Mexico's Colonial Cities and Monarch Butterfly Migration
Explore the rich culture and history of Mexico’s colonial gems—Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro, Morelia. Encounter millions of Monarchs in their winter refuge in Michoacan S&S Tours LLC
Colonial Experiences in Mexico
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Aguascalientes
About 300 miles northwest of Mexico City, in the heart of Mexico's central region, is the city of Aguascalientes. The city's principal attraction is its popular and famous annual Fair - Feria de San Marcos - which lasts 3 weeks and attracts over three million visitors every year...
Alamos
Alamos is a picturesque colonial city offering visitors a glance into a world long past, with its narrow cobbled streets and Spanish and Moorish mansions and haciendas. Many of the old mansions have been converted into hotels and restaurants; their courtyards beam with the color of bougainvillea...
Campeche
The old walled city of Campeche with its narrow streets, pastel-colored houses and old colonial feel is one of Mexico's best kept secrets, although as travelers begin to venture further south from Merida and the Mayan ruins nearby, they are beginning to discover this true gem...
Chihuahua
The atmosphere in Chihuahua is truly Mexican and deeply patriotic, which adds remarkably to the sense of history here. Its remoteness from the traditional colonial heartland means it hosts fewer tourists than other colonial cities, although a tour of Mexico’s colonial heritage without Chihuahua, would be incomplete.
Cholula
The colonial town of Cholula is best known for its archaeology park, which is host to Mexico's largest pyramid -- Pyramide Tepanapa. This important historical town is directly overlooked by the famous Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes, and is a perfect base to explore nearby villages and other local attractions...
Comitan
Comitan, in Mexico's southern-most State of Chiapas, is the last significant town in Mexico before its southern border gives way to River Usumacinta and Guatemala beyond. Comitan offers its visitors a number of attractive sights inside the city itself, including the beautifully picturesque neighborhood of San Caralampio...
Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca is a charming colonial city located just south of Mexico City known for its art, restaurants, Spanish Language schools and its year-round temperate climate makes it known locally as the "land of the eternal spring"...
Guanajuato
Guanajuato is a Colonial Gem sitting in a valley around 220 miles northwest of Mexico City. If Mexico's Colonial Cities were a crown, Guanajuato would without doubt be its prime jewel. The town has been named as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Merida
Capital of the State of Yucatan, Merida is situated twenty miles from the western Yucatan Gulf coast. It makes an excellent base for exploring the Yucatan's awesome Mayan treasures and is also a fascinating destination in its own right. Merida is one of Mexico's most hospitable and nostalgic colonial cities...
Morelia
Morelia, a colonial city with an aristocratic feel, is filled with elegant Spanish Colonial architecture; pink stone and baroque styles dominate throughout. The city has been extremely well preserved and, like many colonial cities in Mexico, planning regulations are strict and ensure that the original architecture is protected...
Oaxaca
Oaxaca (pronounced "wah-ha-ka") is a city that retains a Spanish colonial feel, but which also reflects its indigenous heritage. They blend together wonderfully which is all part of this city’s charm. Cafes and restaurants that surround the tree-line square make a picture perfect setting...
Patzcuaro
Patzcuaro ("Pahtz-Kuah-Ro") is a charming indigenous town with a mixed colonial and indigenous feel is just 45 minute road journey from Morelia...
Puebla
Nowhere in Mexico is Spain's influence more prominent than in Puebla: from the moment you arrive in the historic center, you see the dome shaped roofs of churches and buildings, suggesting Moorish influences which arrived centuries ago and which have remained in this beautiful colonial city ever since...
Queretaro
Queretaro is an atmospheric colonial city steeped in Mexican history. The Spanish took control of the city in 1531, and designated it the "third city of New Spain". It was here where the fathers of Mexico's Independence Movement met in secret to discuss the overthrow of their Spanish rulers...
San Cristobal de las Casas
San Cristobal de las Casas is the revered destination of travelers visiting Chiapas. The colonial streets and alleyways lined with red-roofed and white-washed houses beg wanderers to explore and discover; alleyways open up into small arcades and plazas which offer even more to experience and uncover...
San Miguel de Allende
The colonial gem of San Miguel de Allende is situated on a hillside facing the Laja River and the distant Guanajuato Mountains. Declared a national monument in 1926, San Miguel is a picturesque city of arched colonial mansions, flower-filled patios, winding terraced cobblestone streets, and sun-drenched plazas and courtyards...
San Luis Potosi
San Luis Potosi is a charming colonial city with an elegant colonial city center that has been well preserved and remains true to its roots. It is also one of Mexico's most important colonial cities owing that so much of Mexico's formative history revolves around it and this region...
Taxco
The much-loved colonial city of Taxco is characterized by its steep narrow roads and alleyways, breaking out into small and pleasant plazas. The whole place is cobble stoned, quaint and, unlike many of the other colonial cities in Mexico, no modern suburbs exist around its outskirts...
Tlaquepaque
Tlaquepaque is situated about four miles southeast of the city of Guadalajara, and was once a small village in its own right, long before the Spanish set foot in Mexico. Today, it is a highly fashionable area with its hip and up-market historical center that offers a character and style of its own...
Tuxtla Gutierrez
Tuxtla Gutierrez is the capital city of the State of Chiapas. In contrast to the rest of Chiapas, it is a modern, bustling city growing very quickly. Tuxtla Gutierrez is the main gateway to Chiapas for visitors, as it offers excellent road and air connections to and from the rest of Mexico.
Veracruz
Veracruz is a colorful, lively and easy-going colonial port city. Today, its fame stems from its music, dancing and carnival that will rival Rio and New Orleans, although historically, Veracruz has also played an important part in Mexico's history and development...
Villahermosa
Villahermosa is the capital city of the State of Tabasco, a rich, fertile region of Mexico, and once the center of the Olmec Civilization; the first civilization in Mesoamerica. Its most famous attraction is one of Mexico's most important museums...
Zacatecas
The colonial architecture in Zacatecas is immensely attractive - and stunningly amazing! Many of the major buildings took many years to complete, because their sponsors and architects were determined to craft and leave something special behind: they succeeded.