Cebu – the “Queen City of the South”

Known as the “Queen City of the South,” Cebu is where Ferdinand Magellan first set foot in the Philippines in 1521, beginning centuries of cultural exchange between East and West. Here, he erected Magellan’s Cross, a symbol of the arrival of Christianity – a faith that remains central to the lives of most Filipinos today.

Cebuanos take pride in their Cebuano language, their traditional music, their rich culinary heritage, such as the famed lechon Cebu, and above all, the Sinulog Festival, an exuberant celebration held each January to honor the Santo Niño. In Cebu, music is more than entertainment – it is breath and joy.

During our days spent exploring the city, songs rose from every corner, clear and expressive voices filling the vibrant streets. The Cebuano spirit is warm and vital, shaped by an unmistakable joy in living.

We spent a day wandering through Cebu’s historic quarters, beginning at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, home to the revered Holy Child statue considered a national treasure. From there, we continued to the old district along Colon Street, the oldest street in the Philippines, founded in the sixteenth century during Spanish rule. After immersing ourselves in centuries of history, we ended at Carbon Market, one of the city’s oldest and most atmospheric markets, where we savored an array of local flavors — some familiar and others wonderfully unexpected.

Where the ocean whispers – Cebu’s natural rhythms

From above, Cebu appears as a slender ribbon unfurling across the turquoise waters of the Visayas Sea – an island where nature remains tender, pristine, and compelling. At the northern tip lies Malapascua, where calm, sunlit days give divers a rare chance to meet elusive thresher sharks gliding through the deep, an encounter found in only a handful of places worldwide. Farther west, Bantayan Island offers gentle stillness with powder-soft white sand, crystal waters mirroring drifting clouds, and small villages resting quietly beneath leaning coconut trees. To the south, Moalboal unfolds as a paradise for marine lovers, its long coral walls glowing beneath jade-tinted water, and millions of sardines swirling in silver spirals that catch the light like liquid metal. Not far away, Kawasan Falls plunges through lush rainforest into cool turquoise pools, revealing the tender heart of Cebu’s tropical landscape. Offshore, Sumilon Island is known for its shifting sandbar – a whisper-thin strip of white sand that changes shape each day with the wind and tides. Together, these landscapes form a symphony of sea, sun, and wind – a place where visitors don’t merely see the ocean but feel its heartbeat.