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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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…