Plaza Independencia

Plaza Independencia  is formerly known as Plaza Libertad. It is now a favorite park where families can have picnics and where lovers meet. It is also the one of the tourist attraction in Cebu City and it's strategically located between Fort San Pedro and the building that used to be the Gobierno Provincial in the downtown area of Cebu.There is also a public skating rink and a kiosk at the center of the circular skating rink. An obelisk dedicated to the memory of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi ,the first Spanish governor-general of the Philippines, is planted at the very heart of the plaza.

Plaza Independencia is the most historically significant plaza in Cebu. Its land and age-old acacia trees are witness to the many phases and stories of Cebu’s rich history.
In the early 1600s, it was called Plaza de Armas. When it was widened later on and expanded to reach nearby properties of the Cathedral of Cebu, it was called Plaza Mayor. Later in the Spanish rule, it was further landscaped and developed and was christened Plaza Maria Cristina, in honor of the queen regent. During the American colonial period, its name was changed to Plaza Libertad, as the Americans asserted how they liberated Cebuanos from the Spanish rule. Later on it finally became known as Plaza Independencia.