Merida, Mexico City Guide
For over 20 years, Pamela Lanier's Merida, Mexico Travel Guide has been your connection to Merida's tourism community with invaluable details on local attractions, restaurants, shopping, museums, history, outdoor recreation and more.
Heart of History
 Merida’s remote Mayan roots, superb colonial monuments and the splendor of the turn to the XIX century architecture, have made Merida a captivating mixture of cultural influences. The Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Montejo founded present day Merida in 1542. An insight into the horrendous pain and suffering of the people who were brutalized by the conquering conquistadors exists in magnificent wall-size paintings that are on display in the Governor's Palace located in downtown Merida.
Walking through downtown Merida is a history lesson in itself. From the Main Plaza - Plaza Principal - you can see the Cathedral, (known for its murals depicting the meeting between Montejo and the Mayan King Tutl Xiu), Palacio Municipal which is Merida's town hall built in 1735, Casa de Montejo, former home of the conqueror of Yucatan and the Palacio de Govierno. On Sundays, the plaza hosts an outdoor handicraft market and food festival.
Paseo de Montejo Boulevard is an historical boulevard fashioned after those found in Paris, France. Stately homes, shops and quaint restaurants and cafes line the street and for those with an itch for home there is even a Walmart at the north end of the boulevard. If you are too tired to walk, a horse and buggy will pick you up from the Plaza Principal and take you on a tour and then back to your hotel to rest up for a night out on the town. |
