The Philippines' lechon capital — the most celebrated roasted pig in the archipelago, Sinulog festival, and island-hopping to Malapascua
Cebu (population 935,000, Visayas region) is the Philippines' second-largest city and oldest — Magellan's expedition arrived here in 1521, making it the entry point of Christianity into the Philippine archipelago. Cebu is the undisputed lechon capital of the Philippines: whole spit-roasted pig stuffed with tamarind, lemongrass, and spring onions, roasted over coconut wood for 3–4 hours until the skin shatters like glass — Anthony Bourdain called it 'the best pig, ever, period.' Cebu is also the hub for island-hopping in the Visayas: Malapascua (thresher shark diving), Moalboal (sardine run),…
Cebu was the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines — Miguel López de Legazpi established Villa del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús in 1565 on the site of an existing Cebuano trading port, making it the oldest colonial city in Southeast Asia and the Philippine capital until Manila was founded in 1571. The Santo Niño de Cebú — a figurine of the Child Jesus given by Magellan to Queen Juana of Cebu during the 1521 mass baptism — survived the village's burning and is now the most venerated religious artifact in the Philippines. Datu Lapu-Lapu of Mactan Island killed Magellan at the Battl…