Bacolod, Philippines

On the northern coast of Negros, the city of BACOLOD is a heaving provincial metropolis centred around City Plaza and San Sebastian Cathedral. Its tourist attractions aren't significant enough to make you linger for more than a day or two, but it's a major transit point for Negros and a good place to head for if you want to see some of the nearby towns, such as Silay and Victorias. Some visitors choose to stay a little outside the city in Singcang, a quiet area of new homes and hotels close to the airport.

About 300m north of the centre, the 1930s Provincial Capitol Building is one of the few architectural highlights. Next door is the excellent Negros Museum (Mon– Sat 9am–6pm; P20), which details five thousand years of island history. Housed in an elegant Neoclassical building dating from the 1930s, the museum is dominated by the Iron Dinosaur steam engine, which used to haul sugar cane in nearby Silay. Over the road is an open area that has been turned into the Biodiversity Conservation Center (Mon– Fri 9am– noon & 1–4pm; P10), a rescue centre where conservationists care for endangered animals endemic to Negros, including leopard cats and Visayan spotted deer.

During the third week of October everybody who is anybody attends the flamboyant Masskara festival, a mardi-gras jamboree of street dancing and beauty pageants (the event's name is derived from the local word for the colour ful masks worn by participants).

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