15 Best Sights in Mérida, Yucatán and Campeche States

Begun in 1561, Mérida's cathedral is one of the oldest on the North American mainland (an older one can be found in the Dominican Republic). It took several hundred Maya laborers, working with stones from the pyramids of the ravaged Maya city, 37 years to complete it. Designed in the somber Renaissance style by an architect who had worked on El Escorial in Madrid, its facade is stark and unadorned, with gunnery slits instead of windows and faintly Moorish spires.

Inside, the black Cristo de las Ampollas (Christ of the Blisters) occupies a side chapel to the left of the main altar. At 23 feet tall, it's the tallest Christ figure inside a Mexican church. The statue is a replica of the original, which was destroyed during the revolution in 1910 (also when the gold that once adorned the cathedral was carried off). According to one of many legends, the Christ figure burned all night and appeared the next morning unscathed—except for its namesake blisters. You can hear the pipe organ play at the 11 am Sunday Mass.

This compact archaeological site east of Mérida offers the unique opportunity to view architecture spanning two millennia in one sweeping vista. Standing atop a ruined Maya temple built more than a thousand years ago, you can see the incongruous sight of workers processing sisal in a rusty-looking factory, which was built in the early 20th century. To the right of this dilapidated building are the ruins of the old Hacienda and Iglesia de San Lorenzo Aké, both constructed of stones taken from Maya buildings.

Experts estimate that Aké was populated between AD 250 and 900; today many people in the area have Aké as a surname. The city seems to have been related to the very important and powerful one at present-day Izamal; in fact, the two cities were once connected by a sacbé (white road) 43 feet wide and 33 km (20 miles) long. All that has been excavated so far are two pyramids, one with rows of columns (35 total) at the top, reminiscent of the Toltec columns at Tula, north of Mexico City.

Three Franciscos de Montejo—father, son, and nephew—invaded the peninsula and founded Mérida in January of 1542, and they completed construction of this stately home on the south side of the central plaza in 1549. It's the city's oldest and finest example of colonial plateresque architecture, a Spanish architectural style popular in the 16th century and typified by the kind of elaborate ornamentation you'll see here. A bas-relief on the doorway—the facade is all that remains of the original house—depicts Francisco de Montejo the younger, his wife, and daughter, as well as Spanish soldiers standing on the heads of the vanquished Maya. The building has had many owners over the centuries and the museum on the site consists of several rooms that have been restored and furnished as they would have appeared at the end of the 19th century.

Referred to as simply the "Olimpo," this beautiful porticoed cultural center was built adjacent to city hall in late 1999. Its marble interior hosts international art exhibits, classical-music concerts, conferences, and theater and dance performances. The adjoining 1950s-style movie house shows both classic art films and animated features targeting younger viewers. The center also houses a planetarium with 60-minute shows explaining the solar system (narration is in Spanish); they run Tuesday through Sunday at 6 pm and Sunday at 10, 11, noon, 6, and 7—be sure to arrive 15 minutes early as nobody is allowed to sneak in once the show has begun.

Several blocks south of the city center, the restored Hermitage of St. Isabel, also known as the Hermitage of the Good Trip stands on a square that is the heart of the neighborhood named after the church—La Ermita. Completed in 1748, the beautiful edifice served as a resting place for colonial-era travelers headed to Campeche. It's one of the most peaceful places in the city and a good destination for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, though it's typically open only during mass. Behind the hermitage are huge tropical gardens, which have a waterfall and footpaths and which are usually unlocked during daylight hours.

Located in the small town of Conkal, about 9 km (6 miles) southeast of Dzibilchaltún, the Gallery of Sacred Art is is run by the Archdiocese of Yucatán. It's tucked behind a colonial church in one of the peninsula's 20 or so convents that date from the 16th century. The six rooms here showcase sculptures, vestments, paintings, and other objects that shine light on the nearly 500-year-old presence of the Catholic Church in the Yucatán.

Whether or not the Grand Museum of the Mayan World lives up to its lofty name depends on your tastes and expectations, but the institution certainly makes a big architectural splash. The starkly modern building was designed to resemble a giant ceiba tree, sacred to the Maya, and it looms over the northern outskirts of town on the highway to Progreso. (Plan on a MX$150 Uber or DiDi ride from downtown.)

The museum's amazing collection of Maya artifacts are exhibited in four themed halls: The Mayab, Nature, and Culture; Ancestral Maya; Yesterday's Maya; and Today's Maya. Much of the space is given over to multimedia presentations, including interactive screens that are enormously popular, especially with younger visitors. One all-the-rage panel of screens, for instance, lets you tap in your birth date, convert it to the corresponding date on the Maya calendar, and email yourself your Maya horoscope. Everything here—artifact labeling and multimedia narration—is trilingual (Spanish, English, and Mayan). The adjoining Mayamax theater screens films, and there is an on-site concert hall, too.

Just north of Parque Hidalgo is one of Mérida's oldest buildings and the first Jesuit church in the Yucatán. It was built in 1618 from the limestone blocks of a dismantled Maya temple, and faint outlines of ancient carvings are still visible on the west wall. Although the church is a favorite place for society weddings, its interior is not ornate. In former convent rooms at the rear of the building, however, you'll find the Pinoteca Juan Gamboa Guzmán, a small but interesting art collection. The most engaging pieces are the striking bronze sculptures of indigenous Maya crafted by celebrated 20th-century sculptor Enrique Gottdiener Soto. On the second floor are about 20 forgettable oil paintings—mostly of past civic officials.

Located next to the cathedral, the building that houses this museum has served in the past as a seminary, an art school, and even a military barracks. It now showcases the works of contemporary Yucatecan artists and hosts a variety of temporary exhibits featuring leading Mexican and international contemporary artists. It's free to visit; just sign the guestbook.

The most compelling of the mansions on Paseo de Montejo, this stately residence was built for General Francisco Cantón between 1909 and 1911. Designed by Enrique Deserti, who also drew up the plans for the Teatro Peón Contreras, the building has a grandiose air that seems more characteristic of a mausoleum than a home: there's marble everywhere, as well as Doric and Ionic columns and other Italianate Beaux-Arts flourishes. It now houses the Museo Regional de Antropología de Yucatán which focuses mostly on Maya history, art, and culture and sometimes other aspects of Yucatecan life. The exhibitions are generally excellent although signage is often only in Spanish, or Spanish and Mayan.

This dramatic museum in the heart of the historic center, designed in a collaboration between four leading architecture firms, opened in 2019 and is devoted to the history of Mexican music. Dozens of listening stations enable you to hear everything from classical compositions and traditional rancheras to current pop and rock songs. The museum also hosts concerts, featuring music from a variety of genres. 

Visit the seat of state government on the north side of Plaza Grande. You can see Fernando Castro Pacheco's murals of the bloody history of the conquest of the peninsula, painted in bold colors and influenced by the Mexican muralists José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. On the main balcony (visible from outside on the plaza) stands a reproduction of the Bell of Dolores Hidalgo, on which Mexican independence rang out on the night of September 15, 1810, in the Guanajuato town of Dolores Hidalgo. On the anniversary of the event, the governor rings the bell and leads the crowds below in the Grito (battle cry), a ritual performed in town squares across the country.

A half block north of the main plaza is this small, cozy park, officially known as Plaza Cepeda Peraza. Historic mansions, now reincarnated as hotels and sidewalk cafés (including a Starbucks), line its southern and eastern sides, and at night the area comes alive with marimba bands and street vendors. On Sunday, the streets are closed to vehicular traffic, and there's free live music performed throughout the day.

This park at Calles 60 and 55 is lined with popular, if a bit touristy, restaurants and draws crowds with its Thursday-night music and dance performances (shows start at 9, but come early if you want to sit close to the performers). On Sunday, couples also come to dance to a live band and dine on food from carts set up in the plaza. The Iglesia de Santa Lucía opposite the park dates from 1575 and was built as a place of worship for the Maya, who weren't allowed to worship at just any Mérida church.

Mérida's top children's attraction features pleasant wooded paths, playgrounds, inexpensive amusement-park rides, an inline skating rink, a small lake you can row on, and a little train that circles the property. It also includes cages that house more than 300 native animals, including exotic ones like lions and tigers (a modern zoo this is not, and you might not approve of those cages). At the exit, you’ll find snack bars and vendors; there are on-site picnic areas, too. The French Renaissance–style arch commemorates the 100th anniversary (in 1910) of Mexican independence.