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Zacatecas

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Mexico, Zacatecas state, Zacatecas City the cathedral

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Overview

The most northern of Mexico's silver cities, fascinating Zacatecas – a Unesco World Heritage site – runs along a narrow valley overlooked by a steep and imposing hillside. The large historic center is jam-packed with opulent colonial buildings, a stupendous cathedral, magnificent museums and steep, winding streets and alleys that simply ooze charm.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Museo Rafael Coronel

    Museo Rafael Coronel

    Zacatecas

    The excellent Museo Rafael Coronel is not to be missed. Imaginatively housed in the ruins of the lovely 16th-century Ex-Convento de San Francisco, it…

  • Museo Pedro Coronel

    Museo Pedro Coronel

    Zacatecas

    The Museo Pedro Coronel is housed in a 17th-century former Jesuit college and is one of provincial Mexico's best art museums. Pedro Coronel (1923−85) was…

  • Cerro de la Bufa

    Cerro de la Bufa

    Zacatecas

    The most appealing of the many explanations for the name of the hill that dominates Zacatecas is that bufa is an old Basque word for wineskin, which is…

  • Mina El Edén

    Mina El Edén

    Zacatecas

    Visiting one of Mexico's richest mines (1586−1960s) provides an insight into a source of wealth and the terrible price paid for it. Digging for hoards of…

  • Catedral

    Catedral

    Zacatecas

    Built between 1729 and 1752, the pink-stone cathedral is an ultimate expression of Mexican baroque. The stupendous main facade is a wall of detailed…

  • Plaza de Armas

    Plaza de Armas

    Zacatecas

    The city's main plaza is north of the cathedral and although normally quiet in the day it buzzes at night with families promenading, children playing and…

  • Ex-Templo de San Agustín

    Ex-Templo de San Agustín

    Zacatecas

    The Ex-Templo de San Agustín was built for Augustinian monks in the 17th century. During the 19th-century anticlerical movement, the church became a…

  • Museo Toma de Zacatecas

    Museo Toma de Zacatecas

    Zacatecas

    This museum memorializes the 1914 battle fought on the slopes of the Cerro de la Bufa in which the revolutionary División del Norte, led by Pancho Villa…

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