Cebu is sometimes called the Queen City of the South. Historic Cebu was where the Portugese Captain Ferdinand Magellan planted the Cross of Christianity in 1521. Strategically lying at the center of the Visayas, Cebu has been a popular entry point among merchants through the centuries.

The last three decades saw the blossoming of Cebu into a booming tourist destination. Touted as the ultimate playground, many leisure enclaves have risen throughout the province, taking full advantage of the enviable sun-and-sand-and-mountain location.

Arguably the country's diving center, scuba divers find Moalboal, Sogod, Pescador, Santa Rosa Islands and Boyong Boyong in Mactan as prime dive spots. World-class resorts fringe the islands, serving both divers and plain tourists alike.

Modern shopping malls, fine dining restaurants and lively entertainment centers,includingg two casinos and sprawling golf fairways, add luster to Cebu's landscape, offering the tourist a surfeit of activities to engage in.

The festival of pageant proportion which brings throngs of visitors to Cebu is the Sinulog, held every third week of January in honor of the Santo Nino.

Other points of interest include: Magellan's Cross, Cebu's most significant landmark; Basilica Minore de Santo Nino, a courtly ancient church which houses the oldest religious image in the country; Fort San Perdro, formerly a Spanish Garrison and now a park-cum-museum; Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills, where people go for worship and fortune-telling; the mountain town of Busay, Cebu's flower basket; and the old town of Carcar, resplendent with antebellum architecture.