Cebu City

Worth seeing in and around Cebu City

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   University of San Carlos

   The University of San Carlos, colloquially referred to as San Carlos or Sangkarlos, is a private, Catholic, and research university administered by the Philippine Southern Province of the Society of the Divine Word in Cebu City, Philippines since 1935. It traces its origins to the Seminario-Colegio de San Carlos, the seminary of the then Diocese of Cebu, which opened in 1783 in the building which previously functioned as the Jesuit Colegio de San Ildefonso from 1595 to 1768.

   800 m · private Catholic university in Cebu City, Philippines · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Archdiocese of Cebu

   The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cebu is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and one of the ecclesiastical provinces of the Catholic Church in the country. It is composed of the entire civil province of Cebu, including its outer islands of Mactan, Bantayan, and Camotes.

   300 m · archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines · Wikipedia
3. 03
   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.

   300 m · Roman Catholic cathedral in Cebu City, Philippines · Wikipedia
4. 04
   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.

   8 km · bridge in Metro Cebu · Wikipedia
5. 05
   Cebu City Sports Complex

   The Cebu City Sports Center, colloquially referred to as Abellana, is a sports complex in Cebu City. It is also known for being the main venue of the annual Sinulog festival.

   1.1 km · stadium in the Philippines · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway

   The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway, also known as the Cebu–Cordova Bridge and the Third Cebu–Mactan Bridge, is an 8.9-kilometer toll bridge expressway in Metro Cebu, Philippines. The bridge connects the South Road Properties in Cebu City on mainland Cebu with Cordova on the island of Mactan.

   1.3 km · longest bridge in the Philippines · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Cebu Taoist Temple

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

   4.8 km · Taoist temple in Philippines · Wikipedia
8. 08
   Museo Sugbo

   Museo Sugbo is a museum in Cebu City, Philippines. The museum is located in the former Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center jail, and is located four blocks away from Plaza Independencia.

   1.3 km · provincial museum in the Philippines · Wikipedia
9. 09
   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.

   4 km · temple of the LDS Church · Wikipedia
10. 10
    University of the Visayas

    The University of the Visayas is a private institution located in Cebu City, Philippines. It is the first school in the province of Cebu to attain university status.

    600 m · Filipino university in Cebu City · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

The city was well established as a trade center and regional capital even before the first Europeans, under Magellan, arrived in the 1520s. When the Spanish returned to colonize in 1565, Cebu became the first Spanish city in the country and (briefly) the capital. Many of today's tourist sites go back to the period of Spanish rule which lasted until the Americans took over in 1898.

1. 01
   Basilica of Santo Niño
2. 02
   Magellan's Cross
3. 03
   Colon St

   Brave the cacophonous traffic to see the oldest street in the Philippines with some nice worn-out classical buildings dating back to the American Era.

4. 04
   Fort San Pedro

   The smallest Spanish outpost in the Philippines during the colonial era.

5. 05
   The Chinese Taoist Temple

   There are many people of Chinese ancestry in Cebu, and several Chinese temples; one is the Taoist Temple.

6. 06
   Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

   A church built in 1565 by the first Spanish missionaries in Cebu, seat of an Archbishop who has subordinate Bishops in many cities of the Visayas.

From Wikivoyage: Cebu City, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Things to do

1. 01
   Tops Lookout

   This sits at the top of the Mt Busay and has an unobstructed view of the entire city at night.

2. 02
   Sky Experience Adventure

From Wikivoyage: Cebu City, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Where to eat

Cebu City has a wide range of reasonably good places to eat, from restaurants and buffets to street-food stalls. All-you-can-eat buffets tend to be more expensive than in many other parts of the country. Street food is abundant, with stalls across the city selling a variety of Filipino snacks and local specialties.

1. 01
   Robinsons Fuente

   B Rodriguez Street (Right on Fuente Circle).

2. 02
   Elizabeth Mall Food Court

   3rd floor, E mall, Natalio B Bacalso Avenue.

3. 03
   Muvanz Pocherohan And Seafoods

   Century Plaza Complex, Juana Osmeña St.

4. 04
   Ned Nanay's Grill

   Don Mariano Cui St.

5. 05
   Healthy U

   A Tormis St.

From Wikivoyage: Cebu City, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Cebu City

Airports

Mactan Cebu (CEB), 9 km · Bohol-Panglao (TAG), 81 km · Bacolod-Silay (BCD), 110 km

Stations

Mactan–Cebu International Airport, 9.3 km · Mactan Air Base, 9.1 km

• Panglao → Cebu City

  84 km · quickest by ferry, 4h 30m · ₱625–1,590
  GuideToday
• Bacolod City → Cebu City

  110 km · quickest by road, 8h 39m · ₱810–1,080
  GuideToday
• Cabatuan → Cebu City

  166 km · quickest by ferry, 10h 30m · ₱1,565–4,835
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

  The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
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Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Cebu City

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Cebu City. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Cebu City – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.