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Bacolod Checklist: 9 essential things to do, food to eat, and places to go for first-timers
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For anybody visiting Negros, Bacolod City is often the first stop.
The capital of Negros Occidental and the backbone of the sugar industry in the province, is best known for the colorful Masskara Festival celebrated every October. But there is so much to explore in the City of Smiles.
From the mouth watering food and delicacies down to its historical places, Bacolod City is more than just a city of happy people and smiling faces.
Here are nine of the best things you must include in your Bacolod itinerary.
1. Visit the San Sebastian Cathedral
In the heart of Bacolod City is where you can find the San Sebastian Cathedral. Originally constructed in 1825, it is one of the most famous and historic infrastructures in Bacolod City. It's hard not to miss: the San Sebastian Cathedral is located right at the city’s downtown, across the Bacolod plaza.
2. Swing by the Negros Museum to learn more about the rich culture and heritage of Negros
Negros Museum is a privately owned provincial museum situated in the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Complex in Bacolod.
Rather than archeological artifacts, the museum features the Negrense lifestyle and society, which includes old furnishing and loaned items from ancestral houses. It also features art exhibits from various local and foreign artist from the Negros Island.
3. Feast over an authentic Bacolod Chicken Inasal
What's a visit to Bacolod without having your fill of Bacolod's signature dish?Chicken Inasal is simply a lechon manok that originated in Bacolod and became one of the most popular food exports of the Visayas Region.
Rumor has it Manokan Country near SM Bacolod serves one of the best chicken inasals the province. If that's a bit out of your way, remember you're already in Bacolod: all chicken inasal here is good.
We had one at Masskara Chicken Inasal, located just in front of the Bacolod New Government City (NGC), and we're still thinking about it now.
4. Get lost in the old mansions of Silay City
Yes, Silay isn't in Bacolod proper — it's actually a 30-minute drive from the downtown area — but because you pass it on your way to Bacolod from the airport, Silay is one of the most popular spots in Negros Occidental.
It prides itself in old mansions of old-money buenas familias, like Balay Negrense. The ancestral home of Victor Fernandez Gaston — the heir to the first azucarera in Negros — is now a museum featuring the lifestyle of a late-19th-century Negrense sugar baron.
It is notable for being the first museum to be established in the province of Negros Occidental.
5. Have some KBL
Not quite as popular as chicken inasal but just as delicious is KBL. It stands for Kadyos, Baboy and Langka and it's one of the most-well loved Ilonggo dishes for its richness in flavor. The Filipino pork stew originated from the Western Visayas region.
6. Enjoy a quiet afternoon at Punta Taytay Beach
Summer is incomplete without a visit to a beach! If you are looking for an adventure, swing by Punta Taytay Beach, just a few minutes’ drive from the city’s downtown.
The beach is free to use, you just have to pay a small environmental fee of P10. Want your own "me" time? Check in at any of the private beach resorts around the area.
7. Indulge in Cansi
Bulalo and Sinigang in one dish? It's called Cansi and it's everything you imagine it to be — maybe even more because there aren't any veggies on here.
Pro- tip: Sharyn’s Cansi on C-58 Narra Ave., Capitol Shopping, is the best in town. They've been at it since 1985 so you know you're getting it good.
8. Get intrigued in the tale behind The Ruins of Talisay City
A 12-minute drive from Bacolod City’s downtown will lead you to The Ruins in Talisay City.
Stretched on a 440 hectare azucarera, The Ruins is the remains of the ancestral home mansion of the family of wealthy sugar magnate, Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, and his Portuguese wife, Maria Braga-Lacson.
Called the Taj Mahal of Negros, it was built in the early 1900s in memory of his wife, who died during the birth of their 11th child.
9. Munch on Piaya
Your Bacolod trip is incomplete without eating the infamous Piaya. This mouthwatering delicacy is made as pasalubongs and gifts by every tourist who has gone to the province. Best place to buy Piaya: Bongbong’s Delicacies located in every corner of Bacolod City.
Now that you have everything in your Bacolod checklist, it’s time to pack your bags, book your tickets and enjoy the rich culture, food and places that Bacolod City has to offer! — LA, GMA Integrated News
