The heart of Davao city has become one of the most occupied and well-visited by Davaoenos which is the downtown area. This is where San Pedro Cathedral, Davao City Hall and a lot of bargain establishments meet each other. It looks like it offers the power of three within a single location; the religious needs, the legal offices and the shopping experience. I remember when I was a child, if my mom's looking for something, she would just say “I have to go to downtown to look for it.” So, that's how it marque as a place where everything is there.

The Downtown

The downtown area has been a witness to a lot of commemorated events. The San Pedro Street as one of the busiest streets in Davao, is a most-visited places area in Davao by locals. You will miss half of your vacation if you don't include this in your itinerary. So, never forget to include these places on your list. You can take a ride from a jeep or a taxi from your hotel, because it is the point where most of the transportation meets.

San Pedro Cathedral

The San Pedro Cathedral is one of the oldest church in the city. It is located at San Pedro Street corner Claveria Street. If you plan to visit the church on Sundays, you have to be early before the mass starts so that you have the privileged to choose the seat you wanted, whether its in front of the altar or at the back or even on the chapel. A lot of devotees attended the mass during weekends that is why the seats are taken faster than you thought.  Aside from the seats on the church itself, it has two side to side chapels as extension. So, I recommend that you visit it during weekdays early in the morning if you wanted a solemn-peaceful ambiance experience.

Davao City Hall

  The city is governed by Mayor Sarah Duterte, daughter of the President Rodrigo Duterte. Her office is at Rm. 4, City Hall of Davao. There are two-separated buildings, the Sangguniang Panlungsod(SP) Building and the old City Hall of Davao. There is an information desk in the SP building also known as the Legislative building where you can ask for data for whatever purpose you may want to know. Also, there is a city library where you can do research. I used to visit the library a lot of times when I was in high school. I remember the place as a very quite and solemn library where you can share seats with others or have a solo table. And be very silent or else the library guards will send you out if you don't follow the rules. To utilize the library, you just need to present a valid ID and enjoy your research job. Another great thing in the Legislative building is that there is a stall for the souvenir items like t-shirts, native bracelets and a lot more. Discover them and see for yourself some special items in the store.

San Pedro Street

San Pedro Street is one of the oldest streets in Davao City. This is where the parade of the most awaited events in Davao City lies. A lot of business establishments are existing and competing for the attention of the visitors here. Mostly are general merchandising stores like:

• Unitop
• Lachmi
• F and F
• and Ukay-Ukay Stores(Selling Used items)

These stores retails or wholesales items from kitchenware, hardware, bags, clothes, gadgets and a lot more. The best things about these stores is that they sell products which are not so expensive yet with high quality as well. I remember when I planned to buy a blanket that cost 250PHP or $6.5 AUD but if you add another blanket, it will cost each 200php or $5.28 only. See? It saves you money when you buy more than one. I would recommend you visit these stores, you might end up satisfied with it.

Food Trip

After you visited these places, you probably are hungry. Don't worry, there are a lot of fast food chains, restaurant and street food in the area. You just have to choose whether you wanted to eat the usual burger and fries, there is a Jollibee accross the street. If you wanted to eat on a restaurant where grilled foods are serve, there is the Colasa's a block away located at the back of the legislative building, left-side corner. If you wanted to taste the street foods served along the streets, then try some few stalls located at the right-side of the legislative building. Whatever budget you have for a certain food trip, just enjoy it.

Watch out!

Because this place is very crowded, you can never assure the security of your valuable items. Be very careful to watch over them or hold them in  a way that pickpockets can never have a chance to have an interest on it. Although there are a lot of police and security officers in the area, you can never be confident in the situation of too much crowd. Take good care of your things no matter what or where you go.  

If you plan to visit Downtown don't forget to:

Let us remind ourselves that wherever place we wanted to visit, let us be aware of the place first. You can do a research about the area, plan your visit, prepare things you wanted to bring and choose the proper outfit. Well-prepared is a must for you to have a well-enjoyed vacation. Downtown is the place for everything you need to know about Davao City. Enjoy your experience and maximize it.