Balay Negrense
The most famous of Silay’s heritage mansions. A museum converted from a sugar plantation owner’s residence built in 1897, it fully preserves the everyday life of the sugar golden age.
Balay Negrense was originally the residence of sugar planter Victor Gaston. Built in 1897, it is the earliest of more than thirty recognized heritage houses in Silay City to open to the public. The two-story wood-and-stone mansion retains its original carved staircase, spacious living room, four-poster beds, tableware and old photographs, vividly recreating upper-class life during the late 19th-century sugar boom. Admission is about 100 pesos. It is open roughly from 10:00 to 17:00 and closed on Mondays. Silay lies about 14 km north of Bacolod. Take a jeepney or bus, about 30 minutes. It is recommended to spend half a day walking around Silay’s city center, linking the Hofileña Heritage House, the Jalandoni Museum (the Pink House) and San Diego Cathedral, and to try pastries at the long-established El Ideal.
Opening hours
about 10:00–17:00 (closed Mon)
Nearby sights
- Hofileña Ancestral House
- San Diego Pro-Cathedral
- Bernardino Jalandoni Museum
- Balay ni Tana Dicang
- The Ruins (Talisay)
- Negros Museum
- Capitol Park and Lagoon
- San Sebastian Cathedral