Fodor's Expert Review Ex-Convento e Iglesia San Bernardino

Five long blocks away from the main plaza is the 16th-century, terra-cotta Ex-Convento e Iglesia San Bernardino, a Franciscan church and former monastery. The church was actually built over Cenote Sis-Há, which served as a clean water source for the monks. You can view the cenote through a grate in the well house where much of the original stone still remains.

If the priest is around, ask him to show you the 16th-century frescoes, protected behind curtains near the altarpiece. The lack of proportion in the human figures shows the initial clumsiness of indigenous artisans in reproducing the Christian saints.