Top Hills ~ Situated 2,000 feet above sea level on the cool hills of Busay, it is an excellent sight seeing spot which offers breathtaking views of Metro Cebu and the islands of Mactan and Olango. Open kiosks are available for daytime picnics at the summit of this viewpoint. The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second city in the Philippines with the second most significant metropolitan centre and known as the oldest Spanish settlement in the country. The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. Cebu is the Philippines' main domestic shipping port and is home to about 80% of the country's domestic shipping companies. Cebu also holds the second largest international flights in the Philippines and is a significant centre of commerce, trade and industry in the Visayas and Mindanao regions. Cebu City is the centre of a metropolitan area called Metro Cebu, which includes the cities of Carcar, Danao, Lapu-lapu, Mandaue, Naga, Talisay. Metro Cebu has a total population of about two million people. The Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in Lapu-Lapu City is only a 20 minute drive away from Cebu City. To the northeast of the city is Mandaue City and the town of Consolacion, to the west is Toledo City, the towns of Balamban and Asturias, to the south is Talisay City and the town of Minglanilla. Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan Island where Lapu-Lapu City and an aquarium attraction are located.
The Cebu Provincial Capitol is dramatically positioned at the end of a grand perspective of a new avenue ( Osmeña Boulevard ) as conceived by William E. Parsons in his 1912 plan of Cebu, in the lines of the City Beautiful Movement. The building follows an H-shaped plan, one side opening to the terminus of Osmeña Boulevard. The main block or corps de logis, three stories high, is flanked by two secondary wings, symmetrically advancing to embrace a rectangular, elevated cour d'honneur that serves as an entrance podium. The elevation of the corps de logis is of typical neoclassical formula: a rusticated ground floor, containing minor rooms and offices, the piano nobile above, with the most important spaces, and finally the attic story. A heavy cornice and parapet caps the façade, with allegorical statues standing by its corners. The most distinctive part of the façade is the central concave pavilion, which creates the semi-circular main balcony and pulls together the entire mass, finally crowned by an austere dome upon an octagonal drum.
The piano nobile is reached by two staircases from the ground floor foyer. The first space, the art deco rotunda below the cupola, opens to the south the main balcony that faces Osmeña Boulevard, and to its north the ballroom (social hall). Two-stories high with full-length windows, the ballroom, also in art deco style, is reminiscent of a fairytale setting. Two enormous chandeliers fashioned in crystal and local capiz shells ( placuna placenta ) light the grand space
Cebu City is a significant cultural centre in the Philippines. The imprint of Spanish and Roman Catholic culture is evident. The city's most famous landmark is Magellan's Cross. A few steps away from the Magellan's Cross is the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino (Church of the Holy Child). This is a Augustinian church elevated to the rank of Basilica in 1965 during the 400th year celebrations of Christianity in the Philippines, held in Cebu. The church, which was the first to be established in the islands, is built of hewn stone and features the country's oldest relic, the figure of the Santo Niño de Cebú ( Holy Child of Cebu ). This religious event is celebrated during the island's cultural festivities known as the Sinulog festival. Held every third Sunday of January, it celebrates the festival of the Santo Nino, who was formerly considered to be the patron saint of Cebu. (This patronage was later changed to that of Our Lady of Guadalupe after it was realised that the St. Niño could not be a patron saint because he was an image of the Christ and not a saint.) The Sinulog is a dance ritual of pre-Hispanic indigenous origin. The dancer moves two steps forward and one step backward to the rhythmic sound of drums. This movement resembles somewhat the current (sulog) of the river. Thus, the Cebuanos called it Sinulog.
When the Spaniards arrived in Cebu, the Italian chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, sailing under convoy with the Magellan expedition, offered a baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon. She was later named Juana, the figure of the Santo Nino. The natives also honoured the Santo Niño de Cebu in their indigenous Sinulog ritual[citation needed]. The Sinulog ritual was preserved but limited to honouring the Santo Nino. Once the Santo Niño church was built in the 16th century, the Christian Malay people started performing the Sinulog ritual in front of the church, the devotees offering candles and indigenous dancers shouting ~ Viva Pit Senor!
