Must-see attractions in Northern Central Highlands

  • Cascadas de Tamasopo

    La Huasteca Potosina

    While this might be a lovely set of three cascades and swimming holes on the edge of Tamasopo village, it's also a very crowded (weekends can see swarms…

  • Museo Iconográfico del Quijote

    Guanajuato

    This surprisingly interesting museum is worth half-hour of your time. Every exhibit relates to Spain's Don Quixote de la Mancha, Cervantes' classic…

  • Misión San Miguel Concá

    Northern Central Highlands

    Completed in 1754, this attractive church is the smallest of the Sierra Gorda Missions, but has a delightful setting in the rather charming village of…

  • Templo de la Salud

    San Miguel de Allende

    With its blue and yellow tiled dome and a big shell carved above its entrance, this church is just east of San Felipe Neri. The facade is early…

  • Misión Santa María del Agua de Landa

    Northern Central Highlands

    Built between 1760 and 1768, the Mision Sanata María was the last of the five Sierra Gorda missions to be built and today dominates the small town of…

  • Misión Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Tancoyol

    Northern Central Highlands

    This was the second of the five missions to be built and was completed in 1767 by Juan Ramos de Lora. It is devoted to Our Lady of the Light, a sculpture…

  • Colegio de Sales

    San Miguel de Allende

    Once a college founded in the mid-18th century by the San Felipe Neri order, the Colegio de Sales has regained its educational status; it currently houses…

  • Templo de Santo Domingo

    Zacatecas

    With a bubbly stone facade, the tarnished pink Templo de Santo Domingo, in a plazuela of the same name, is in a baroque style, with fine gilded altars and…

  • Plaza Miguel Hidalgo

    Northern Central Highlands

    The wide and attractive Plaza Miguel Hidalgo is surrounded by portales (arcades) filled with bustling cafes and handicrafts stores, and overlooked by the…

  • El Meco

    La Huasteca Potosina

    This stunning 38m-high waterfall is for viewing only, though it’s superaccessible to those who are guests of Hotel Salto del Meco as breakfast is served…

  • Casa Museo del Dulce

    Northern Central Highlands

    This museum in the town's former sweet factory allows you to wander through kitchens of old, see exhibits about the history of Mexico, candy production…

  • Casa Museo Interactivo Ramón Lopez Velarde

    Northern Central Highlands

    One of Mexico's favorite poets, Ramón Lopez Velarde, was born in this house on June 15, 1888 and lived here for the first eight years or so of his life…

  • Templo de San José

    San Luis Potosí

    Inside the Templo de San José, facing the Alameda's south side, lies the image of El Señor de los Trabajos, a Christ-like figure attracting pilgrims from…

  • Museo de la Ciudad

    Querétaro

    Inside the ex-convent and old prison that held the deposed Emperor Maximilian, the 11-room Museo de la Ciudad has some good alternating contemporary art…

  • Casa de la Zacatecana

    Querétaro

    This is a finely restored 17th-century home with an impressive collection of 18th- and 19th-century furniture and decorations, which veer between the…

  • Misión San Francisco del Valle de Tilaco

    Northern Central Highlands

    Dedicated to St Francis of Assisi, this fine mission church in the village of Tilaco was built between 1754 and 1762 and has an impressive façade and bell…

  • Palacio de Gobierno

    Zacatecas

    Palacio de Gobierno on the plaza's east side was built in the 18th century for a colonial family. In the turret of its main staircase is a mural of the…

  • Plaza de los Fundadores

    San Luis Potosí

    The least pretty of the plazas, Plaza de los Fundadores (Founders' Plaza) is where the city was born. On the north side is a large building constructed in…

  • Cathedral

    Querétaro

    The 18th-century cathedral features both baroque and neoclassical styles, with an emphasis on straight lines and few curves; it's said that the first Mass…

  • Museo de Arte Contemporáneo

    San Luis Potosí

    This museum is housed in the city's former post office. These days the brilliantly transformed space houses temporary art exhibitions that change every…

  • Monumento a la Corregidora

    Querétaro

    Plaza de la Corregidora is dominated by the Monumento a la Corregidora, a 1910 statue of doña Josefa Ortiz bearing the flame of freedom. It's a rather…

  • Templo de San Francisco

    Querétaro

    This impressive church fronts Jardín Zenea. Pretty colored tiles on the dome were brought from Spain in 1540, around the time construction of the church…

  • Museo del Virreinato

    San Luis Potosí

    Beside the Templo del Carmen, this museum has a large collection of paintings and artifacts from the Spanish vice-regency. More of interest might be its…

  • Mausoleo de la Corregidora

    Querétaro

    The Mausoleo de la Corregidora, opposite the mirador, is the final resting place of local independence heroes doña Josefa Ortiz and her husband, Miguel…

  • Mirador

    Querétaro

    From this viewpoint there's a fine view of 'Los Arcos,' Querétaro's emblematic 1.28km-long aqueduct, with 74 towering sandstone arches built between 1726…

  • Alameda

    San Luis Potosí

    The Alameda Juan Sarabia marks the eastern boundary of the downtown area. It used to be the vegetable garden of the monastery attached to the Templo del…

  • Jardín Juárez

    Zacatecas

    Juárez ends at a tiny but charming park of the same name. The Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas' administrative headquarters are housed in the…

  • La Parroquia de Santa María de la Asunción

    Northern Central Highlands

    The 19th-century neoclassical La Parroquia de Santa María de la Asunción with its pink facade and decorated tower is the town's centerpiece. It overlooks…

  • Quinta Fernando Schmoll

    Northern Central Highlands

    If you have your own wheels, this impressive botanical garden, with over 4400 varieties of cactus, is on the east edge of the village of Cadereyta de…

  • Other Face of Mexico Gallery

    San Miguel de Allende

    This fascinating private collection of more than 500 masks provides an excellent context to the Mexican mask tradition. It is open by appointment only…

  • Templo de Santa Clara

    Querétaro

    The 17th-century Templo de Santa Clara has an extraordinarily ornate baroque interior. Masses are held frequently so you'll have to inquire as to the best…

  • Templo de San Francisco

    San Miguel de Allende

    Adorned with an elaborate late-18th-century Churrigueresque facade, this church has an image of St Francis of Assisi at the top. Opening hours vary.

  • Museo Regional Huasteco Joaquín Meade

    La Huasteca Potosina

    A small museum that showcases over 10,000 archaeological and ethnological pieces from the region, from around 600 BC until the Spanish conquest.

  • Jardín de la Reforma

    Guanajuato

    This attractive cafe-lined and shady square is Guanajuato's social hub and is packed full of locals, mariachis and tourists throughout the day.

  • Fuente de Neptuno

    Querétaro

    A block west of Jardín Zenea is the Fuente de Neptuno, designed by noted Mexican neoclassical architect Eduardo Tresguerras in 1797.

  • Jardín de la Unión

    Guanajuato

    This triangular plaza is lined by cafes, bars and restaurants and full of shade-giving trees in a neatly maintained garden.

  • Santuario de la Soledad

    Northern Central Highlands

    This gorgeous church, which dates from 1805, has an elaborate carved stone facade and an equally impressive interior.