Sights in Central North Mexico
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Paquimé
The ruins of Paquimé, in a broad valley with panoramas to distant mountains, are what give Casas Grandes (Big Houses) its name. The mazelike eroding adobe remnants are from what became, from AD 900, the major trading settlement in northern Mexico. The settlement connected the cultures of central Mexico with the desert cultures of the north. Paquimé was the major center of the Mogollón or Casas Grandes culture, which extended north into New Mexico and Arizona and west into Sonora, as well as over most of Chihuahua state. It was finally sacked, perhaps by Apaches, around 1340. Excavation and restoration began in the late 1950s, and UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site …
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Museo Histórico de la Revolución Mexicana
Housed in Quinta Luz, a 48-room mansion and former headquarters of Pancho Villa, the Museo Histórico de la Revolución Mexicana is a must-see, not only for history buffs but for anyone who appreciates a good made-for-Hollywood story of crime, stakeouts and riches.
After his assassination in 1923, 25 of Villa's 'wives' filed claims for his estate. Government investigations determined that Luz Corral de Villa was the generalissimo's legal spouse; the mansion was awarded to her and became known as Quinta Luz. She opened the museum and the army acquired it after her death in 1981. You'll see many of Villa's personal effects plus weapons from his era, but everyone's favorite …
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Villa del Oeste
Many of the big-screen cowboys swaggered through Villa del Oeste, 12km north of Durango. Today, the set is a souvenir-drenched theme park with gunslingers shooting it out at weekends (2:30pm and 4:30pm on Saturday, 1:30pm, 3:30pm and 5:30pm Sunday), while the rest of the week it’s empty. Either way, it’s kind of fun. On weekends, a bus (adult/child M$30/20 including admission) leaves from Durango’s Plaza de Armas a half-hour before each show. To get there on weekdays, take any northbound bus (M$10, about every 30 minutes) and remind the driver to drop you there. To get back you’ll have to flag down a bus, so expect to stand in the sun for a while.
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Quinta Gameros
Wealthy mine-owner Manuel Gameros started building the bold, art nouveau Quinta Gameros in 1907 as a wedding present for his much younger fiancée, Elisa Muller. By the time it was finished, three years later, she had died, and soon afterwards the Revolution began and the Gameros family fled Mexico. Pancho Villa would later use it as offices. Today, the house is gorgeously restored and filled with a mix of period furnishings and art from the Universidad de Chihuahua’s permanent collection. Every room is unique and the whole place is a sensuous delight of stained glass, carved and painted wood, sinuous forms, and floral and bird motifs.
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Conjunto Huápoca
The Conjunto Huápoca has trails to a triple set of cliff dwellings inhabited from about 1200 to 1450. You get only distant overlooks of the first two, Cueva del Nido del Águila (Eagle’s Nest Cave) and Cueva Mirador (Lookout Cave), but you can enter houses in the Cueva de la Serpiente (Cave of the Serpent), where the restored adobe dwellings cut through to both sides of the cliff. It’s down a steep, narrow canyon, and though there are steps, it’s not an easy walk. It’s a 2.5km round-trip to see them all.
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Museo Arocena
The bright, contemporarily designed Museo Arocena, just off the Plaza de Armas, has galleries of Mexican and Spanish art and a local history section, but the best part is the outer walkway on the third level, which traces Mexico’s history through its arts and technology, from the ancient Olmecs to the 1940s golden age of Mexican cinema, with the aid of interactive screens. In front of the museum is an entrance to Canal de la Perla, an underground aqueduct recently rediscovered by accident and sometimes used for exhibitions.
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Museo Francisco Villa
The building from which Pancho Villa was shot and killed in 1923, toward the west end of town, now houses the Museo Francisco Villa. It has two floors of interesting photos, guns and memorabilia, and guided tours (by donation) available in Spanish and sometimes English. The best thing to do here is to listen to the often dubious stories the guides tell. The tale about Villa’s body being switched with a decoy after the decapitation, and thus not actually being moved to Mexico City, may have some credibility.
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Palacio Alvarado
Built a century ago in an eclectic European style by French architect Amerigo Rouvier for silver tycoon Pedro Alvarado, the beautifully restored Palacio Alvarado has pressed aluminum ceilings and other artistic flair, plus plenty of original furnishings, decoration and artifacts. It’s a block off Plaza Baca. Alvarado was so rich he once offered to pay off Mexico’s entire national debt. Lady Alvarado died shortly before the house was completed. Her funeral wagon, later used for Pancho Villa, is on display.
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Palacio de Gobierno
The courtyard of the handsome, 19th-century state government building features fantastic 1950s murals by Aarón Piña Mora showing the highly eventful history of Chihuahua. Authorized guide Óscar Mazón is usually on hand here from noon to 4pm to give an excellent explanation of the paintings in English, French, Italian or Spanish for M$200 – or you can get a free booklet on them in the tourist office.
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Casa Chihuahua
Chihuahua’s former Palacio Federal, built in 1908–10, is now a cultural center full of very interesting and varied exhibits, with most explanations in English and Spanish. The most famous gallery is the Calabozo de Hidalgo, the dungeon where Miguel Hidalgo was held prior to his execution. The Calabozo and two rooms of historical exhibits next to the dungeon comprise the building’s Museo de Sitio.
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Plaza de Armas
The Plaza de Armas is one of the loveliest in this region, filled with fountains and flowers, and not a modern-looking building in site. The large band shell (the municipal band plays Thursdays at 18:00) has an artesanía shop below the stage. One of the reasons it's so pleasant to while away time in the plaza is the view of the impressive baroque facade of the Catedral Basílica Menor.
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Grutas de Nombre de Dios
These warm caves on the northeast edge of town have some impressive stalagmites, stalactites and other rock formations, making the one-hour, 17-chamber underground journey fun, especially for kids. To get there take either a taxi (M$70) or a ‘Nombre de Dios Ojo’ bus (M$6) from outside Posada Tierra Blanca on Niños Héroes. Ask the driver to tell you when to get off.
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Museo y Centro Cultural Menonita
The large Museo y Centro Cultural Menonita holds hundreds of household goods and farm tools from the early years of Mennonite settlement in the area. It’s remarkably similar to small-town historical museums in the American Midwest. A variety of crafts, cheeses and fruit preserves are sold here. A taxi from downtown will cost you about M$200 with waiting time.
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Museo Regional de Durango
The Museo Regional de Durango, in a palatial, French-style, 19th-century mansion, has thorough displays on Durango state history, from early indigenous settlements to the 20th century. It includes special exhibits on Pancho Villa and the impressive array of minerals found in Durango. Most explanations are in English as well as Spanish.
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Mining Museum
Though it's just on the outskirts of Chihuahua, the historic hillside mining village of Santa Eulalia feels worlds away. The area's first silver was dug out of these mountains in the 17th century and the mines are still going strong. The library (the new orange building) has a little Mining Museum.
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Museo de Arte Guillermo Ceniceros
The Museo de Arte Guillermo Ceniceros showcases the mysterious landscapes and feminine figures of local artist Ceniceros (born 1939), who was profoundly influenced by his teacher, the formidable muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. Temporary exhibitions feature international artists.
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Rock Shop
Though it's just on the outskirts of Chihuahua, the historic hillside mining village of Santa Eulalia feels worlds away. The area's first silver was dug out of these mountains in the 17th century and the mines are still going strong. Take a look at Chino's Rock Shop just downhill from the church.
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Restaurante/Museo La Costa
If you’ve got a little time to kill, pop into Restaurante/Museo La Costa, which is packed with a seemingly random load of old stuff that actually adds up to a historical sample of the area’s material culture – from sewing machines and antlers to chainsaws and Apache photos.
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Casa del Cerro
The restored Casa del Cerro is a freakish little oasis of early-20th-century wealth and beauty in this industrial city. Built in 1901–05 by engineer Federico Wulff for his family, the mansion is gorgeous, and so are the original furnishings that fill it.
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Museo de Arqueología de Durango Ganot-Peschard
The Museo de Arqueología de Durango Ganot-Peschard is an innovative visual feast presenting the archaeological record of the region’s indigenous cultures, including skulls intentionally deformed through head binding. All descriptions are in Spanish.
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Museo de Arte Sacro
On the southeast side of the cathedral is the entrance to the small Museo de Arte Sacro, which displays dozens of religious paintings from the big names of the 18th century, including Miguel Cabrera, plus a chair used by Pope John Paul II during his 1990 visit.
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Museo de las Culturas Populares
The Museo de las Culturas Populares displays craftwork of Durango state’s indigenous Tepehuanes and Huicholes and other artisans. The beautiful masks made by Roberto Macías, Trino Nunez and Thor Reveles Grande alone make it well worth visiting.
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Casa Sebastián
The Casa Sebastián, a restored 1880s gem, has temporary galleries in the front, and small-scale models of the massive metal sculptures by renowned Chihuahuan artist Sebastián, whose work is seen in cities around the world, in back.
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Museo Regional de la Laguna
The Museo Regional de la Laguna, inside Torreón’s favorite park, 3km east of the Plaza de Armas, has interesting archaeological displays on the precolonial desert cultures of the north and other cultures from around the nation.
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Catedral del Basílica Menor
The Plaza de Armas is dominated by the handsome baroque facade of the Catedral del Basílica Menor, constructed between 1695 and 1787. The cathedral’s vast, Byzantine interior has fine sculptures, organs and ceiling paintings.
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