Cholula
Located two blocks to the southeast of Cholula’s central plaza, the Pirámide Tepanapa looks more like a hill than a pyramid and has a domed church on top…
Must-see attractions in East of Mexico City
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Cholula
The incredible Pirámide Tepanapa looks more like a hill than a pyramid, but it's still the town's big draw, and with miles of tunnels veining the inside…
Puebla
Puebla’s impressive cathedral, which appeared on Mexico’s M$500 bill until 2019, occupies the entire block south of the zócalo. Its architecture is a…
East of Mexico City
Inside the Palacio de Gobierno there are color-rich murals of Tlaxcala's history by Desiderio Hernández Xochitiotzin. His style is vividly realistic and…
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Museo Internacional del Barroco
Puebla
This monumental white, architecturally spectacular museum is dedicated to the showy baroque movement – art, fashion, music and literature. The museum,…
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Santuario de la Virgen de Ocotlán
East of Mexico City
One of Mexico’s most spectacular churches is an important pilgrimage site for those who believe the Virgin appeared here in 1541 – her image stands on the…
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Puebla
This superb private museum, housed in two linked 16th- and 17th-century colonial buildings, is loaded with pre-Hispanic artifacts, yet the interior design…
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Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios
Cholula
The Pirámide Tepanapa is topped by the brightly decorated Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios. It's a classic symbol of conquest, but possibly an…
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East of Mexico City
This fantastic small contemporary-art museum houses an excellent cache of early Frida Kahlo paintings that were returned to the museum after several years…
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Cholula
The Arabic-style Capilla Real has 49 domes and dates from 1540. The mosque-inspired design makes the yellow church unique to Mexico and creates a…
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East of Mexico City
The national puppet museum displays dolls and marionettes from all around the world in a fantastic renovated building on the zócalo. It’s a fun stop for…
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Cholula
The large murals at Cacaxtla are intriguingly on display among the ruins rather than in a museum. They evoke a real sense of history where it happened and…
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East of Mexico City
Given its isolation from any town of significance, the vast and incredibly well-preserved Mesoamerican city of Cantona is virtually unknown to travelers…
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East of Mexico City
The long, sweeping slopes of this dormant 4460m volcano, named after Cortés’ now much-maligned indigenous interpreter and lover, dominate the skyline…
East of Mexico City
This ceremonial pre-Hispanic site inhabited by Los Totonacas has niche 'pyramids' similar to El Tajín’s (Veracruz) that are in varying states of ruin. The…
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Cholula
About 2km from Cacaxtla, the much older ruins at Xochitécatl include a wide pyramid dedicated to a fertility god, and a circular pyramid. Because of its…
Cholula
The Ex-Convento de San Gabriel (also known as Plaza de la Concordia), facing the east side of Cholula's huge zócalo, includes a tiny but interesting…
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East of Mexico City
It’s easy to pass an afternoon reading or just people-watching in Tlaxcala’s shady, spacious zócalo. The 16th-century Palacio Municipal, a former grain…
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Ex-Convento Franciscano de la Asunción
East of Mexico City
Built between 1537 and 1540, this was one of Mexico’s earliest monasteries and its church – the city’s cathedral – has a beautiful Moorish-style wooden…
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East of Mexico City
A small but delightful botanical garden in a mountain forest with fine views 4km northeast of central Cuetzalan. Admission includes a Spanish-speaking…
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Puebla
The north doorway of this church is a good example of 16th-century plateresque; the tower and fine brick-and-tile facade were added in the 18th century…
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Cholula
Cholula’s zócalo (in San Pedro Cholula, not to be confused with Zócalo de San Andrés to the east) is so huge and exposed that most people prefer to…
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Puebla
This pockmarked 19th-century house was the scene of the first battle of the 1910 Revolution. The renovated house retains its bullet holes and some…
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Puebla
This Jesuit church with a 1767 Churrigueresque facade is also called Espíritu Santo. Beneath the altar is a tomb said to be that of a 17th-century South…
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Puebla
This renovated colonial house is an outstanding example of the over-the-top 18th-century decorative style alfeñique, characterized by elaborate stucco…
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Puebla
This long, narrow park is an attractive counter to the centro histórico’s zocálo. The park is festive and crowded in the afternoons, when kids in school…
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Puebla
Occupying the entire block facing the south side of the cathedral, the former bishop’s palace is a classic 17th-century brick-and-tile edifice that now…
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Puebla
Situated above the Casa de la Cultura and founded in 1646, Biblioteca Palafoxiana was the first public library in the Americas. For this, Palafoxiana has…
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Puebla
This fine Dominican church features a stunning Capilla del Rosario (Rosary Chapel), south of the main altar, which is the main reason to come here. Built…
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Cholula
Ringed by platforms and unique diagonal stairways, this plaza was the main approach to Cholula's pyramid. Three large stone slabs on its east, north and…
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East of Mexico City
A modern, well-organized onsite museum displaying 598 pre-Hispanic objects from the inhabitants of Cantona, with a large showcase of volcanic obsidian,…
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East of Mexico City
Off the northwest corner of the zócalo is the orange-stucco and blue-tile Parroquia de San José, ringed with fountains. As elsewhere in the centro…
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Puebla
This excellent railway museum with activities for kids is housed in Puebla’s former train station and the spacious grounds surrounding it. There are…
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East of Mexico City
The 16th-century building on the plaza's northwest side is the Palacio de Justicia, the former Capilla Real de Indios, built for the use of indigenous…
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Cholula
The Templo de San Gabriel was founded in 1529 on the site of a pyramid and the ruins of a temple dedicated to Quetzalcóatl. The exterior is partially…
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Cholula
This excellent museum is housed in a fantastically restored colonial building on the zócalo. The small collection includes ceramics and jewelry from the…
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Museo Vivo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares
East of Mexico City
This small, neglected arts museum has dusty displays on Tlaxcalan village life, agave, weaving and pulque-making, sometimes with demonstrations. Artisans…
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Puebla
Puebla’s central plaza was originally a marketplace where bullfights, theater and hangings occurred, before assuming its current arboretum-like appearance…
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Cascada Las Brisas & Cascada del Salto
East of Mexico City
About 5km southeast of town, there’s a pair of lovely waterfalls. The shallow natural swimming pools beneath the falls are cold but enticing – bring your…
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East of Mexico City
Just below the Ex-Convento Franciscano de la Asunción, beside the 19th-century Plaza de Toros (bullring), is this capilla abierta (open chapel) with three…
