The first time I visited LUCENA CITY was sometime in 1995. It was still a sleeping City. There is no life at night. The only establishments opened until the wee hours were the BARS and BEERHOUSES, but only few enjoyed that kind of lifestyle.
But at present, LUCENA CITY is awake round-the-clock.
7-11 and MINISTOP convenience stores and fasfoods like JOLLIBEE, MCDO and CHOWKING at the City proper are open for 24 hours.
Lucena City is the Capital City of Quezon Province in Region IV-A (CALABARZON). It is one of the only two cities in the province, the other one is the adjacent TAYABAS CITY.
LUCENA CITY today is the commercial center in Quezon Province. It has two big malls (SM CITY and PACIFIC MALL) and other numerous establishments.
It is the home of many colleges and schools. Some of them are the MANUEL ENVERGA UNIVERSITY, SACRED HEART COLLEGE, MARYHILL COLLEGE, ST. ANNE COLLEGE OF LUCENA INC.
From Metro Manila, the travel time is about 3 to 4 hours depending on the traffic flow. The place is accessible by public transportation. There are available buses from the following locations:
1. Taft Ave. Corner Gil Puyat Ave. (formerly Buendia). There are three bus terminals in that area (JAC LINER, JAM LINER and DLTB) - For AIRCON BUS - the fare is P 210 /passenger
*you can have your meal or take-out from the following restaurants and convenience stores in the vicinity - JOLLIBEE, MCDO, KFC, WENDYS, GOLDILOCKS, CHOWKING, 7-11 and MINISTOP.
2. EDSA corner TIMOG ave. (JAM LINER and JAC LINER) - For AIRCON BUS - P220/passenger
3. ARANETA CENTER -CUBAO (Lucena Lines) For AirCon bus - P 220/passenger
4. There are other bus companies that I will be adding soon in this blog.
From METRO MANILA, the way to LUCENA CITY will pass thru SOUTH EXPRESS WAY (SLEX).
NOTE: If you are travelling by private vehicle, the toll fee is about P 239 (Calamba Exit). The distance from Metro Manila to Lucena City is about 128 kilometers road distance.
After Calamba Exit, you will be passing thru CALAMBA CITY (particularly Barangay Turbina and Tulo), then MAKILING then after that comes the municipality of STO. TOMAS in the province of BATANGAS.
After passing thru the municipality of STO.TOMAS comes the town of ALAMINOS in the province of LAGUNA followed by SAN PABLO CITY, then the following municipalities in QUEZON PROVINCE according to order (TIAONG, CANDELARIA, SARIAYA) will occupy most of your travel time, then comes a portion of the TAYABAS CITY then your final destination, LUCENA CITY.
There are many options to unload if you are riding in a bus.
1. First option is at ARIAS. You can disembark when you heard the bus conductor shouting ARIAS! then you can ride a jeep bound for BAYAN (that's what they call the Lucena City proper).
2. Second option is at the DIVERSION ROAD (landmark is the CROSSROAD where you can locate a JOLLIBEE branch and CHOWKING at the other corner. There is also a GILIGAN'S RESTAURANT before the crossroad.
3. Third option is the LUCENA CITY GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL where there are also JOLLIBEE and CHOWKING branches. The offices of PAG-IBIG, SSS, DTI, LTO can also be found at GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
4. Fourth Option is at SM CITY LUCENA especially if the bus is bound for DALAHICAN PORT. If the mall is still open, you can have your meal at SM CITY LUCENA where are many choices to have your lunch, snacks of dinner (according to order of location from the entrance of the mall - CHOWKING, PIZZA HUT, SAVORY, TOKYO TOKYO, JOLLIBBE, MC DO, KFC, GREENWICH, ADOBO CONNECTION, RED RIBBON, MANG INASAL at the first floor) for the second floor (GILIGAN, BUDDY'S PIZZA).
@ Diversion Road, Lucena City
From anywhere in those locations, you can ride a JEEPNEY or TRICYCLE going to BAYAN (Lucena City proper) *There is no TAXI in Lucena City.
In the City proper, you can find the LUCENA CITY HALL, the Saint Ferdinand Cathedral, and the end of the main road (Quezon Avenue), you can find the QUEZON PROVINCIAL HALL fronting PEREZ PARK.
From the City proper, you can also go to another mall of the City either by walking or by jeepney or tricycle ride for minimum fare of 8 pesos to PACIFIC MALL (GAISANO MALL). It is a three-storey mall with restaurants, and other establishments such as JOLLIBEE, MC DO, KFC, MANG INASAL, BUDDY'S PIZZA, GREENWICH, CHOWKING, and RED RIBBON. There are ATMs inside the mall especially for BPI (two BPI ATMs).
PACIFIC MALL is the home of the DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS where you can apply for the application or renewal of your PASSPORT. It is also where the NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE (NSO) is located.
There are also numerous restaurants located in the City proper such as ALVINO'S GRILL, GROUND ZERO PIZZA, ANTIGUA CAFE, HACIENDA INN RESTAURANT.
SAVEMORE @ MARKET AREA of LUCENA CITY
ALONG QUEZON AVENUE, LUCENA CITY
near the MARKET AREA of LUCENA CITY
along QUEZON AVENUE, LUCENA CITY
There are also newly-opened restaurants at PLEASANTVILLE SUBDIVISION (about 500 meters from the City Proper) and along DIVERSION ROAD (about 2 Kilometers from the City proper) such as TAPA KING, SHAKEY'S and CAFE JUNGLE.
LUCENA CITY is adjacent to the numerous tourist destinations and exciting places to visit. Some of them are the KAMAY NI HESUS SHRINE in the municipality of LUCBAN, also located in the province of Quezon. It is about an hour ride from LUCENA CITY passing thru TAYABAS CITY. There are jeepney and air-conditioned van going to LUCBAN from Lucena City. The jeepney fare is about 30 pesos. The center of attraction of the Shrine is the 50 foot statue of JESUS CHRIST situated at the top of the hill about 300 steps. Going up the shrine is both physical and spiritual exercises. There are also other attractions at the compound of Kamay ni Hesus such as the NOAH'S ARK which is actually a hotel but with limited number of rooms. There is also the Graden of Eden.
PAGBILAO is the adjacent municipality of Lucena City going south (way to Bicol Region). SILANGANG NAYON PARK and RESTAURANT is located in Pagbilao, about 30 minutes ride from Lucena City proper. It has a very relaxing ambiance while you can enjoy your food at the seaside. There are also available hotel rooms for overnight stay or longer accommodation.
There are numerous hotels in Lucena City. (Names and rates of the hotels will be posted here soon)
Going back to METRO MANILA, you can ride bus bound either for CUBAO or LRT BUENDIA (GIL PUYAT corner TAFT AVE.) from those unloading options/locations going to Lucena City.
More updates and pictures will be written here about Lucena City.
