The Old City of Campeche is a remarkable museum piece of the colonial era. Cobbled streets of aged houses painted in delicate blues, greens, and ochers still sit within the city walls, which were built to fend off pirate attacks when this was one of the great trading strongholds of the Spanish empire. Campeche’s actual museum, housed in an old fortress, displays spectacular Mayan relics from the excavated forest city of Calakmul.
Visitor Information: Casa Seis, Av Ruiz Cortines; (981) 127 3300
Palacio Centro Cultural: Calle 8, between 55–7, Zona Centro; (981) 811 0366, (981) 816 7741; open 10am–7pm Tue–Sun
Museo de las Estelas Mayas: Puerta de Mar; open 8am–5pm Tue–Sun; adm $2
Puerta de Tierra: open 9am–8pm
Fuerte San Miguel Museum: open 8:30am–5pm Tue–Sun; adm $2.50
Fuerte San José Museum: open 9:30am–5:30pm Tue–Sun; adm $3
Housed in an attractive colonial-era building on the Parque Principal, this museum innovatively charts the history of the city through multimedia displays, a sound and light show, and exhibits that include a replica Spanish galleon.
A hilltop fortress just south of the city, this is now home to a fine collection of Mayan relics, including a set of beautiful jade funeral masks.
After the city walls were built, Puerta de Mar provided the only gateway to the harbor. The bastion houses the Museo de las Estelas Mayas, displaying Mayan carvings from sites around Campeche.
A gracious old house on the west side of the Parque Principal, this has been restored to re-create the home of a prosperous 19th-century Campeche merchant. The house’s patio hosts a tourist information desk and also features concerts and exhibitions.
This waterfront has been attractively restored and is a popular place for locals to take an evening stroll. There are often superb sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.
Begun in the 1560s, the cathedral in Campeche was not completed until the 19th century. Its facade is one of the oldest parts, designed in a Spanish Renaissance style typical of many churches built in the reign of King Philip II.
Built in 1732, the Puerta de Tierra (“Land Gate”) was the only way in or out of Campeche on the landward side. Within is a museum of maritime and pirate history.
This isolated bastion has been imaginatively used to house a dense and verdant botanical garden, with giant palms and other lush tropical flora.
This sturdy Spanish fortress houses the Post-Conquest sections of the town’s museum. There are lovely sea and city views from the ramparts.
This city, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Campeche, once rivalled Chichén Itzá and Uxmal in size and wealth. Its palace-temple, known as the “Building of the Five Stories”, is one of the largest, most intricate Mayan buildings.
Between the 1560s and the 1680s Campeche was attacked again and again by pirates such as Henry Morgan and the Dutchman known only as “Peg-Leg.” Finally, the Spanish governors and city’s merchants had suffered enough and ordered the building of a solid ring of walls and bastions. Campeche was transformed into one of the largest walled cities in Spanish America.
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