These are the best places to travel this summer

San Cristóbal de las Casas

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Shop Book
Mexico, Chiapas, San Cristobal de las Casas

Getty Images

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in San Cristóbal de las Casas

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

Set in a gorgeous highland valley surrounded by pine forest, the colonial city of San Cristóbal (cris-toh-bal) has been a popular travelers’ destination for decades. It’s a pleasure to explore San Cristóbal’s cobbled streets and markets, soaking up the unique ambience and the wonderfully clear highland light. This medium-sized city also boasts a comfortable blend of city and countryside, with restored century-old houses giving way to grazing animals and fields of corn.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Na Bolom

    Na Bolom

    San Cristóbal de las Casas

    An atmospheric museum-research center, Na Bolom for many years was the home of Swiss anthropologist and photographer Gertrude Duby-Blom (Trudy Blom; 1901…

  • Templo & Ex-Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán

    Templo & Ex-Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán

    San Cristóbal de las Casas

    Located just north of the center of town, the imposing 16th-century Templo de Santo Domingo is San Cristóbal’s most beautiful church, especially when its…

  • Museo de Sergio Arturo Castro Martínez

    Museo de Sergio Arturo Castro Martínez

    San Cristóbal de las Casas

    The story behind this extraordinary collection – that's overseen by an even more extraordinary person, Don Sergio – is as interesting as the museum itself…

  • Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya

    Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya

    San Cristóbal de las Casas

    Upstairs inside the Ex-Convento de Santo Domingo, this excellent museum showcases over 500 examples of handwoven textiles from throughout Mexico and…

  • Catedral

    Catedral

    San Cristóbal de las Casas

    On the north side of the plaza, the candy-colored cathedral was begun in 1528 but wasn't completed until 1815 because of several natural disasters. Sure…

  • Café Museo Café

    Café Museo Café

    San Cristóbal de las Casas

    This combined cafe and coffee museum is a venture of Coopcafé, a grouping of more than 17,000 small-scale, mainly indigenous, Chiapas coffee growers. The…

  • Plaza 31 de Marzo

    Plaza 31 de Marzo

    San Cristóbal de las Casas

    The leafy main plaza is a fine place to take in San Cristóbal’s unhurried highland atmosphere. Shoe-shiners, newspaper sellers and ambulantes (mobile…

  • Museo del Ámbar de Chiapas

    Museo del Ámbar de Chiapas

    San Cristóbal de las Casas

    Chiapas amber – fossilized pine resin that's around 30 million years old – is known for its clarity and diverse colors. Most is mined around Simojovel,…

Plan with a local

Get a book. Get inspired. Get exploring.

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in San Cristóbal de las Casas