Guanajuato

The state

Get to know Guanajuato

Guanajuato lies in the Bajío, the fertile plateau of central Mexico. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the region’s silver mines were among the richest in the world and funded the churches and mansions that today make the state one of the country’s top colonial destinations. It was also where the war of independence began, in 1810.

San Miguel de Allende has cobblestone streets, houses in ochre and red tones and the parish of San Miguel Arcángel, with pink-stone neo-Gothic towers. Together with the sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco, on the outskirts, it is a World Heritage site, and hosts galleries, art schools and a large artist community.

The city of Guanajuato, also a World Heritage site, is squeezed into a narrow valley, with colorful houses on the hillsides, underground streets that run through former riverbeds and alleys such as the Callejón del Beso. Teatro Juárez, the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, Mercado Hidalgo and the Mummy Museum are among the attractions, and the mines and the funicular offer views of the city from above. In October, the Festival Internacional Cervantino fills theaters and plazas.

Dolores Hidalgo is the town where Father Miguel Hidalgo called the people to revolt on 16 September 1810, the Cry of Independence; it is also known for its ceramics and for ice creams with unusual flavors. León, the state’s largest city, is the center of the leather industry.