The City of Cebu (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Sugbo , Tagalog: Lungsod ng Cebu) is the capital of Cebu in the Philippines and is the second most important metropolitan center in the country. The city lies on the eastern shore of the island of Cebu and is the first Spanish settlement in the country. It is the country's main domestic shipping hub and is home to more than 80% of the country's inter-island shipping companies. Cebu is also the main hub, outside of the capital, of international flights into the country and is the most important center of commerce, trade, and industry in the Visayas and Mindanao, the southern parts of the country. It is because of this and other important aspects that Cebu City is dubbed the Queen City of the South. According to the official 2000 census, it has a population of 718,821 people in 147,600 households. Cebu City is the center of a metropolitan area called Metro Cebu, which includes the cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Talisay, Naga. Metro Cebu has a total population of more than 2 million people. The Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in Lapu-Lapu City is only a twenty-minute drive away from Cebu City. To the northeast of the city are Mandaue City and the town of Consolacion, to the west are Toledo City, the towns of Balamban, and Asturias, to the south are Talisay City and the town of Minglanilla. Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan Island where Lapu-Lapu City is located. Tourism continues to contribute much to the local economy not just of the city itself but of the entire province and because of this the city hosted the 1998 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF). The city also hosted the East Asian Tourism Forum (EATOF) in August 2002 in which the province of Cebu is a member and signatory. Early 2006, one of the island's famous landmark formally reopened under a new name, Marco Polo Plaza, after more than two years of closing its doors.

The hotel complex was formerly occupied by Cebu Plaza which was the first deluxe hotel in the province. It opened in the early 80s and was viewed by some as a symbol of the province's economic growth. There are a number of commercial establishments in the city, the most popular of which are the SM City and Ayala Center malls. There are also other smaller malls and stand alone department stores. Throughout the years however, the establishment of "strip malls" which offers some sort of a town center environment have become the trend. Despite the presence of such establishments, the downtown area still remains the nerve of commercial activity in the city. The Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and the Metropolitan Cathedral are also located there.

Wikipedia articles for Cebu

• Cebu City
• Cebu City
• Metro Cebu
• Magellan's Cross
• Fort San Pedro
• Basilica of Santo Niño
• Jon Ramon Aboitiz
• Talisay, Cebu
• Cebu City Sports Complex
• SM City Cebu
• Cebu Provincial Capitol
• Ayala Center Cebu
• Subangdaku River