Heading to Bacolod? We highlighted the 10 Best Things to Do in Bacolod to give you an idea of all the worthwhile activities in the city.
A homey place with great food and even greater people—that’s Bacolod. The City of Smiles, as it is fondly called, is located on the northwest coast of Negros Island in the Philippines. The primary language spoken is Hiligaynon, which is the 4th most spoken native language in the country.
Bacolod City and its neighboring places, though urbanized, aren’t loud or busy. Instead, Bacolod genuinely feels like a warm smile and a welcoming embrace.
👉Get your Iloilo to Bacolod ferry ticket here!👈
How to Get to Bacolod City
There are multiple ways to get to Bacolod City. By air, you can book a flight to Bacolod, which will land in Silay City, in the north.
From the airport, the best way to get to the city is to take a cab or book one through the Grab app to get directly to your hotel.
You may choose to take the shuttle vans outside the airport to take you to SM City Bacolod. This is the more common mode of transportation.
Alternatively, you may take the jeepney if you’re feeling adventurous and want to travel like a local. Outside the airport, hail a tricycle to take you to Silay City Center. Then ride a jeepney going to Bacolod North terminal.
From there, you can take another jeepney ride. This is not recommended if you’re carrying multiple and heavy luggage.
👉Find Cebu to Bacolod flights here!👈
If you’re coming from Cebu City, you may also take a bus from Cebu North Bus Terminal to Bacolod City. There are several options along this route: Cebu to Bacolod via Toledo-San Carlos-Don Salvador, Cebu to Bacolod via Tabuelan-Escalante, Cebu to Bacolod via Canlaon, and Cebu to Bacolod via Mabinay. We highly recommend taking either the Toledo or Tabuelan route as they are faster.
Bacolod is a rather small city so going around won’t be much of a problem as there is local transportation 24/7: taxis, jeepneys, and tricycles. Staying in the town center also gives you the advantage of simply walking to and fro some of the local tourist spots.
Best Time to Visit Bacolod City
As is for the whole Philippines most, if not all, of the tourist attractions are open all year round but it’s best to visit Bacolod between the warm months of March and May, and in October when the Masskara Festival is held.
There’s so much to explore in Bacolod but for now, we’ll focus on the unquestionably great food and their rich history, which can actually fit in a 3-day stay! Here are the 10 Best Things to Do in Bacolod and nearby towns:
1. Indulge in Seafood ‘Pala-Pala’ Style
Pick your favorite freshest seafood catch and have them cooked to your liking. Pala-pala is not the name of the restaurant. Instead, it’s a restaurant-style where establishments allow customers to select from their wide range of seafood and other meats, and have the kitchen prepare them as requested.
You can have it boiled, grilled, souped, sauteed, or as kinilaw (Filipino ceviche). Pala-pala comes from the Filipino word “pala” which means “shovel.” In the old times, shovels were used to pile fresh catch into a heap in the market.
Being a city on the seaside, the seafood is guaranteed fresh. Plus, Negros is unquestionably where you find one of the best and most scrumptious foods in the Philippines.
👉Book your Bacolod City tour here!👈
2. Explore Bacolod’s Iconic Landmarks
We know doing city tours can feel very touristy but it’s different from most places because this is something you can definitely do on your own and most places are walking distance from each other. So you don’t just see the famous spots in Bacolod City, you also get to see the city in your own time and pace.
Here are some significant landmarks in Bacolod you can include on your itinerary:
- San Sebastian Cathedral. This was originally constructed in 1825 and was later declared a cathedral (1933).
- New Government Center. This gorgeous and well-landscaped government building was inaugurated in 2010 and replaced the old city hall as the city’s seat of power. It is surrounded by banks, restaurants, bars, and hotels. It is frequented, not only for official city business, but also by joggers, pet lovers with their fur babies, friends, and families, and is a great chill-out spot at night.
- Capitol Building and Lagoon Park. Declared a national historical landmark in 1994, The Capitol exhibits the Beaux-Arts architectural design that is inspired by French Neocolonialism and a man-made lagoon and is the official seat of power of the provincial governor.
- Bacolod Public Plaza. Officially the Plaza del 6 de Noviembre, named after the day Negros revolutionaries reclaimed Negros Island from the Spanish invaders, is one of the most iconic landmarks of Bacolod City with its gazebo and recognizable checkered floor pattern. It is located in the center of town and within walking distance from the old city hall and across the San Sebastian Cathedral.
- Pope John Paul’s tower. This pilgrimage center, composed of 8 floors, gives you a panoramic view of the city and the Guimaras strait. This was dedicated to the late Pope with pictures, relics, and vestments he used during his papal visit in 1981.
- Bacolod Baywalk Recreational Park. Inaugurated on February 14, 2013, this coastal recreational park is a favorite dine-out spot, especially during sunset, for families and friends. Aside from Bacolod’s great food and finds, they also have entertainment for music lovers and a playground for the kids. You can walk to the Pope John Paul Tower and SM City from here.
👉Book your Bacolod City tour here!👈
3. Taste Cansi—One of Bacolod’s Signature Dishes
Cansi is a sour and spicy beef shank soup and is a staple for the Negrenses, the people of Negros Island. In recent years, this locally loved dish was brought to other regions in the Philippines, both by locals who’ve moved residences and frequent visitors. The rich flavor, the perfect spice, and the sourness of the soup, which comes from batwan or batuan, an endemic Philippine fruit usually found in the Visayas Region, make this dish a perfect rice pairing.
There are multiple local eateries in Bacolod and nearby places that serve cansi, but some of our favorites are Sharyn’s and Eron’s.
👉Book your Bacolod cocktail crawl here!👈
4. Go Museum Hopping
Learn about the history and current ecological state of Bacolod and Negros. The Negros Museum showcases Negrense cultural and historical exhibits, art, and vintage regional toys, collected throughout the years.
Meanwhile, the Negros Forests and Ecological Center serves as a wildlife refuge with rare breeds and offer conservation education programs. Both buildings are in the same block that’s located just across Capitol Park and Lagoon. They have friendly and highly knowledgeable guides who will not just tell you stories of the past, but give you insight on the present and possible future for Negros.
We highly recommend seeing both places and we guarantee you’ll come to love and appreciate Bacolod and Negros even more.
👉Book your Don Salvador day tour from Bacolod here!👈
5. Sample Bacolod’s Famous Chicken Inasal
If there’s anything Filipinos know about Bacolod cuisines, it is that they have the best grilled chicken. We call them Bacolod nasal or just inasal. Back in the day, numerous inasal stalls were scattered all over the city, but the local government decided to create a specific space for them and organized what we now call Manokan Country. You’ll know when you’re there even before you see the billboard sign because of the mouth-watering smell of this atchuete-stained chicken on the open grill.
👉Book your Negrense cultural tour here!👈
6. Grab Local Sweet Treats
Negros, along with its neighboring provinces, are home to not just the sweetest-sounding Filipino language but also rich and fertile lands perfect for sugarcane. What, of course, do you do with an abundance of sugars? Desserts!
Here are some spots you need to visit in Bacolod to satisfy your sweet tooth:
- Calea Pastries and Coffee has the best cakes and you must never ever leave without trying either their chocolate mud pie or white chocolate cheesecake, or even better, both.
- Merzci and BongBongs have affordable but delectable pastries and delicacies such as the staple piaya, but we highly recommend the Napoleones and Cheese Tarts from Merzci and the Barquillos and Ube Piaya from Bongbongs.
- Negros Showroom is a one-stop shop for local delicacies, hand-crafted goods, jewelry, locally made shirts and bags, and other souvenirs. They also sell powdered batwan (the sour fruit used in cansi) and snackable muscovado balls.
👉Book your Negrense cultural tour here!👈
7. Watch Colorful Street Dancing During Masskara Festival
When you can, experience the Masskara Festival, celebrated annually every October. Most travel blogs will start the list with this, as this event gathers many tourists from all over the globe, but here on Cebu Insider, we want to make this not the start but the climactic ending of your Bacolod adventure.
Now that you’ve seen Negros, tasted the food, met the people, and walked down their history, you’ll appreciate this festival more; beyond the fun parties that come with it.
The Masskara Festival, also called the ‘Festival of Smiles,’ is a community-driven event originally held to uplift the spirits of its people after a tragic incident in 1980. A passenger boat carrying about a thousand people, most of whom were Negrenses, collided with a tanker and resulted in the death of 750 passengers. In a snap, Negrenses lost families, neighbors, and friends. In those dark and painful times, after months of loss and grief, they all came together to find love, happiness, and light in what remained and the memories of those who had passed.
So dance with the locals during the street party, enjoy the sights and sounds, satisfy your palate, and know that in that mass of masked faces, are people who understand your sadness and celebrate your happiness.
👉Book your Negrense cultural tour here!👈
8. Discover Silay City’s Rich Cultural Heritage
Silay City, known as “The Paris of Negros”, is located north of Bacolod and is where the airport is located. Walk down memory lane with the tour of their four famous heritage houses (Locsin Y Lacson Ancestral House, Balay Negrense, Bernardo Jalandoni Museum, and Hofileña Ancestral House), the San Diego Pro-Cathedral, and Silay Plaza which are all conveniently located in the town center.
Many of the old structures were preserved not just by the efforts of the government but mostly by the community and the prominent people in the province. As you walk around, you’ll notice how most establishments, even fast food restaurants and convenience stores are all hosted in old houses and buildings. Despite current enhancements and modern facilities, the town remains laid-back with a hint of its refined and sophisticated past.
👉Book your Silay and Bacolod private tour here!👈
9. Try Filipino Staples at El Ideal
El Ideal Bakery is one, if not the oldest, of the bakeries in Silay. The bakeshop and café is located inside the Locsin Y Lacson Ancestral House which has preserved its bahay na bato (stone house) proportions but is fitted with glass panes and iron-grilled windows.
The café has a rustic and nostalgic charm, filled with delectable treats you can buy as pasalubong (souvenir). We recommend the in-house baked special piaya, señorita, and angel cookies.
Pasalubong from El Ideal is an absolute must. But don’t just buy and drive; stay a little and order a bowl of warm batchoy (a noodle soup with pork meat, pork cracklings, beef loins, and chicken stock); guapple pie (a pie made from a larger and much fleshy variety of guava); espasol (a Filipino rice cake with coconut milk, dusted with toasted rice flour); and their refillable cup of native coffee. Actually, if you have the time and the appetite, try everything you can because they’re all absolutely scrumptious!
👉Book your Sagay island hopping tour from Bacolod here!👈
10. Visit The Ruins in Talisay City
Talisay City is located between Silay and Bacolod. If you look the city up on Google, the first few photos you’ll find would be the breathtaking and rustic images of a rundown mansion. This is the historical landmark called The Ruins, which is referred to as the “Taj Mahal of Negros.”
Sugar baron and patriarch Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson built the Italian-inspired mansion with Neo-Romanesque columns after the death of his beloved wife, Maria Braga. During the Japanese invasion, however, the mansion was burned down by the US forces and Filipino Guerillas with the family’s consent to avoid being used as Japanese headquarters. They said it burned for 3 days and yet it still stood its ground, much like the don’s love for his late wife.
Instead of building a new mansion or restoring the old one, the family decided to simply preserve its ruined state. This magnificent structure, albeit semi-skeletal, stands regal and proud against the well-kept garden and lawn. It also still has the original and still functional fountain and the sugar mill tower that now has a full-grown tree growing on top.
The Ruins feel magical and glorious no matter what time you visit but if you ask us, go there right before sunset.
👉Book your Lakawon Island day tour here!👈
Where to Stay in Bacolod City
- Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod (Check room rates!)
- Le Chateau Residences (Check room rates!)
- Cityscape Residences (Check room rates!)
- A&E Apartelle (Check room rates!)
- The Suites at Calle Nueva (Check room rates!)
Your Guide to Bacolod City
The City of Bacolod doesn’t feel like just any other tourist destination. Instead, it feels like coming home to a loving mom. She feeds you good food, tells you wonderful stories, and reminds you that even if life isn’t always well, you’ll never be alone.
That’s all for now. I hope you have an unforgettable trip in Bacolod City. For travel ideas, check out our range of guides:
- Top Things to Do in Bohol
- Top Things to Do in Dumaguete
- Top Things to Do in Cebu
- Top Things to Do in Siquijor
If you have questions about your trip to Bacolod, let me know in the comments. We’ll get back to you ASAP.
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