Travel Destinations 2024 November  5-14 

 If Mexico’s colonial cities were a crown, Guanajuato would, without doubt, be its prime jewel.  Guanajuato  is unspoiled and beautifully preserved. Coming here is like stepping back in time; the city is remarkable and offers visitors an authentic colonial experience amidst one of the most picturesque colonial backdrops to be found anywhere in the country.

The great architecture was built using the enormous wealth generated from the silver mines that enjoyed their heyday during the 17th and 18th centuries when  Guanajuato was the source for one-third of the world’s silver.

‘Teatro Juárez’ is regarded as one of the most beautiful of its kind in Mexico,and hosts the Festival Internacional Cervantino since 1972.

The University of Guanajuato traces its history back to the educational institute called the Hospice of the Holy Trinity, established in 1732.

Atop a hill, with the most picturesque views of the city sits the monument of Pipila, the first, and most unlikely hero of Mexico´s War for Independence.

Santiago de Querétaro, or just Querétaro as it’s referred to locally, is a colonial city steeped in Mexican history. The Spanish took control of the city in 1531 and designated it the “third city of New Spain”. It was here where the fathers of Mexico’s Independence Movement met in secret to discuss the overthrow of their Spanish rulers. The feel here is Baroque. Take time to browse its churches, its mansions with their graceful balconies, the myriad of tree-lined plazas and the quaint colonial side streets and alleyways. Santiago de Querétaro is one of the safest, and cleanest  cities in the all of Mexico.

The aqueduct of Querétaro was built in the 18th-century. It is a symbol of the city and one of the largest aqueducts in Mexico was designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Querétaro offers visitors a beautiful historical colonial center, fine art and museums, and is also one of Mexico's top wine making regions

Founded in the 16th century, San Miguel de Allende is known for old world charm and first world amenities. A lively nightlife and abundance of fine restaurants give this town a cosmopolitan vibrancy. The center of town is lined with cobblestone streets, colorful colonial facades a beautiful central plaza, stone colonnades, all overshadowed by La Parroquía de San Miguel Arcángel, an immense neo-gothic church of pink stone.

Museums abound in San Miguel, as do shopping offerings in the city; local boutiques here make  everything from silk-screen

tees to hammered silver jewelry.  San Miguel de Allende is a cultural hub, with plenty of art exhibitions and live music performances around town in the evening. Ignacio Allende, was a captain of the Spanish Army in New Spain who came to sympathize with the Mexican independence movement. He attended the secret meetings where the possibility of an independent Mexico was discussed and  fought along side Miguel Hidalgo

 Dolores Hidalgo was a small town known simply as Dolores when Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla uttered his famous cry for the independence of Mexico (the Grito de Dolores)  on September 16, 1810, in front of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores parish church.

After Mexico achieved independence, the town was renamed Dolores Hidalgo in his honor.

Sanctuary of Atotonilco

Backed by hundreds of men, Father Hidalgo led a march south from Dolores towards San Miguel. They stopped first at the outpost of Atotonilco, home to a stunning, mural-filled baroque church.

Founded in 1750 atop thermal springs used by Chichimecas, Otomís and other tribes for their religious rituals, in Hidalgo’s time the Atotonilco sanctuary drew multitudes of Indians and mestizos, who proved ripe recruits for his crusade.

La Peña de Bernal, located in the charming colonial town   of San Sebastian Bernal, is the 3d tallest monolith in the world.

Formed about 8.7 million years ago, it is actually  the exposed core of an ancient volcano.