Guadalajara

No reviews yetCity Jalisco, Mexico

The Teatro Degollado is a neoclassical theatre inaugurated in 1866 in the heart of Guadalajara, Jalisco

Plaza Tapatía links the cathedral area with the Hospicio Cabañas and includes the Inmolación de Quetzalcóatl fountain, Guadalajara, Jalisco

The Hospicio Cabañas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that holds José Clemente Orozco's frescoes, Guadalajara, Jalisco

Plaza de los Mariachis in Guadalajara is a gathering place for mariachi bands, Jalisco

About Guadalajara

Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, is Mexico's second-largest city and the place many Mexicans credit with giving the country mariachi music, tequila, and the charreada. Founded by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, it spreads across a high valley in the west of the country, with a stately colonial core surrounded by leafy residential districts, universities, and a growing technology scene.

The historic center is best explored on foot. The twin-spired Catedral de Guadalajara anchors a series of plazas, and a short walk east leads past the neoclassical Teatro Degollado and along the pedestrian Plaza Tapatía to the Hospicio Cabañas, a former orphanage whose chapel holds José Clemente Orozco's powerful murals. Mercado Libertad, a huge multilevel market, sells everything from produce to leather goods, and in the evening musicians gather at Plaza de los Mariachis. Pilgrims and visitors alike head to the Basílica de Zapopan, home of a revered image of the Virgin.

The city rewards travelers interested in food, crafts, and music who are happy with an urban pace. Tlaquepaque and Tonalá, both within the metropolitan area, are known for pottery and handicrafts, and a day trip to the town of Tequila shows the blue agave fields behind the drink. The dry months are most comfortable, while summer brings afternoon storms.

Best seasonNovember through May, when skies are mostly dry and days warm; summer brings regular afternoon rain.

Ideal stayThree to four days covers the center, Tlaquepaque and a day trip to Tequila.

ArrivingGuadalajara International Airport has wide domestic and US connections, and long-distance buses arrive from across Mexico.

WiserMap travel guideGuadalajara Mexico Mariachi Tequila Birria and Orozco MuralsPlan a trip to Guadalajara, Jalisco, with its cathedral, Orozco murals at the Hospicio Cabañas, Tlaquepaque crafts, mariachi, tequila and birria.Read the guide

12 Ways to Experience Guadalajara

Landmarks 4

Guadalajara Metropolitan Cathedral

Begun in the 16th century and consecrated in 1618, Guadalajara's cathedral blends Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles. It...

Teatro Degollado

Inaugurated in 1866, this Neoclassical theater faces the cathedral across Plaza de la Liberación, with Corinthian columns and a pe...

Palacio de Gobierno de Jalisco

Jalisco's 18th-century Baroque government palace beside the cathedral is best known for José Clemente Orozco's powerful murals. Ab...

Plaza Tapatía

Opened in 1982, this long pedestrian esplanade links the cathedral district with the Hospicio Cabañas across several blocks of fou...

Museums 2

Hospicio Cabañas (Instituto Cultural Cabañas)

Founded in the early 1800s by Bishop Juan Cruz Ruiz de Cabañas as an orphanage and hospice, this vast Neoclassical complex of many...

Museo Regional de Guadalajara

Housed in an 18th-century former seminary a block from the cathedral, this museum traces western Mexico's story from prehistory to...

Churches 2

Templo Expiatorio del Santísimo Sacramento

Begun in 1897 and consecrated only in 1972, this neo-Gothic church was designed by Italian architect Adamo Boari, who also drew up...

Basílica de Zapopan

Built in the 17th and 18th centuries in neighboring Zapopan, this basilica keeps the small cornstalk-paste image of the Virgin of...

Shopping 1

Mercado Libertad

Better known as San Juan de Dios, this is one of the largest indoor markets in Latin America, a three-level concrete building from...

Entertainment 1

Plaza de los Mariachis de Guadalajara

Just off Calzada Independencia beside the San Juan de Dios church, this small square is where mariachi bands, a tradition born in...

Nature 2

Barranca de Huentitán

On the city's northern edge the ground drops into a canyon carved by the Santiago River, and a cobbled path descends roughly 600 m...

Bosque Los Colomos

This wooded park in the northwest of the city covers roughly 90 hectares of pines and eucalyptus, with shady jogging trails, a lak...

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