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Guanajuato

If you're going to Mexico to lose yourself, you'll have no problem doing so on the streets of Guanajuato (gwah-nah-whah-toh). They seem designed for just that purpose as they curl this way and that, becoming alleys or stairways, and inte...

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Leon, Guanajuato

The industrial city of Leon, 240 mi/380 km northwest of Mexico City, is the largest in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It has little of interest to most tourists, however. Shoe factories abound in Leon, and several specialized malls offer good price...

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San Miguel De Allende

It is the smallest of the cities and perhaps the most relaxed, but it offers such a variety of restaurants, shops, and galleries that urbanites find themselves quite at home. Most of the buildings in the central part of the town date from ...

Categories: San Miguel De Allende

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If you're going to Mexico to lose yourself, you'll have no problem doing so on the streets of Guanajuato (gwah-nah-whah-toh). They seem designed for just that purpose as they curl this way and that, becoming alleys or stairways, and intersecting each other at different angles. At times it can seem like the Twilight Zone; I've heard of people hurriedly passing by a curious-looking shop intending to return later, and then never being able to locate it again. To make matters worse, the streets are filled with things that can draw your attention away from the business of getting from one place to another. The town is so photogenic; everywhere you look is postcard material. Most buildings, like the streets, are irregular in shape, creating a jumble of walls, balconies, and rooftops meeting at anything but a right angle. The churches are the exception, having regular floor plans, but even they show asymmetry -- despite the best efforts of their builders, none has two matching towers, which only adds to their considerable charm.

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Founded in 1559, Guanajuato soon became a fabulously rich town, with world-famous mines (such as La Valenciana, Mineral de Cata, and Mineral de Rayas) that earned their owners titles of nobility. Along with Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato was one of Mexico's most important mining cities. From the 16th through the 18th centuries, the mines in these towns produced a third of all the silver in the world, and Guanajuato bloomed with elaborate churches and mansions. Floods plagued the city until the citizenry finally diverted the river, leaving a bed for what has become a subterranean highway with cantilevered houses jutting out high above the road. To improve traffic flow, the city has opened an impressive network of tunnels (it is, after all, a mining town).

Still, on the surface Guanajuato seems like an old Spanish city dumped into a Mexican highland valley. It's one of Mexico's hidden gems, explored by relatively few foreign tourists, but popular with Mexicans. Picturesque and laden with atmosphere, Guanajuato should be high on your list of places to visit.

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Guanajuato

Located about 220 mi/350 km northwest of Mexico City and founded in the mid-1500s, Guanajuato was one of the first strongholds of Spanish culture in Mexico.

Today, it's a beautiful colonial-style state capital and university town. Revenue from silver mining financed its superb architecture, which has a distinct colonial Spanish flavor. Despite having far more museums and cultural performances than nearby San Miguel de Allende, this UNESCO World Heritage city gets relatively few foreign tourists in comparison.

The center of town is at the bottom of a steep canyon, so the streets are winding and best explored on foot. Be sure to see Callejon del Beso (Street of the Kiss), which is so narrow that two people can kiss by leaning out the windows of facing buildings.

Vehicles are prohibited from most of the center and instead move through the Subterraneo, a series of underground streets that replaced an old flood prevention system. Over time the web of these tunnels has expanded, leaving the center to two narrow streets of buses, delivery trucks and slow-moving cars.

A funicular cable car takes visitors up to a huge statue of an independence movement hero, El Pipila, where there is a panoramic viewpoint. You can walk back down to experience the daily life of the residents with houses on these alleys.

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guanajuato Travel Tips

A list of travel tips and tricks for guanajuato.

• Guanajuato Activities & Attractions Travel Tips