Top Five Things to do in Cebu City, Philippines

We stayed for 4 days in Cebu, the first day we couldn’t do much as it was evening by the time we checked in our hotel near Ayala mall, the next day was followed by a day at Bohol Island and then a couple of days wandering and sightseeing in Cebu City.

Basilica Del Santo Niño

Cebu is more or less a modern city with promising developments going on. There is lot of young population in Cebu thanks to the IT companies and BPO’s; there are many students who come to Cebu for higher education as well. This makes the nightlife in Cebu more vibrant with plenty of options. Cebu offers places that are open for 24 hours as well. Vegetarian food in Cebu was easily available and you can read more about it here.

Check out the Top Five Things to do in Cebu:

1) Basilica Del Santo Niño

Statue of Baby Jesus-Santo Niño

The symbol of the birth and growth of Christianity in the Philippines, this place is a must visit on your trip to Cebu. There is a rare and a small statue of Baby Jesus, which is placed in this Church. When we visited the entire church was decorated for the feast of Santo Niño. 

Interior Basilica Del Santo Niño

The interiors and surrounding of the church look beautiful. To see the statue up close there was a small queue of about 10-15 minutes, which was totally worth it.

2) Magellan’s Cross

Magellan's Cross-21/04/1521

This site is located right next to the Basilica Del Santo Niño. There is a lot of historic significance to this place. The cross is a symbol of the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator and explorer who sailed for the Spanish King then. He was the reason Philippines was discovered by the Spanish and colonised it for 377 years. Ferdinand Magellan himself planted this cross on April 21, 1521.

3) Lapu-Lapu and Mactan Shrine

Lapu-Lapu Shrine

Located on the Mactan Island, this is a good place to visit in the evening. Some part of the park was not accessible to us due to some on-going construction. Lapu Lapu’s shrine is to honour a Filipino named as Lapu Lapu who was a native leader who defeated Spanish soldiers led by Ferdinand Magellan and also killed him. It was an interesting place with lots of locals who visit with their children, since it was a low tide, I saw many people walking across the seabed.

4) Ayala Centre Shopping Mall

Food Court at Ayala Shopping Mall

I was not expecting a cultural experience when I visited this mall, I was thrilled looking at the options in this mall, the food court was so amazing and landscape green and serene, just loved spending time here and looking at the people pass by.

5) Sunset at Mactan 

Sunset at Mactan Cebu

Sunset at Mactan is really beautiful and a must do in Cebu. We decided to take a private sunset cruise to experience the Sunset. You can read more about this experience here.

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