3 historic cities, a silver mine, and a sanctuary

We are in Mexico at the moment, and after our turtle and tequila experience, we moved east where we saw some beautiful historic towns and UNESCO sites. The first of these was Guanajuato (gwanahwato), a city of just under 200,000 people. Founded by the Spanish in the 16th century, it’s built in a narrow, winding valley with narrow, winding streets that match the valley’s contours.

Panoramic view from our apartment in Guanajuato, Mexico

We’d taken a bus for the 4-hour journey to get there, and arrived to find that our AirBnB apartment was cosy and quaint, with stunning views over the city. The apartment was really well located as we were only a short walk down a steep, narrow and cobbled road into the historic city centre.

 

Our hilly, narrow, cobbled road in Guanajuato, Mexico

Or looking at it the other way, we were a drawn-out huff and puff up to the apartment from the historic centre! Our hilly, narrow, cobbled road landed us in Juárez Street, one of the few through-streets in Guanajuato. Juárez Street is filled with shops, restaurants, people, and - because it is one of the few streets that run right through the centre - traffic. 

One of the old waterways, now a traffic tunnel in Guanajuato (UNESCO), Mexico

The other through-streets in this city go underground. In the early days of Guanajuato, there were many tunnels built for drainage and flood control. Dams now fulfil this function, so this ancient network of interesting brick-lined waterways, now form underground routes for vehicular traffic and pedestrians. They are entered from the most unlikely places, such as under a building, and we found them to be very atmospheric.

Colourful buildings in Guanajuato (UNESCO), Mexico

Back on the surface, we found quaint colonial-style buildings built with stone or adobe and painted in an array of bright colours, and there were lots of small plazas and cobbled streets, and hundreds of street stalls. We walked those interesting cobbled streets for ages, loving the activity, colour, and contrasts, and could see why it is a UNESCO World Heritage city. We loved it.

Some of the narrow lanes in Guanajuato (UNESCO), Mexico

As well as its architecture, Guanajuato is known for its narrow, steep, and very skinny lanes that cut between buildings connecting the different levels of this hilly city. The most famous of these is Callejón del Beso (Alley of the Kiss), which earned its name because the balconies are close enough for two people to lean across and kiss.

Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato (UNESCO), Mexico 

Guanajuato is also known for the wealth that was earned from local silver mines during the 17th and 18th centuries. During that time, the Guanajuato mines were the source of around 1/3 of the world’s silver. While much of the silver was exported to Spain, the wealth is still evident in some of Guanajuato's architecture, including the beautiful Basilica.

Entrance to the Valenciana Silver Mine, Guanajuato (UNESCO), Mexico

To learn more about Guanajuato’s silver, we took a tour of the historic Valenciana Silver Mine. This mine and the many others in Guanajuato, are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage site in recognition of the contribution they made to the wealth of the area, and for creating leading-edge mining technology in the day.

Marg inside the Valenciana Silver Mine, Guanajuato (UNESCO), Mexico

After visiting Valenciana village and checking out some of the silver jewellery that was on sale there, we donned hard hats and descended 60 metres below the surface into the mineshafts. We learned of the shocking conditions that the enslaved miners endured, and saw models depicting men with tools working on the rock. It was very interesting.

 

Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco (UNESCO), Atotonilco, Mexico

A few days later, we booked a car and driver to get us to our next destination. It was the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco, a UNESCO site dating back to 1740, that took over 30 years to complete. The building is considered a unique blend of architectural styles, that reflect both Mexican and European cultures.

Murals inside the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco (UNESCO), Mexico

But the jaw-dropping part is inside the Sanctuary’s church. It is considered to be the Sistine Chapel of Mexico because of the extensive murals on every wall and ceiling of the church. Each mural is a work of art. Some murals show the wear and tear of age, and others have been artfully restored. Our photos really don’t do justice to the art. What a stunner!

Pretty San Miguel de Allende (UNESCO), Mexico

After a delightful hour or so in Atotonilco, we carried on with our journey to reach the historic city of San Miguel de Allende. Again, we were located in the historic city centre, this time surrounded by 17th and 18th century buildings. They exuded a great deal of charm, with their colourful facades and wrought-iron door and window coverings lining the cobblestone streets. This well-preserved historic part of San Miguel is a UNESCO site.

Pretty San Miguel de Allende (UNESCO), Mexico

We were quick to get out and explore San Miguel, being drawn by its charm and vibrancy. But it was right on lunch time, so we made some sandwiches and ate them sitting in a local park while people-watching. Then we walked all over this town, just loving being there. We went out for dinner each night and on one occasion, met two women from Canada who were a couple. We found that we enjoyed each other’s company, so we exchanged contact details. It was a lovely evening.

 

Architecture in Querétaro (UNESCO), Mexico

Our next stop was Santiago de Querétaro (keɾetaɾo), a city with a population of around 620,000 in 2024. Querétaro is another historic city that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was settled in AD 200 by Mesoamericans but now has a Spanish geometric street layout alongside the meandering indigenous Otomi peoples’ street layout with lots of pedestrian areas, making easy to wander about.

Ornate building in Querétaro (UNESCO), Mexico

Queretaro is famous for the many ornate buildings in its town centre, built in the 17th and 18th centuries. We walked around for ages, admiring the architecture. It must be said, that in all of the historic cities mentioned in this blog post, car drivers were respectful and drove slowly. We think there is a lot of merit in having cobblestone streets because you just cannot speed!

The aqueduct in Queretaro (UNESCO), Mexico

One of the most interesting structures in Queretaro was its 18th century aqueduct, that carried water into the city. It runs right through the centre of the city, dividing the old historic centre from the modern Queretaro. It’s huge at 1,280 metres (4,200 ft) long and 28.5 m (94 ft) high on average, and with 74 arches, making it one of the largest aqueducts in Mexico - it is impressive.

Giant Christmas decorations in Queretaro (UNESCO), Mexico

We are travelling through this area in December, and one of the highlights in each of the towns was their Christmas decorations. Each town has different decorations in their streets and parks, but the ones in Queretaro were magnificent. There were massive Christmas trees, arches and angels, each with their lighting display co-ordinated to music. It was truly joyous.

 

Local ladies cooking local food in Queretaro street (UNESCO), Mexico

We wandered around Queretaro for ages, during both the day and night-time, loving the vibrancy of the place. There were dozens of street stalls and plenty of choice for local food, lots of people, and heaps of festive activities - it was wonderful. Then, too soon, it was time to move on. Our next stop is the city of Puebla, but you can read about that in the next blog.

This post is the third in a series that tells the story of our travel in Mexico and Central America. The first post in the series can be found here.