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A colonial house front covered in red and white Talavera tiles, with white plaster decoration and iron balconies

Things to see

Things to see and do in Puebla

The cathedral and the golden Rosary Chapel, the oldest library in the Americas, tiled mansions and markets, the Great Pyramid of Cholula, and the volcanoes on the skyline. Here are the places worth your time, and how to fit them together.

The historic centre

Puebla’s UNESCO-listed centre is a grid of colonial streets around the zócalo, with tiled mansions, gilded churches and the oldest public library in the Americas, all within a few blocks.

The bell towers and tiled dome of Puebla Cathedral above the rooftops of the historic centre Cathedral

Puebla Cathedral

Mexico’s tallest colonial towers

The great grey stone cathedral on the zócalo, consecrated in 1649, with towers about 70 metres tall and an interior of onyx, marble and gold.

The red and white tiled dome of the Rosary Chapel against a clear blue sky Chapel

Rosary Chapel and Santo Domingo

A chapel covered in gold

A baroque chapel inside the church of Santo Domingo, finished in 1690, where every surface is covered in gilded stucco. Locals call it the eighth wonder of the world.

Old books on carved wooden shelves under the vaulted ceiling of the Biblioteca Palafoxiana Library

Biblioteca Palafoxiana

The first public library in the Americas

A library founded in 1646 beside the cathedral, with tens of thousands of old books in a beautiful baroque hall, listed by UNESCO’s Memory of the World.

A cobbled street of yellow and orange colonial houses in the Barrio de los Sapos Neighbourhood

Callejón de los Sapos

Antiques, cafés and colour

A colourful corner of the old town, a few blocks from the zócalo, known for its weekend antiques market, cafés, bars and the frog fountain that gives it its name.

Museums, markets and modern Puebla

Pre-Hispanic treasures, a striking modern museum of the baroque, a craft market full of Talavera and a giant observation wheel with views of the volcanoes.

Colourful houses along a street leading to the towers of Puebla Cathedral, seen from the Museo Amparo terrace Museum

Museo Amparo

Ancient Mexico and a rooftop view

One of Mexico’s finest art museums, two blocks from the zócalo, with pre-Hispanic and colonial art in two old mansions and a rooftop terrace café facing the cathedral.

The flowing white walls of the International Museum of the Baroque Museum

International Museum of the Baroque

Toyo Ito’s white waves

A museum about the baroque age in art, music and science, opened in 2016 in a flowing white building by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito, in the modern south-west of the city.

Craft stalls hung with embroidered clothes around a tiled fountain at El Parián market Market

El Parián market

Crafts, Talavera and sweets

A historic craft market a few blocks from the zócalo, selling Talavera, embroidered clothes, onyx and souvenirs, next to the artists’ studios of the Barrio del Artista.

The Estrella de Puebla observation wheel behind the colourful PUEBLA letters Viewpoint

Estrella de Puebla

Volcano views from 80 metres

A giant observation wheel in the modern Angelópolis district, about 80 metres high, with views over the city to Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl on a clear day.

Cholula, the volcanoes and pueblos mágicos

Within an hour of the city are the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the volcanoes of the Izta-Popo national park and the flower town of Atlixco. The cloud-forest town of Cuetzalan is worth a long day or a night.

The yellow Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies on top of the Great Pyramid of Cholula Pyramid

Cholula and the Great Pyramid

A church on a pyramid

A lively town 30 minutes from Puebla, built around the largest pyramid in the world by volume, with a yellow church on top and the volcanoes behind.

Snow-capped Popocatépetl with a plume of steam above forest and fields Volcanoes

Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl

The smoking mountain and the sleeping woman

Two of Mexico’s highest peaks on the skyline west of Puebla. Popocatépetl is an active volcano and closed to climbers, but you can drive to the Paso de Cortés between them.

The red domes of the church of San Félix and the rooftops of Atlixco, seen from the Cerro de San Miguel Pueblo mágico

Atlixco

Flowers below the volcano

A warm, flower-growing town 45 minutes from Puebla, famous for its nurseries, its Day of the Dead flower carpet and its views of Popocatépetl.

The tall clock tower of Cuetzalan’s parish church above the town, with green hills behind Pueblo mágico

Cuetzalan

Cloud forest, coffee and voladores

A cobbled mountain town in the Sierra Norte, about four hours from Puebla, with Nahua and Totonac traditions, a Sunday market, waterfalls and the voladores.

Planning your route

Puebla’s historic centre is laid out on a grid around the zócalo, and almost everything is within a 15-minute walk. Plan a full day for the centre, and add day trips for Cholula and the region.

The historic centre

  1. Start on the zócalo at Puebla Cathedral.
  2. Walk round the corner to the Biblioteca Palafoxiana.
  3. Head three blocks north up Calle 5 de Mayo to the Rosary Chapel.
  4. Walk east to El Parián market and the Barrio del Artista, then south to the Callejón de los Sapos.

Museums and modern Puebla

The Museo Amparo is two blocks south of the zócalo. The International Museum of the Baroque and the Estrella de Puebla are in the modern Angelópolis district, about 20 minutes away by car, and easy to combine with Cholula.

Beyond the city

Cholula and its pyramid are a half-day trip. Atlixco combines well with the volcano views, and Cuetzalan is best with a night in town.

Good to know

Churches close for services and often for a few hours in the early afternoon, and many museums close one day a week, usually Monday or Tuesday. Our one-day Puebla itinerary puts the centre together.

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Tiled churches, mole and volcanoes

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