Tops Lookout (The Circle)

Overview

Tops sits at roughly 600 metres in Malubog, Busay — noticeably cooler than the city below, especially after sunset. The site opened in 1985 as “The Top,” developed by Emilio “Lito” Osmeña — three years before his election as Cebu provincial governor — who had the hilltop leveled and laid out its original geometric stone-bordered grounds himself; the shortened name “Tops” caught on locally well before Osmeña’s own governorship. After 37 years of continuous operation, the property closed in 2022 and reopened in a soft-opened 2024 redevelopment under an all-Cebuano joint venture, part of a reported plan north of PHP 1 billion for the 10-hectare site. The older open-park layout gave way to “The Circle,” a five-storey circular viewing structure, alongside roughly 22 new food-and-beverage outlets, an expanded parking building, elevators and ramps for accessibility, and an event space with a stated capacity around 5,000. The redevelopment kept the site’s original hexagonal “honeycomb” floor tiles and stone arches as a deliberate heritage detail rather than replacing them outright.

Per the property’s own published rate card, walk-in admission is PHP 100 for regular adults and children age 2+ (PHP 70 for seniors/PWD with ID; free under age 2), while a PHP 200 package bundles admission with round-trip shuttle transport from the IT Park Transport Terminal on Geonzon Street, Lahug — per TOPS Cebu — Tickets and Park Information, accessed 2026-08-03.

A billion-peso redevelopment on a single hilltop site is a meaningful bet on Cebu’s tourism recovery after the pandemic closure years, and the all-Cebuano joint venture behind it framed the project as reclaiming a local landmark from decades of piecemeal management rather than handing it to an outside hospitality group. That framing matters locally: Osmeña family involvement in Cebu civic life runs deep — Lito Osmeña’s own later governorship, and the wider Osmeña name attached to the city’s central Fuente Osmeña Circle and Sergio Osmeña’s national political legacy — so a Cebuano-led revival of a site the family effectively founded reads as more than a straightforward commercial redevelopment to residents who track that history.

Roughly 22 food-and-beverage outlets is a large enough roster that the mix runs from Cebuano staples to imported chains, giving visitors a reason to treat an evening at Tops as a full outing rather than a quick photo stop before heading back downhill. That volume of dining space also means a meaningful number of service jobs on a hilltop that offered little formal employment beyond a handful of caretaker and security roles under the old open-park layout — a small but real economic shift for the barangay, mirrored elsewhere across Busay wherever a single attraction has scaled up into a multi-business complex.

Location

Barangay Malubog, Busay, Cebu City uplands.

Getting There

By TOPS shuttle bus from the Cebu IT Park Transport Terminal (roughly hourly service), or by private vehicle/taxi/Grab from Cebu City center, about 30–45 minutes climbing the Transcentral Highway.

Practical Info

• Open 24 hours, though most food outlets keep more limited hours.
• Bring a jacket — the elevation makes evenings noticeably cooler than the city.
• Weekends draw heavy crowds; weekday visits are markedly quieter.

What to Expect

A 360-degree view over Metro Cebu, Mactan and the channel between them, now built around a dining-and-events complex rather than a simple viewing platform — the 2024 redevelopment shifted Tops from a stop-and-look site to a stay-and-eat one.

Notes

Sources: CebuInsights — The New and Improved Tops Finally Opens in 2024, accessed 2026-07-17. The 1985 opening date, the “The Top” original name and the Lito Osmeña founding account are per TOPS Cebu — About Us, accessed 2026-07-17, and corroborated by Tops Lookout: An Old Tourist Spot With A Bright Future — CebuInsights, accessed 2026-07-17.