Dubbed "The Taj Mahal of Cebu" this colossal shrine is a true testament of one man's commitment of…read moreeternal love and devotion to his dearly departed wife. The first thing not to help but notice at drive in is a good sized water fountain in the middle of the grounds. As there was a crowd within the temple itself, I decided to do a lookout down below. What a beautiful 180 degree view of Cebu. Even the airport will be on your line of sight. That alone made the drive worth it. After taking all that view in, I finally decided to tackle the crowd and walk up to the very main temple. One can't help but notice the two lion statues in between stairs. At the very center is a gold plated statue of Teodorico Soriano Adarna's beloved wife, Leah Villa Albino-Adarna, surrounded by Greek-type and designed engineering and architecture. There are a few hallways on both sides of the first floor to showcase room filled with antiques and collections of paintings, furniture, vases and the like. It's pretty impressive, gotta say. There's a small cafe near the water fountain for refreshments, snacks and libations. It came in pretty handy during a hot June visit! Gone are the entrance fee of P50Php/person. It's now up to P120/pp on the weekdays and P150/pp on the weekends. Just like Teodorico's love for Leah, construction is still ongoing - for maintenance and additions. And with the way things are going and with so many visitors, I'd project it will continue to improve and grow. It is worth the visit, if only for photo ops! A definite must stop when in Cebu!

Cultural Attraction [CEBU CITY Philippines]…read more We had a list of places to visit that was provided by our hotel concierge... so next stop was this Temple of Leah in Cebu City. The site is an indoor attraction and is open to the public all year round. I can't remember how much the admission fee was but it's very minimal. While I thought it was beautiful and grand my brother, on the other hand, was not impressed. He lives in Germany and says that the real deal are in Europe. Okaaay, brother LoL! The story behind this temple is a man's way (a rich one at that) of showing how strong his never ending love and devotion is to his wife, Leah. I guess you can call this the Philippine version of the Taj Mahal. Inside is a gallery, museum and a library and restricted to the public. We were only able to roam outside. The columns were huge and each side of the stairs were two huge lion sculptures. There were life-size angels made of brass and finally on top is a 10-ft statue of the Queen of the temple. This ancient Roman architecture style temple is located in Cebu City. Review #3335

Lots of photo opportunities for iG [BUSAY, CEBU CITY Philippines]…read more This "garden" is more of a photo op pictorial garden for the "gram" rather than a botanical garden which I thought it was. The drive was about 1.5 hours and the road gets windy as we got closer to it. There are TWO (2) gardens in Sirao. The original Sirao Garden is the Little Amsterdam in Cebu City. The other is the Pictorial Garden. We went to the latter. Entrance fee is 70 pesos/person ($1.25 USD conversion) We had fun taking photos. It had a beautiful view looking below from the top. The garden is on a hill and there were different props and attractions to get your photos taken. The Instagrammable sceneries will not fail you. Actually, this place became a social media hit with both the locals and foreign tourists and became the most popular attraction in Cebu Transcentral Highway. There were many street vendors outside the gardens. We enjoyed fresh coconut buko and banana-q. So yummy! Review #3333

This was my top must-do while in Cebu. The cost to explore the garden is 100 pesos which is a great…read moredeal in US standards. The garden is nestled on the side of a hill so it is layered. Has many beautiful tropical plants and sculptures to take photos with. I would have enjoyed it more if it had less photo zones and more plants. It had more of a photo zone feel, and less garden, where everyone was rushing to just get the next photo. Overall, it was a wonderful visit with beautiful scenery, but didn't quite meet all my standards of a true garden experience.

We sat outside this establishment since the indoor area felt stuffy, and the live band was…read moreblasting away. That's what happens I guess when you're in your 50's, you just want to hang with your friends and talk the night away. The problem with the outdoor patio was that it was muggy and the humidity was unbearable. Drinking a bucket of Super Dry San Miguel beer probably made it worse with the comfort level, but that feeling went away as the night went by. Service was slow, though, and we had to wave at any of the staff for our food and drinks. That's us even considering that it was in Cebu, and slow service was a given. Food was reasonably priced and delicious. I'd probably seek a bar with air-conditioning the next time we hang out with my buddies.

Tucked inside Ayala Center Cebu at Cebu Business Park, The Social is a vibrant café-bar-meets-music…read morespot that knows how to keep the energy high. The interior is stylish with dim lighting perfect for evening hangouts, and there's often live music or DJ sets on select nights--one of their recent posts even teased a "music night" lineup that drew quite the crowd. Drink-wise, their cocktail list doesn't disappoint, with creative twists and craft beers that go down smooth late into the night--they're open until 1AM, and weekends stretch to 2AM . With a 70% recommend rate from over 3,400 reviews on Yelp, it's clear people love the mix of laid-back social vibe and upbeat scene. The crowd is eclectic--office workers, couples, friends--all enjoying the central spot in Cebu's best business hub. Prices lean a bit higher ("$$$$"), but it's worth it for the ambiance and consistently good service. Whether you're winding down after work or gearing up for a night out, The Social hits the sweet spot between chill and festive--definitely a go-to in Cebu City.

It's pretty... This…read moreis more of a spot to go take pictures for your Instagram. I went around 3pm because I figured due to reviews there would be less people. Sadly, they do not serve pizzas before 5pm, so I settled for salmon carbonara pasta which was a joke! At first I thought there wasn't any salmon until I saw a couple of itty-bitty small pieces in the sauce lol. I could count on my hand how many of those I saw. Another disappointing thing was that you can't buy a glass of wine; you must buy a whole bottle. I did not. I originally came for pizza and wine and had mushroom pasta and water. Not good for solo individuals.

Trying to get quality wine is a joke. Their wine should be given away for free. What is this…read moresugar water? Food? Once again another place that makes crappy food in Philippines. This is for people that know no better. Leave it to Philippines to sell crap

This is a small (currently free) museum that has some permanent and temporary exhibits related to…read morethe natural and cultural history of Cebu and of the Philippines in general. It's in a nice heritage building. Worth popping in for a visit.

Great Pizza & Burgers, has other food too. Friday & Saturday…read morenights are crazy loud bands (I take ear plugs).

Good place for beers and pool. It's fun and has a decent crowd. Never had any prob there and I…read morewill go back soon.

This is one of the 3 major tourist gardens in Cebu located up in the mountain area and in terms of…read moreflowers and landscaping, and the size, I think it's the best one. That are many paths to take a rows upon rows of flowers, terraces and different color leaf vegetation to create patterns of color. You start off my walking a over head bridge with a rainbow colored walkway that goes around the whole garden. It is an OK place and worth the visit it you already plan to do a mountain tour in order to make a a full afternoon of site seeing, There a small snack shop, tables and a outdoor sit down restaurant too if you get hungry from the garden walks.

Nice place to jog, swim, lift weighte. There are fees based in which activity and they also offer…read moreother activities, you just need to check their schedules.