Must-see attractions in Guadalajara

  • Instituto Cultural Cabanas, Guadalajara, Mexico; Shutterstock ID 745346248; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Instituto Cultural de Cabañas

    Guadalajara

    Standing proudly at the eastern end of dramatic Plaza Tapatía is one of Guadalajara’s architectural landmarks, and a Unesco World Heritage site since 1997…

  • Guadalajara Cathedral.

    Catedral de Guadalajara

    Guadalajara

    Guadalajara’s cathedral is the city’s most conspicuous landmark with distinctive neo-Gothic towers built after an earthquake toppled the originals in…

  • Guachimontones Archaeological Site

    Guadalajara

    Just 40km west of Guadalajara is the fascinating and distinctive archaeological site known as Guachimontones – one of the only ancient ruins in the world…

  • The Basílica de Zapopan.

    Basílica de Zapopan

    Guadalajara

    One of the city's most important churches, the Basílica de Zapopan, built in 1730, is home to Nuestra Señora de Zapopan, a petite statue of the Virgin…

  • Tonalá Street Market

    Guadalajara

    On Thursday and Sunday, Tonalá bursts into a huge street market that sprouts on Avenida Tonaltecas and crawls through dozens of streets and alleys and…

  • Museo Pantaleón Panduro

    Guadalajara

    This superb collection of over 500 pieces of national folk art is housed in a converted religious mission and includes well-displayed miniature figurines,…

  • Plaza de los Mariachis

    Guadalajara

    Just south of Avenida Javier Mina and the Mercado San Juan de Dios, this is the very birthplace of mariachi music. By day it’s just a narrow walking…

  • Museo Nacional de la Cerámica

    Guadalajara

    Among the best of the many ceramics museums in the greater Guadalajara region, this one focuses largely on works from Tonalá, arguably the finest in…

  • Museo Regional de Guadalajara

    Guadalajara

    Guadalajara's most important museum tells the story of the city and the surrounding region, somewhat haphazardly, from prehistory to the revolution…

  • Palacio de Gobierno

    Guadalajara

    The golden-hued Palacio de Gobierno, which houses the Jalisco state government offices, was finished in 1774 and is well worth visiting to see two…

  • Museo de las Artes

    Guadalajara

    Three blocks west of Parque Revolución is this museum of contemporary art housed in a French Renaissance building (1917) that once served as the…

  • Museo de Arte Huichol (Wixarika)

    Guadalajara

    This small but surprisingly informative museum has a worthwhile display of artifacts from the Huichol (or Wixarika) people, an indigenous group known for…

  • Teatro Degollado

    Guadalajara

    Construction of this neoclassical theater, which is home to the Guadalajara Philharmonic, was begun in 1855 and completed four decades later. Above the…

  • Plaza Tapatía

    Guadalajara

    The fabulously wide pedestrian and elevated Plaza Tapatía sprawls for more than 500m eastward from Teatro Degollado to the Instituto Cultural de Cabañas…

  • Rotonda de los Jaliscenses Ilustres

    Guadalajara

    Jalisco’s hall of fame, in the plaza on the north side of the cathedral, is ringed by 30 bronze sculptures of the state’s favorite writers, architects and…

  • Museo de Arte de Zapopan

    Guadalajara

    Two blocks east of the Basílica de Zapopan, MAZ is dedicated to modern art. Four sleek minimalist galleries hold temporary exhibits, which have included…

  • Plaza Guadalajara

    Guadalajara

    Plaza Guadalajara is shaded by dozens of severly cropped laurel trees and has great views of the east of the cathedral. Boasting a few fine cafes, it's a…

  • Museo de Arte Sacro de Guadalajara

    Guadalajara

    This pious collection astride the eastern flank of the cathedral is filled with dark and brooding 17th- to 18th-century religious art, as well as some…

  • Galería Jorge Martínez

    Guadalajara

    It's worth popping into this interesting modern and conceptual art gallery to see if there's an exhibition showing (there's no permanent collection on…

  • Palacio de Justicia

    Guadalajara

    Built in 1588, the Palacio de Justicia began life as Guadalajara's first nunnery. Duck inside to the interior stairwell and check out the 1965 mural by…

  • Templo de Aranzazú

    Guadalajara

    The compact Templo de Aranzazú is perhaps the city’s most beautiful. Built from 1749 to 1752, it has three remarkably ornate Churrigueresque (Spanish…

  • Templo de San Agustín

    Guadalajara

    South of the landmark Teatro Degollado on Plaza de la Liberación is the baroque-style Templo de San Agustín, all gold and white. Erected in 1573, it is…

  • Templo Santa Eduviges

    Guadalajara

    The sanctuary at the Templo Santa Eduviges, built in 1726, is usually packed with worshippers and, during Mass, perfumed with clouds of sandalwood smoke…

  • Templo de San Francisco de Asís

    Guadalajara

    Across the road from the Templo de Aranzazú, the larger but less impressive Templo de San Francisco de Asís was begun in the 1660s by the Franciscans. It…

  • Templo de Nuestra Señora del Carmen

    Guadalajara

    Facing a small leafy plaza, Templo de Nuestra Señora del Carmen is a 17th-century chapel that was remodeled in the 1860s, with lots of gold leaf, old…

  • Templo de la Merced

    Guadalajara

    Close to the city center is the ornate Templo de la Merced, which was built between 1650 and 1721; inside are several large paintings, crystal chandeliers…

  • Cathedral Crypt

    Guadalajara

    The cathedral in Guadalajara includes a Gothic crypt, where three archbishops are buried.

  • Plaza de la Liberación

    Guadalajara

    This huge plaza due east of the cathedral was a 1980s urban planner’s dream project – two whole blocks of colonial buildings to be knocked down and…

  • Casa-Taller Orozco

    Guadalajara

    Orozco’s former home and studio, used briefly by the celebrated muralist in the early 1940s, today hosts temporary exhibitions. On permanent display in…

  • Parque Agua Azul

    Guadalajara

    This large, leafy park about 2km south of the city center is a nice place to rehab from too much urbanity. There are benches and lawns to lounge upon and…

  • Museo Regional de la Cerámica

    Guadalajara

    The Museo Regional de la Cerámica is set in a great old adobe building with stone arches and mature trees in the courtyard. It's a relatively small…

  • Templo de Santa María de Gracia

    Guadalajara

    A block northeast of Plaza de la Liberación is the Templo de Santa María de Gracia, with a rather rough and austere interior; it was built as part of a…

  • Palacio Municipal

    Guadalajara

    On the north side of Plaza Guadalajara is the Palacio Municipal, which was built between 1949 and 1952 but looks much older. Above its interior stairway…

  • Palacio Legislativo

    Guadalajara

    On the north side of the Plaza de la Liberación, near the Museo Regional de Guadalajara, is the Palacio Legislativo. Distinguished by thick stone columns…