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Intro to Guanajuato- Guide
Guanajuato is a city in central Mexico, around 4 hours north of Mexico City, CDMX. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its beautiful colonial architecture, hilly cobbled streets and unique subterranean tunnel street system. Guanajuato was historically a mining city, and was one of the world’s leading silver districts. Today, it is known for its colorful shophouses, lively streets, and its own Universidad de Guanajuato. This is a guide to Guanajuato where we show you the best things to do, see and eat!
Getting there and back from CDMX
Getting to Guanajuato was relatively straightforward. We booked a bus with Primera Plus (MXN1,309 for a return trip) which departs from Autobuses del Norte in CDMX. The bus was very comfortable, it had lots of leg room, a monitor with movies (only in espanol though), and 2 toilets (male and female). The bus ride takes around 4-5 hours (dependent on traffic), and drops off at Terminal Central de Autobuses de Guanajuato.
From there, we took a public bus that was right outside the terminal. You can confirm with the driver if he is going to Mercado Hidalgo and pay cash (MXN8 each) to the driver directly. The Mercado Hidalgo stop is underground, and most people will get off here. Just follow the crowd and head up the stairs, and you will be greeted with the valley of colorful shophouses. The bus actually then proceeds to go around Guanajuato but we were not sure of the route and chose to get off at Mercado and walk to our hotel from there.
To get back to the bus terminal, you can ask your hotel for the nearest bus stop to avoid walking all the way to Mercado. We found a bus stop right outside our hotel and it is marked by a blue bus sign. The buses are old but reliable, and we only had to wait around 15 minutes for the bus, and reached the bus terminal in around 30 minutes.
Getting around
Guanajuato is best explored on foot. The roads in Guanajuato are very narrow and they have an underground street system. There are taxis around in Guanajuato but we found that most of the main sites are walkable so we never tried taking the taxis there.
What to do
Guanajuato is a pretty small town, we spent around 2 days there and felt that it gave us enough time to explore the city at a relaxed pace.
Wander the streets and alleys
Guanajuato is in the valley surrounded by mountains, and the valley is lined with colorful shophouses. These are some sites of interest to visit.
Jardin de la Union: A shady square surrounded by restaurants and square trimmed trees. This square is very lively, and often have Mariachis and street performers busking in front of the restaurants.
University of Guanajuato: The university that looks like a museum of sorts, you can appreciate the architecture and climb up the white stairs.
Teotro Juarez: This was an architecturally stunning building but it was unfortunately closed when we went.
Cellejon del Beso (Alley of the kiss): Famous alley which was the site of a tragic love story. There were 2 lovers in the past whose relationship was opposed by the lady’s father. The lovers lived across from each other with balconies in close proximity and the man will sneak over across the balcony to see the lady. The father found out and caught them in the act, killing the man and his daughter in his rage. Go there early to avoid the crowds/tours, we arrived at around 10am and managed to get the place to ourselves!
Take the funicular up to El Pipila and watch the sunset over the valley
El Pipila is the nickname of a local hero in Guanajuato who fought for the freedom from the Spanish. The El Pipila statue is located at the top of the hill with an amazing view over the Guanajuato valley. You can choose to take the funicular (MXN35 one way) or walk up the hill, I recommend taking the funicular up and walking back down. We watched the sunset over the valley, do beware that the winds are VERY strong here!
Eat foods unique to Guanajuato
Food is an attraction in Mexico and Guanajuato is no exception.
Enchiladas mineras: Enchiladas mineras was a traditional dish prepared for the miners in the past by their wives. It consisted of enchiladas filled with cheese, and topped off with lettuce, meat and more cheese. We tried this dish at An Ca Carmen and it was a very homely and hearty dish.
Guacamaya: This is a sandwich that resembles a Guacamaya (the red and green macaw) hence the name. The torta is cut into half and emptied out to make room for some avocado, salsa verde, pork, chicharron, and more chicharron till the sandwich is completely stuffed and overflowing. We tried ours in Mercado Hidalgo, note that this sandwich is huge and can feed two people or one very hungry person.
Carnitas Sam: This is not so much a traditional food, but it was so delicious that I had to include it here. It is so popular that there were 3 stalls owned by Sam. The meat was so tender and the skin was so tasty and delicious, I recommend having it with the tostadas to add a variation in textures.
Ice cream: Much needed on the hot and sunny days in Guanajuato. We tried the ice cream from Nieves Aguilla, which was a small pushcart with an old couple serving up varied flavors. The nieves were more of a sorbet rather than ice cream, and we recommend the Guayaba flavored one.
Overall, we found Guanajuato to be a very cute and quaint town. It was catered towards tourists, both local and foreign. Pace of life here was very relaxed, and you can spend your days here walking through the alleys, chilling at cafes, or people watching at the gardens.
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