1. Basilica Minore del Sto Nino. This houses the Sto. Nino statue brought by Magellan in 1521. We went there during Sinulog so there was no way we could get inside. I remember attending Sunday mass here 2 years ago and it was also jampacked so we had to stay outside the church. Maybe next time, I'll try to visit on a weekday during odd hours. :)
2. Cebu Cathedral. It was completed in 1909, got destroyed during World War 2 but was rebuilt in 1950.
Inside the Cebu Cathedral.
You could find a statue of the second Filipino saint, San Pedro Calungsod, inside the Cathedral.
3. Plaza Independencia. This was already a plaza as early as the 1600s! Anyway, there isn't really much to see here except for the Monument of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi but you'll have to cross the plaza to get to the next and last stop which is Fort San Pedro.
4. Fort San Pedro. As Wikipedia describes this - it served as the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. It was built by Cebuano laborers under the rule of Spanish conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.
At the main entrance is a statue of the Sto Nino.
Here are old photos of Fort San Pedro. Comparing it to the photo above, it looks well-preserved.
Here's the main door to the fort. Solid and super thick. Maybe 8 inches thick. I wonder what the MI on the door stands for.
Inside the grounds, you'll find several cannons like this.
There are also artifacts on display like this vestidor which was worn by Katipuneros. The vest has religious drawings and inscriptions and Katipuneros believe that they become invincible when they wear a vestidor.
Have you ever wondered how Cebu looked like to the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century? Here's the map drawn by Magellan tracing the geographical position of Cebu (though I don't exactly know how to interpret it. Haha...).
This is called the Pozo del Virgen - a well inside the Fort San Pedro wherein the second oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in the Philippines was found.
This is a replica of the Nuestra Senora de la Cotta (Virgin of Remedies), the statue found inside the well between 1570 to 1575. In the information board at Fort San Pedro, it was indicated that the original statue is housed at the Cebu Cathedral but when we went back to the Cathedral to check, we couldn't find it. We also asked around but no one knew about it. :(
In every corner of the fort are watch towers. Once upon a time, soldiers used to peep into this hole 24/7 to guard the fort.
Here's the view of Fort San Pedro from the second level. Beautiful grounds.
There are also lots of plants and colorful flowers.
All of these 4 places are just walking distance to each other and you could visit them in less than 3 to 4 hours in leisure pace. :) If you've another 1 to 2 hours to spare and are interested in Philippine history, I suggest adding Museo Sugbo in your itinerary. It's about 2 kilometers from Fort San Pedro. The museum was once a jail and it houses a lot of fascinating artifacts during the Spanish, Japanese and American occupation.
