Manila

Manila rose as a port city in 1597 from the ruins of a Muslim settlement. Places of interest include Intramuros (Walled City), the ruins of Fort Santiago, San Agustin Church and Museum, Casa Manila Museum, and the Manila Cathedral. Outside Intramuros is Chinatown, a market in the district of Binondo, crowded with shops, stalls and restaurants. Luneta Park contains the Rizal Monument, a memorial to the execution of this great Filipino intellectual of the late 19th century. One can learn more about historical and contemporary Philippines through a tour of the Museum of the Filipino People, National Museum, Ayala Museum, and Metropolitan Museum of Manila.

By daytime, visitors can also take a tour around Malate through the modern Plaza Rajah Sulayman, Malate Church, and the San Andres Public market. Night life is replete along Makati City’s Ayala Center, Rockwell Center, and the Fort, Quezon city’s Timog and Tomas Morato Avenues, Eastwood City in Libis, and Mandaluyong City’s El Pueblo Real de Manila. A tourist can also try his luck in the Casino Filipino. For entertainment, visitors can have their choice of plays and concerts at the GSIS Theater, Meralco Theater, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Great shopping and dining experiences can be experienced in the various malls of Manila and Makati like the SM Mall of Asia, Robinson’s Place, Glorietta, and Greenbelt Complex.

Manila can be a jump-off point to other tourist attractions in Luzon Island such as Baguio, Banaue, and the Hundred Islands.

Cebu

Cebu City is the main resort of the Visayas group of islands. It is the most densely populated, a commercial center with an international harbor, and the Philippines’ second city. Sights include Magellan’s Cross, a wooden cross planted by Magellan himself over 450 years ago to commemorate the baptism into the Christian faith of Rajah Humabon and his wife Juana with 800 followers, and Fort San Pedro, the oldest and smallest Spanish fort in the country, which was built on the orders of Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565.

Carcar town, south of Cebu City, has many preserved Castillian houses, gardens and churches. The Chapel of the Last Supper in Mandaue City features hand-carved life-size statues of Christ and his apostles dating back to Spanish times. The Magellan Monument on Mactan Island was raised in 1886 to mark the spot where Magellan died, felled by the fierce chieftain, Datu Lapu-Lapu, who refused to submit to the Spanish conquerors. There is also a monument to Datu Lapu-Lapu honoring him as the first Filipino patriot.

Maribago is the center of the region’s guitar-making industry. Other places of interest include the University of San Carlos, the oldest school in the country established in 1565, Colon Street, likewise the oldest street in the Philippines built by the Spaniards during the time of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, and Capitol Building, seat of the Provincial Government of Cebu and an exact replica of the United States' White House.

Leisure Tours around Cebu

One can discover Cebu City through short day tours, i.e., 3-6 hours. A variety of choices are available. A visit to the Monument of Lapu-Lapu, the first Philippine hero, the Public Market, a Shellcraft Store, and a Guitar and Ukelele factory, can be made within 3 hours and inclusive of airconditioned transport and entrance fees. Other options include tracing the steps of the conquistadors by visiting Magellan's Cross, Fort San Pedro, Casa Gorordo Museum, Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño and Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills Subdivision. A visit to a showcase of fine handicrafts and a well-established shopping mall finishes this 4-hour tour along with standard amenities.