Fodor's Expert Review Zócalo

The square around which this colonial city was built is officially called the Parque Manuel Velasco Suárez, but no one bothers with that name. In its center sits a gazebo used by marimba musicians most weekend evenings at 8. You can have a coffee on the ground floor of the gazebo; expect to be approached by children and women selling bracelets and other wares. Surrounding the square are a number of 16th-century buildings, some with plant-filled central patios. On the facade of the Casa de Diego de Mazariegos, now the somewhat downscale Hotel Santa Clara, are a stone mermaid and lions that are typical of the plateresque style—as ornate and busy as the work of a silversmith. The yellow-and-white neoclassical Palacio Municipal (Municipal Palace) on the square's west side was the seat of the state government until 1892. Today it houses a few government offices, including the municipal tourism office. The tree-lined square leads to the vast, barren plaza that fronts the Catedral de San Cristóbal Mártir across the street.