kiosk in Cebu City, Philippines. The structure is situated on Plaza Sugbo beside the Basilica del Santo Niño. It houses a Christian cross that was planted by explorers of the Spanish expedition of the first circumnavigation of the world, led by Ferdinand Magellan, upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on April 21, 1521.

Views & landmarks

Marcelo Fernan Bridge

The Marcelo Fernan Bridge, also known as the Second Cebu–Mactan Bridge and locally as the Second Bridge, is an extradosed cable-stayed bridge located in Metro Cebu in the Philippines. It crosses the Mactan Channel, connecting Mandaue in mainland Cebu to Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan Island. It is currently the second-longest cable-stayed bridge in the Philippines after the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway, which also crosses the Mactan Channel. Before it was named the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, it was called the Consolacion Bridge, owing to its proximity to the municipality of Consolacion, which is 1.6 mil...

Museums & galleries

Fort San Pedro

Fort San Pedro is a military defense structure in Cebu, Philippines, built by the Spanish under the command of Miguel López de Legazpi, first governor of the Captaincy General of the Philippines. It is located in the area now called Plaza Independencia, in the pier area of the city. The original fort was made of wood and built after the arrival of Legazpi and his expedition. In the early 17th century a stone fort was built to repel Muslim raiders. Today's structure dates from 1738 and is the oldest triangular bastion fort in the country. It served as the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement...

Nature

Olango Island Group

The Olango Island Group is a group of islands found in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. It comprises Olango island and 6 satellite islets namely: Caubian, Camungi, Caohagan, Gilutongan, Nalusuan, Pangan-an, and Sulpa. The island group has a total land area of approximately 1,030 hectares. It is divided under the jurisdiction of the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova, Cebu. It lies 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) east of Mactan and is a major tourist destination in Cebu. It is known for its wildlife sanctuary. The entire area is the first declared Ramsar Wetland Site in the P...

Museums & galleries

Museo Sugbo

Museo Sugbo is a museum in Cebu City, Philippines. The museum is located in the former Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) jail, and is located four blocks away from Plaza Independencia. The museum is owned by the Cebu provincial government.

Temples & religious sites

Cebu City Philippines Temple

The Cebu City Philippines Temple is the 133rd operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the second constructed in the Philippines, following the one in Manila. The temple is located on Gorordo Avenue in Lahug, Cebu City, and serves church members in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

Views & landmarks

Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway

The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), also known as the Cebu–Cordova Bridge and the Third Cebu–Mactan Bridge, is an 8.9-kilometer (5.5 mi) toll bridge expressway in Metro Cebu, Philippines. The bridge connects the South Road Properties in Cebu City in mainland Cebu and Cordova on Mactan island. Crossing the Mactan Channel, the bridge is the third road link between Cebu and Mactan islands and the first between Cebu City and Cordova. It is the longest sea-crossing bridge in the Philippines, surpassing the 2-kilometer (1.2 mi) San Juanico Bridge between Samar and Leyte, as well as Marcelo Fer...

Heritage & monuments

Magellan Monument

Mactan Shrine, also known as Liberty Shrine or Lapulapu Monument, is a memorial park on the island of Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines. It hosts two monuments—the Magellan Monument, which is dedicated to Portuguese born explorer Ferdinand Magellan, and the Lapu Lapu Monument, a bronze statue which commemorates Lapu Lapu, a native leader who defeated Spanish soldiers led by Magellan in the 1521 Battle of Mactan.

Nature

Olango Island

The Olango Island Group is a group of islands found in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. It comprises Olango island and 6 satellite islets namely: Caubian, Camungi, Caohagan, Gilutongan, Nalusuan, Pangan-an, and Sulpa. The island group has a total land area of approximately 1,030 hectares. It is divided under the jurisdiction of the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova, Cebu. It lies 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) east of Mactan and is a major tourist destination in Cebu. It is known for its wildlife sanctuary. The entire area is the first declared Ramsar Wetland Site in the P...

Views & landmarks

Bagacay Point Lighthouse

Bagacay Point Lighthouse is an active lighthouse in Liloan, Cebu, in the Philippines.

Shopping & districts

Carbon Market

The Carbon Market is the largest market in Cebu City, Philippines. It is the oldest market in the Central Visayas region. As the largest market in the city, various wares are sold in Carbon, including dry goods such as clothing, kitchenware, and handicrafts, as well as wet goods, such as fruits, vegetables, and meat, among other goods, sold by approximately 6,000 vendors in the market.

Temples & religious sites

Cebu Taoist Temple

Cebu Taoist Temple is a Taoist temple located in Beverly Hills Subdivision of Cebu City, Philippines.

Nature

Central Cebu Protected Landscape

The Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) is a protected area located in the mountains and drainage basins of central Cebu in the Philippines.

Nature

Pandanon Island

Pandanon is an island located in the Camotes Sea, in between the islands of Olango and Bohol, in the Visayas Region, Philippines. The island is locally administered by Barangay Pandanon, municipality of Getafe, Bohol. Pandanon is situated in the Danajon Bank, the only double barrier reef in the country and famous for its rich marine wildlife and diversity. It is 9 km (5.6 mi) northwest of the port of Getafe and 13 km (8.1 mi) southeast of Cordova, Cebu. While most of the residents in the island engage in fishing, some are employed in the tourism sector, working in the beach resorts of the isla...

Museums & galleries

Cathedral Museum of Cebu

The Archdiocesan Museum of Cebu, also known as the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, is a museum in Downtown Cebu City in the Philippines, reopened in November 2006. It is the ecclesiastical museum of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu.

Heritage & monuments

Lapulapu Monument

Mactan Shrine, also known as Liberty Shrine or Lapulapu Monument, is a memorial park on the island of Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines. It hosts two monuments—the Magellan Monument, which is dedicated to Portuguese born explorer Ferdinand Magellan, and the Lapu Lapu Monument, a bronze statue which commemorates Lapu Lapu, a native leader who defeated Spanish soldiers led by Magellan in the 1521 Battle of Mactan.

Theme parks

Anjo World

Anjo World is an amusement park in Barangay Calajo-an in Minglanilla, Cebu, Philippines. It is the largest theme park in the Visayas.

Zoos & aquariums

Crocolandia Foundation

The Crocolandia Foundation Inc., founded in 2001, is a nature conservation center located in Talisay City, Cebu, Philippines. The park houses birds, lizards, snakes, and crococodiles. The park also breeds endangered animals such as the Philippine crocodile and the sailfin lizard. The park's most famous resident is Lapu-Lapu, an estuarine crocodile. Other animals include civets, rufous hornbill, water buffalo, monitor lizards, myna, iguana, squirrel, turtles, peacock, deer and a Visayan warty pig. The park also has a museum, a library, gardens, and fishponds. The park is the first of its kind i...

Temples & religious sites

Matilda L. Bradford Memorial Church

Bradford Memorial Chapel, also known as Matilda Bradford Memorial Chapel, is a Protestant church located in Cebu City, Philippines. Built in 1913, it is the only Protestant church in Cebu declared as a national historical landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

Nature

Magellan Bay

Magellan Bay is a bay located northeast of Mactan Island, near the city of Lapu-Lapu in the Philippines. The bay is named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who was killed in this area by the forces of Lapu-Lapu.

Nature

Mount Manunggal

Mount Manunggal is the third-highest peak in the island of Cebu after Osmena Peak and Lugsangan Peak. It is located in Barangay Magsaysay in Balamban, Cebu province, rising 982 m (3,222 ft) above sea level. It is the site of the crash of the presidential plane Mt. Pinatubo that killed President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others on March 17, 1957.

Parks & gardens

Liberty Shrine

Mactan Shrine, also known as Liberty Shrine or Lapulapu Monument, is a memorial park on the island of Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines. It hosts two monuments—the Magellan Monument, which is dedicated to Portuguese born explorer Ferdinand Magellan, and the Lapu Lapu Monument, a bronze statue which commemorates Lapu Lapu, a native leader who defeated Spanish soldiers led by Magellan in the 1521 Battle of Mactan.

Temples & religious sites

Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Teresa de Avila

The Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Teresa de Avila, previously known as Santa Teresa de Avila Church, is a Roman Catholic church located in Talisay, Cebu, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Cebu. Built in 1836 until 1848, architecturally, the church is in classical Graeco-Roman style, featuring the facade's two bell towers connected by a porch with two supporting columns on the foyer. On October 15, 2007, it was declared an archdiocesan shrine and pilgrims could receive plenary indulgence for a year.

Shopping & districts

SM J Mall

SM J Mall, also known locally as J Mall, is a shopping mall in Mandaue, Philippines. Opened in 2011 and operated until 2023 as J Centre Mall, the mall was acquired by SM Prime Holdings and was temporarily closed for upgrades and renovations, reopening as SM J Mall on October 25, 2024. It is the first SM Supermall in Mandaue, the 4th SM Supermall in Cebu, and the 86th SM Supermall in the Philippines.

Nature

Mocaboc Island

Mocaboc is an island in the Philippines, situated approximately 14 km (8.7 mi) off the northwest of the island of Bohol. Located in the Cebu Strait, the island is part of the chain of islands situated in the Danajon Bank, the only double barrier reef in the country famous for its rich marine resources. Mocaboc Island is part of the jurisdiction of the municipality of Tubigon, Bohol. Most families of Mocaboc rely on fishing and is known for supplying Ginamos or fermented fish. According to the latest 2024 Census, the total population of Mocaboc is 582. With an estimated area of only 0.02 km2 (0...

Nature

Silut Lagoon

Silot Lagoon is a shallow body of water located in the municipality of Liloan, Cebu, the Philippines. It is a lagoon surrounded by mangroves, connected to the Camotes Sea by a narrow outlet called the Liloan River. The lagoon has depths of between 1 and 2 feet and is situated just south of Liloan's poblacion. It is bounded to the east by the village of Catarman, to the west by Yati, and to the south by Tayud. It has sandbars near its outlet at the Liloan River.

Parks & gardens

Plaza Sugbu

Plaza Sugbu, formerly known as Plaza Rizal, is a public square in Cebu City, Philippines. The square connects the Magellan's Cross kiosk and the Cebu City Hall. The square was inaugurated in 2008 by Philippine president Gloria Arroyo.

Museums & galleries

University of San Carlos Museum

The University of San Carlos Museum is the history museum of the University of San Carlos (USC), located in Cebu City, in the Philippines.

Parks & gardens

Plaza Independencia

The Plaza Independencia is a Spanish colonial era plaza in Cebu City.

Views & landmarks

Muelle Osmeña Lighthouse

The Muelle Osmeña is a historic wharf in Lapu-Lapu, Philippines. It host a lighthouse which stands along the Mactan Channel. The structure was built in 1910 which is made out of coral stones. It is named after Philippine President Sergio Osmeña, who was also a native of Cebu.

Museums & galleries

Jose R. Gullas Halad Museum

JRG Halad Museum is a musically-themed museum in Cebu City, Philippines that pays homage to the musical heritage of Cebu.

Temples & religious sites

Mandaue Church

The National Shrine of Saint Joseph, commonly known as Mandaue Church, is a Roman Catholic parish church located at the center of Mandaue City, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Cebu; its parish jurisdiction covers the civil barangays of Guizo, Centro, Looc, Cambaro and Mantuyong.

Nature

Cuaming Island

Cuaming is an island located at the Cebu Strait, in the Visayas region, Philippines. It is part of the islands situated in the Danajon Bank, the country's only double barrier reef. The island's residents are mostly dependent entirely on fishing. Cuaming is one of the most densely populated islands in the Philippines.

Parks & gardens

Kan-irag Nature Park

The Kan-irag Nature Park is a watershed and nature park in the uplands of Cebu City, Philippines that opened in the mid-2000s. It was once a bald mountain, but due to reforestation with native trees, the area became a functioning watershed. It is home to about 27 native bird species, such as the emerald dove, Asian glossy starling, the collared kingfisher, the black-naped oriole, and the olive-backed sunbird. The park's size is 71 hectares.