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Metropolis in Puebla, Mexico
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Puebla is a city in Mexico. It is in the Puebla Valley, surrounded by volcanoes and snow-capped mountains, slightly over 110 km (68 miles) south-east of Mexico City. It has been listed as a because of its architecture. Puebla is also considered to be the "cradle of Mexican Baroque" in architecture and in the decorative arts, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico.
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The forts, which sit atop the Cerro de Guadalupe is where the Battle of Puebla took place on May 5, 1862. This successful defense of the city by General Ignacio Zaragoza from invading French forces is commemorated every year in Puebla throughout the month of May and specifically on May 5 (Cinco de Mayo in Spanish).
Los Tuneles
An entry to historic tunnels that lead to the forts.
A neighborhood near the forts with lots of murals from artists all over the world. It's easily accessible when going through the tunnels, which briefly surface in the neighborhood.
Puebla's historic downtown contains beautiful colonial architecture and was granted UNESCO world heritage status in 1987. The Zocalo is the central plaza is a place to enjoy, where you can find restaurants, bars and cafes.
Cathedral
Built between 1575 and 1640, it has two of the tallest church towers in Mexico.
Palafoxian Library
A library built in the 18th century which contains a unique collection. It is not possible to browse the books; it's more of a museum.
Art district where many painters have ateliers offering their paintings and a block away, every Saturday and Sunday, there is a flea market where you can find handicrafts and some antiques.
The world's smallest volcano (now extinct) is in Puebla, in the suburb of La Libertad. You can go deep inside the volcano. Next to it is an indoor market with stalls offering prepared food.
Built and decorated during the late 1600s and early 1700s in the Baroque style. Extremely lavishly decorated outside and inside. It has much more noticeable syncretic elements from pre-Hispanic culture. Photography is not allowed inside. The top of one of the bell towers fell during the 2017 earthquake, and has not been repaired. This is why access is restricted inside as well.
Built and decorated during the late 1600s and early 1700s in the Baroque style. Extremely lavishly decorated outside and inside.
It's a cable car with a nice view over the city. The trip is around 600 m long.
National Museum of Mexican Railroads
One of the largest train museums in North America with a great location in an historic train station. Lots of locomotives and rolling stock. Many of the railway cars are open for tourists to enter. Most signage is in Spanish only.
Templo de Santo Domingo, Rosary Chapel
One of the most extravagantly opulent churches in Mexico, this small chapel has been called "The Eighth Wonder of the World" (or "WOW!" for short). The sheer quantity of gold covering virtually every surface of the altar, walls, and dome is jaw dropping, but the extravagance goes further with elaborate talavera tilework and iconic statues and paintings everywhere.
Small graphic arts museum in an historic building. Workshops on Saturday.
You can have a private sauna room for M$42-46 per hour. Or go into the common sauna for M$35. Open F-W 08:00-20:00, Su 08:00-16:30
Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán
10,000-seat stadium that is home field for the Pericos de Puebla, a professional baseball team in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. The Pericos play a 114-game schedule between April and September each year. Family friendly atmosphere with affordable stadium food that includes tacos arabes and cemitas. Clean, comfortable, fun atmosphere. General admission is only M$100 for men and free for ladies. Reserved seats are more comfortable with tickets starting at M$200.
Catch a pro soccer game almost any time of the year. This stadium is home field for Club Puebla, a top-tier professional team in the Liga MX. The stadium was built in 1967 but underwent major upgrades in 2015 and is regarded as one of the most modern and among the largest stadiums in Mexico. It seats 51,726 people.
17 km. A zoo park where wild African animals live freely.
It serves big tasty quesadillas with a lot of cheese inside for M$25. You find it by looking for a small sign saying "Vero" at the wall.
Inside are food stalls which prepare food for you. It's popular among the locals.
Located on the south street by El Parián market. Excellent local cuisine for less than you'd spend in the Zócalo area; their chiles en nogada are especially delicious. For a chile en nogada with a soup and a dish of rice with mole poblano it's half of what you'd spend for the same in the Zócalo. They also sell their excellent mole poblano by the kilo or half-kilo.
Relatively authentic pizzeria with some other Italian food, good portions, seems not to serve alcohol though.
Vegetarian restaurant with well-priced menu. Veggie burgers are good. Seems not to serve alcohol. Also shop selling vegetarian products.
Excellent Italian and Mexican cuisine, at good prices. Apparently known for holding the Guinness World Record for the largest pizza. Try their garlic bread and their pastas if you're not in the pizza mood (they make a mean Pennette Arrabiata). They also serve traditional poblano cuisine. Extensive wine and beverage list. Has an area for outside seating, though this may be full at peak hours; also has two floors of indoor seating.
Traditional cuisine; fine dining. The best mole poblano; other seasonal dishes, Spanish cuisine. Steps from the Cathedral and Zócalo.
Delicious ice creams, sorbets and aguas frescas. Very popular with locals (in fact often huge crowd outside).
See "Eat" above.
See "Eat" above.
Great for drinks with views of the Zócalo.
Cafe, bar, bookshop and arts venue, with frequent evening concerts.
Fashionably designed Swiss-style cafe serving good quality coffee and hot chocolate, along with delicious Swiss-style cakes. A little pricier than other coffee shops in Puebla but unique ambience and style (as well as taste!).
Cafe which opens late (closed Monday), selling a variety of hot and cold drinks, some alcoholic beverages, home-made ice cream and various cakes and salads. Nice upstairs seating area including small balconies.
Cheap and clear hotel in the middle of the historical center of Puebla. All rooms are situated around a courtyard. Free (though very basic) breakfast at the cafe right next door. Friendly staff.
A few blocks from Zocalo with low-key large and clean rooms with private toilet and cable TV. Friendly staff. The rooms have a table and chairs. The room have plenty of light coming from outside both day and night. They store the luggage after check-out. Prices start at M$200 (Nov 2022) for a single.
This 5-star contemporary hotel is housed in a construction typical of the Colonial architecture of the 17th century as is named China Poblana, in memory of Catarina de San Juan “venerable servant of god”. This boutique hotel blends in perfect harmony the classic style of the colonial era with the luxuries of the modern times.
Can get a room (very small balcony) that faces the Zócalo. The rooms don't have air conditioning; only fans. The hotel provides small bottles of water and towels.
Offers colonial-style hotel setup with items robust wooden doors and traditional balconies.
In the building that was once the Convent of the Immaculate Conception, built in 1593. Features two restaurants and bar. Standard rooms and bathrooms are a little small, but quaint and charming, decorated in the rustic style, and quite clean and comfortable. Featuring TV, desk, minibar, A/C. A great deal, for the price. Hotel has excellent wi-fi reception throughout (for a fee, unless specified in room package).
Wonderful, small hotel in the historic center, literally steps from the Zócalo (main square) and Cathedral. Set in an 18th-century casona, 19 luxurious rooms on 3 floors, with a restaurant and "sky bar" that provides good views of the Cathedral. Very clean and comfortable; rooms are spacious. Breakfast included, à la carte from the hotel restaurant, served from 08:00-12:00. Very friendly and helpful staff. Free wi-fi, though it's sometimes down. (Plenty of cheap Internet cafés nearby if this happens.) You can book directly through their website; wouldn't hurt to check external sites like Kayak.com or Orbitz for good deals.
This modern style hotel offers good deals on rooms with many amenities and hotel spa. The food offered by the hotel isn't traditional Mexican, instead offering Mediterranean dishes.
192 rooms, including four executive, four junior and three master suites, all surrounded by gardens. It also offers restaurant, bar, two outdoor pools, gymnasium, tennis court, room service, business center, 14 meeting rooms, banquet or convention with a capacity of between 10 and 800. High Speed Internet in all rooms and wireless in public areas.
Talavera workshop founded in Puebla in 1824.
Workshop and gallery for fine Talavera ceramic pieces. Excellent workmanship with a number of unique patterns.
Puebla's largest artesania marketplace is clean and well-organized, though it has a lot of low-quality junk aimed at the casual tourist with undiscriminating taste. Still, there are authentic pieces at reasonable prices if you're careful and know what you're looking at. Lots of textiles and talavera.
Puebla's most fun shopping experience, it's a series of alleyways full of shops selling jewelry, antiques, and artesanias.
By bus
Traveling to Puebla from Mexico City is fairly straightforward and can be accomplished via bus.
By plane
By e-hailing
By taxi
Taxis are almost always safe. They tend to run between M$60-120 (Sept 2021) for a ride. Negotiating a fare before entering a taxi is normal as the taxis do not carry meters in Puebla.
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Puebla · International · PBC
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