Marco Polo Plaza Cebu

Sinulog
(every 3rd Sunday of January). Cebu’s biggest and most popular festival. The feast is in honor of the Holy Image of Senyor Santo Niño de Cebu. Fiesta Senyor, as it is widely known, is the most celebrated among Cebu’s festivals, where people converge along the routes of a grand solemn procession and partake in the gaiety amidst a madri gras parade immersed in wild colors and the constant beating of drums.

Golf Courses
Alta Vista Golf and Country Club
(Aznar Road, Pardo).
Situated in the lower mountains of Pardo, this golf course offers a different and challenging terrain for the avid golfer. The golf course covers 60 hectares for a world-class, par 72, 18-hole course covering 5,670 meters.
Cebu Country Club Inc.
Situated just a few minutes from the heart of the city, it is the oldest existing golf course in Cebu. The course is spread over an area of 52 hectares of what used to be sugarland in the pre-war days

Mactan Island
(across Mandaue City). Famous for its beach resorts of international standards and excellent diving, its proximity to Cebu makes it a prime destination for local and foreign travelers. It is also the site of the Export Processing Zone, with over 100 companies in operation, employing close to 40,000 people.

Magellan’s Cross
(Magellanes St.). Planted in April 21, 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan; spot where the first Christian Filipinos, Rajah Humabon and Queen Juana and about 400 followers, were baptized by Fr. Pedro Valderema. In 1525 to 1740, the Agustinian priests built an open shrine for the cross but the natives began to take chips from the cross believing it had miraculous power so a kiosk-like structure was built to protect the cross from total destruction. To protect it further, a hallow cross of tinadalo wood was made to encase the original cross which still stands today.

Fort San Pedro (Pier Area, Cebu City). The smallest, oldest tri-bastion fort in the country. This served as the nucleus of the Spanish settlement in the Philippines. It has a total inside area of 2,025 sq. meters. The walls are 20 feet high, 8 feet thick, and the tower is 30 feet high from the ground. Work was first started on May 8, 1565 with Miguel Lopez De Legazpi breaking the ground. After the battle of Manila Bay, Commodore George Dewey turned the fort to the local Cebuanos, and then it became the American Warwick Barracks during the American Regime, which was later converted into classrooms where the Cebuanos received formal education.
During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, it served as fortification for Japanese soldiers. When the battle for liberation was fought, the fort served as an army camp. After 1950, Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed the inner court into a miniature garden. For a couple of years it also housed the Cebu City Zoo. In 1978 to August 15, 1993, it housed the offices of Department of Tourism and the Philippine Tourism Authority. At present, it is under the care and administration of the PTA and now houses the National Museum that showcases the San Diego shipwreck & Fort San Pedro diggings.

Heritage of Cebu Monument
(Colon St., Cebu City). Located in the original Plaza Parain, it showcases the significant and symbolic events in the history of Cebu from the time of Rajah Humabon to the recent beatification of Cebuano martyr Pedro Calunsod. The monumental sculptural tableau is the work of national artist Edgardo Castrillo. Construction began on July 1997 and it was inaugurated on Dec. 8, 2000.

Magellan Marker
(Punta Engaño, Lapulapu City). Inspired by his success in Christianizing the people of Cebu, Magellan crossed the channel to Mactan Island in an effort to spread the faith. Before he reached the shore, he was killed by island chieftain Lapulapu and his men during the battle for supremacy and freedom on April 27, 1521. Efforts to retrieve the body of Magellan were futile inspite of the offer to trade jewelries and spices for the dead body. This marker was erected in 1866 to mark the spot where the great explorer died.

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