Villahermosa

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Parque Museo La Venta displays monumental Olmec sculpture, including colossal stone heads, Villahermosa, Tabasco

Parque Tomás Garrido Canabal is built around a lagoon and holds the La Venta museum park, Villahermosa, Tabasco

The Regional Museum of Anthropology shows pieces from La Venta and other sites in Tabasco, Villahermosa, Tabasco

Yumká is an ecological reserve with savanna, lagoon and forest ecosystems found in Tabasco, Villahermosa, Tabasco

About Villahermosa

Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco, sits on the low, wet plains of the Gulf of Mexico, wrapped by the Grijalva River and a series of lagoons. The city grew rapidly with the oil industry, and it is mostly a working, modern place, but it holds one of the country's most memorable collections of Olmec sculpture and a strong sense of tropical regional identity.

Parque-Museo La Venta, created by poet Carlos Pellicer, displays colossal Olmec heads and other monumental sculptures brought from the La Venta archaeological site and set along forest paths beside the Laguna de las Ilusiones. The lagoon also borders Parque Tomás Garrido Canabal, a large green space with walkways and viewpoints. The Museo Regional de Antropología Carlos Pellicer Cámara covers the Olmec and Maya cultures of the Gulf region, and Casa Museo Carlos Pellicer honors the poet himself. In the old center, the Zona Luz pedestrian streets hold the Casa de los Azulejos, a tile-covered mansion now used as a museum, while the Catedral del Señor de Tabasco rises nearby.

Many travelers use the city as a jumping-off point for Palenque, the Comalcalco ruins or the cacao farms of Tabasco. Yumká, an eco-park outside the city, offers a look at local wildlife habitats. Expect heat and humidity throughout the year, with heavy rain in late summer and fall.

Best seasonNovember through April, when temperatures are slightly lower and rain is less frequent.

Ideal stayOne to two days covers La Venta, the museums and the historic center.

ArrivingCarlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport serves the city, with frequent flights from Mexico City.

WiserMap travel guideVillahermosa Mexico Olmec Heads and Comalcalco RuinsDiscover Villahermosa in Tabasco with Olmec heads at La Venta, Yumká, the historic center, Comalcalco, local food, where to stay, seasons and an itinerary.Read the guide

What to See in Villahermosa: 12 Favorites

Museums 2

Parque-Museo La Venta

When oil exploration threatened the Olmec site of La Venta in western Tabasco in the 1950s, the poet Carlos Pellicer led the effor...

Museo Regional de Antropología Carlos Pellicer Cámara

Standing on the banks of the Grijalva River in the CICOM cultural complex, this museum is named for the poet who championed Tabasc...

Parks 1

Parque Tomás Garrido Canabal

Wrapped around the shores of the Laguna de las Ilusiones, this large urban park is Villahermosa's green escape, with lakeside path...

Wildlife 1

Yumká

About half an hour east of the city near the airport, this ecological park takes its name from a Chontal Maya spirit who guards th...

Family 1

Planetario Tabasco 2000

In the modern Tabasco 2000 district of government buildings, shops and fountains, this planetarium has introduced generations of l...

Neighborhoods 1

Zona Luz

Villahermosa's historic center is a compact grid of narrow pedestrian streets close to the Grijalva River, said to take its name f...

Landmarks 1

Catedral del Señor de Tabasco

Rising above the western side of the old center, the cathedral of the Diocese of Tabasco is a modern church built in the second ha...

History 2

Casa de los Azulejos

One of the most photographed buildings in the historic center, this early 20th century mansion is covered inside and out with colo...

Casa Museo Carlos Pellicer

In the heart of the Zona Luz, the modest family home of Carlos Pellicer Cámara, one of Mexico's great 20th-century poets and the d...

Viewpoints 1

Malecón Carlos A. Madrazo

Villahermosa grew up on the banks of the Grijalva, one of Mexico's mightiest rivers, and this riverside promenade lets you enjoy t...

Day Trips 1

Comalcalco

About an hour northwest of Villahermosa, Comalcalco is the westernmost major city of the ancient Maya and unique among their sites...

Events 1

Feria Tabasco

Each spring, usually from late April into May, the state comes together for this large fair held at the Parque Tabasco fairgrounds...

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Photo credits

Photo: Correogsk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Own work, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

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Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Photo: Own work, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photo: Sachavir, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Correogsk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: ProtoplasmaKid, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Sachavir, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Comisión Mexicana de Filmaciones from México D. F., México, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alfonsobouchot, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain