Rich in Renaissance and Baroque architecture, Puebla is a World Heritage-listed city with a network of streets laid out in 1531. Surrounded by massive stratovolcanoes, the land was chosen by the early settlers of Mexico as a midpoint between Veracruz and Veracruz. Persian Gulf and Mexico City. The historic center is filled with colonial-era churches, such as the Baroque masterpiece Capilla del Rosario.
Housed in two colonial mansions, the Museo Amparo is one of the country’s premier museums documenting 4,500 years of Mexican history. Puebla has its own style of colorful pottery known as talavera, and it was here that the sweet and spicy mole poblano sauce was invented.
10 Top Things To Do In Puebla Mexico
- Museo Amparo
- Capilla del Rosario
- Cathedral
- Zócalo de Puebla
- International Museum of the Baroque
- Fuertes de Loreto y Guadalupe
- Biblioteca Palafoxiana
- Estrella de Puebla
- Parian Market
- Iglesia de Santa María Tonantzintla
Museo Amparo
The Museo Amparo is one of Mexico’s most prestigious museums, documenting the country’s history from 2500 BC. till today. Housed in a complex of two colonial buildings with a modern extension, the museum is the best place to learn about the country’s past. Many of the artifacts were created by businessman Manuel Espinosa Yglesias during the 20th century.
The pre-Hispanic collection is vast and includes stelae, pottery, tools, sculptures and altars from many civilizations, including Maya, Olmec, Aztec and Mixtec, as well as Toto Nax, Teotihuacan, Huastec and Zapotec. These exhibits provide additional context by pointing to what was happening elsewhere in the world when these cultures flourished.
They’re also presented by topic rather than culture, so if you’re interested in pre-Columbian history, you’ll get the full picture.
Capilla del Rosario
The Santo Domingo Temple houses a chapel that is considered the pinnacle of the new Spanish Baroque style.
After its completion in 1690, the Rosario Chapel was even hailed as the eighth wonder of the world. Almost every surface of this barrel-vaulted church is covered in stucco, carved in dazzlingly intricate patterns and trimmed with gold leaf.
The decoration is inlaid with colorful images of saints, while a statue of the Rosary-crowned Virgin stands on the altar canopy under Solomon’s pillars. On the walls of the church there are baroque paintings that resemble the scenes of Christ’s birth: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth of Jesus, the Adoration of the Wise Men, the Doctor and the presentation of Christ.
Cathedral
Construction of the Puebla Cathedral, which began in 1575 and was completed in 1690, is part of a World Heritage Site that includes the historic center of the city. The building belongs to the Hererian style, a transitional period between the Renaissance and the Baroque, and houses a large collection of quality woodcarvings, goldsmiths, paintings, liturgical objects and stonework. The magnificent main altar (Altar of the Kings), where many of Puebla’s bishops are buried, was designed by the 18th-century neoclassical architect and sculptor Manuel Tolssa.
Above it, on the dome of the apse, is a fine tempera painting from 1688 by the Baroque artist Cristóbal de Villalpando. It depicts the triumph of the Eucharist and is one of the few tempera paintings preserved in Mexico.
Zócalo de Puebla
Plaza Zocalo is Puebla’s central square and is essentially where the city was founded in 1531.
The cathedral is on the south side of the square, and to the north is the Palacio Rådhus (Town Hall), on the shoulders of the lovely Pasaje del Ayuntamiento. Colonial houses and municipal buildings with arcades line three sides, and private properties are mostly restaurants.
You can start your day with breakfast in the restaurant and watch the hustle and bustle of the square. Balloon sellers and shoe shiners line the center of the square amid palm trees, cypresses and formal gardens with a Baroque fountain built in 1777.
International Museum of the Baroque
The new museum focuses on the Baroque style that defined art, architecture and music in Europe and the New World in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The museum building was designed by Pritzker Prize winner Toyo Ito and was inspired by the concepts of the Baroque movement, chiaroscuro (the contrast of light and dark) and the relationship between man and nature. Don’t expect piles of Baroque art and artefacts, as the museum is more conceptual and explores the religious origins (counter-reformation), philosophy and driving forces behind the Baroque movement.
Baroque wonders such as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Ottobeuren Abbey in Bavaria, and Puebla’s own Rosario Chapel have been studied. Also interesting is the model of Puebla, as it would have looked in 1754 at the height of the Baroque.
Fuertes de Loreto y Guadalupe
Atop Mount Acueyametepec, two 19th-century fortresses built during the second French invasion of Mexico (1861-1867) protect this ancient center. The monasteries are named after Our Lady of Loreto and Our Lady of Guadalupe, commemorating the monastery founded on this site in the 16th century. They took part in the Battle of Puebla in 1862 and successfully helped defend the city against an attack by French troops.
The Fort Guadalupe Museum tells the story of this battle, and both buildings contain weapons, documents, portraits and uniforms from the time. Acueyametepec Park is worth a walk and admiring the panoramic view of Puebla.
Biblioteca Palafoxiana
Founded in 1646, the Biblioteca Palafoxiana was the first public library in colonial Mexico and possibly the oldest library in the Americas.
The long hall, with its cross-vaulted ceiling, has carved wooden shelves three stories high filled with 41,000 books, manuscripts and documents, such as original maps from the time of 16th-century conquistador Hernán Cortés. The library was founded by Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, the illegitimate son of an Aragonese nobleman who joined the clergy and became bishop of Puebla from 1640 to 1655. Some of the many volumes are already on view. Due to the library’s long history, researchers now have to apply for a license to study in the Palaficia Library.
Estrella de Puebla
Puebla de Zaragoza, located west of the center of Puebla, is a complex that includes the Lineal Park (Parque Lineal), the Metropolitan Ecological Park (Ecoparque Metropolitano) and the Jardín del Arte.
The Angelópolis Lifestyle Center here is the largest mall in the city with more than 150 stores. But the star of the show is the Estrella de Puebla, the world’s largest portable observation wheel.
Built in 2013, the 80-meter-tall Ferris wheel takes 20 minutes to complete one revolution in one of its sealed pods. If you want to push the boat out, you can ride in one of four luxury gondolas that have glass floors and leather seats.
Natural landmarks worth seeing on a clear day include Malinche Volcano in the northeast and Iztasihuatl and Popocatepetl Volcanoes in the west.
Parian Market
Piazza San Roque, northeast of the Zocalo, dates back to 1805 and was transformed into a permanent arts and crafts market in 1961.
The Parian market is not only a place to buy souvenirs, but also a place to connect with the traditional knowledge of Puebla. There are dozens of stalls selling Talavera pottery, and Puebla is one of only five places in Mexico where this pottery can be authentically produced (four of which are in the state of Puebla).
So if you buy something, take a piece of Puebla with you. Other handicrafts sold at the Parian market include leather goods, textiles, candles, tinware, copperware and dolls.
Later, visit the adjacent Barrio del Artista (Artist’s Quarter) with galleries, art shops and cafes.
Iglesia de Santa María Tonantzintla
A few minutes west of downtown Puebla, San Andres Cholula is a colonial-era church with an unusual vernacular baroque style that combines indigenous and Catholic traditions.
The Iglesia de Santa María Tonantzintla (Iglesia de Santa María Tonantzintla) was built in stages between the 16th and 19th centuries, and the Franciscan clergy left the newly evangelized local congregation free to decorate the interior. The result is a large collection of colorful sculptures of faces, fruits, flowers and plants without an inch of exposure.
If you wanted to count the faces on the ceiling, you would have to stay here for days. As for the meaning, it could be a tribute to the Virgin Mary, but it could also be the heaven of Tlaloc (Aztec rain god). In that case, the sea of people would not belong to angels, but to victims of drowning and lightning reincarnated in heaven.
