Welcome to the Queen City of the South!
Cebu City is like an entrée-sized Manila; it’s energetic, exciting and fast-paced, or loud, dirty and ruthless, depending on one’s perspective.
This holiest of churches is a real survivor. Established in 1565 (the oldest church in the Philippines) and burnt down three times, it was rebuilt in its present form in 1737. Its bell tower came crumbling down in the 2013 earthquake, but the church proper suffered only minor damage and is functioning.
Perhaps the church owes its incendiary past to the perennial bonfire of candles in its courtyard, stoked by an endless procession of pilgrims and other worshipers. The object of their veneration is a Flemish image of the infant Jesus, sequestered in a chapel to the left of the altar. It dates back to Magellan’s time and is said to be miraculous (which it probably had to be to survive all those fires). Every year, the image is the centrepiece of Cebu’s largest annual event, the Sinulog festival.
On Sundays and Fridays, the street outside the church is closed off to vehicular traffic, all-day outdoor masses are held and the basilica turns into a sea of pilgrims, water sellers and replica Santo Niño salespeople
Cebu has a rich history that’s well documented in several good little museums. The upscale Lahug district comes alive by night with bars and clubs to suit every taste. And just over the bridge is Mactan Island, one of the few places in the world where you can experience world-class diving within minutes of a major international airport.
IICT-WVSU Educational Tour in Cebu 