Bacolod is the capital of Negros Occidental province and one of the Philippines' most likeable cities, with a population of around 600,000. Known as the "City of Smiles," the nickname earns its keep every October during MassKara Festival, when the city fills with painted masks, street dancing, and an atmosphere of genuine celebration that rivals Cebu's Sinulog for energy. The festival grew out of the sugar industry's economic crisis in the 1980s as a deliberate act of collective resilience, which gives it a more interesting backstory than most.
Bacolod is also one of the best eating cities in the Philippines. Chicken inasal — grilled chicken marinated in annatto, calamansi, and local spices — was invented here, and the city's numerous inasal restaurants, from roadside grills to proper sit-down places, are worth a detour on their own. Just outside the city, The Ruins is a striking landmark: the burned-out skeleton of a grand early 20th-century mansion, its ornate Italianate columns still standing in the middle of sugar-cane fields, particularly beautiful at sunset.