Silver has been mined in Taxco since before the Conquest. Supplies of the metal have long been depleted, but it is still the basis of the town’s fame, as well as its livelihood, in the form of jewellery, which is made in hundreds of workshops here, and sold in an array of shops (platerías) catering mainly to tourists. The city is an attractive place, like some Mexican version of a Tuscan village, with a mass of terracotta-tiled, whitewashed houses lining narrow, cobbled alleys that straggle steeply uphill. At intervals the pattern is broken by a larger mansion, or by a courtyard filled with flowers or by the tower of a church rearing up; the twin spires of Santa Prisca, a Baroque wedding cake of a church in the centre of town, stand out above all. The streets are eternally clogged with taxis and colectivos struggling up the steep slopes, and forming an endless paseo around the central Plaza Borda. Once you’ve spent an hour or so in the church and a few museums there’s sit around in the plaza cafés. Still, it is a pleasant enough place to do just that if you don’t mind the relatively prices, and the other tourists.

Though it might seem a prosperous place now, Taxco’s development has not been entirely straightforward indeed on more than one occasion the town has been all but abandoned. The Spaniards came running at the rumours of mineral wealth here (Cortés himself sent an expedition in 1522), but their success was short-lived, and it wasn’t until the eighteenth century that French immigrant José de la Borda struck it fabulously rich by discovering the San Ignacio vein. It was during Borda’s short lifetime that most of what you see originated he spent an enormous sum on building the church of Santa Prisca, and more on other buildings and a royal lifestyle here and in Cuernavaca; by his death in 1778 the boom was already over. In 1929, a final revival started with the arrival of American architect and writer William Spratling, who set up a jewellery workshop in Taxco, drawing on local traditional skills and pre-Hispanic designs. With the completion of a new road around the same time, a massive influx of tourists was inevitable the town has handled it all fairly well, becoming rich at the expense of just a little charm.

The heart of town is the diminutive Plaza Borda (zócalo), ringed by recently restored colonial buildings and dominated by Taxco’s one outstanding sight, the church of Santa Prisca. Towering over the zócalo, its hyper-elaborate facade was built in a single stint between 1751 and 1759, and displays a rare unity. Inside there’s a riot of gilded churrigueresque altarpieces and other treasures, including paintings by Miguel Cabrera, a Zapotec who became one of Mexico’s greatest colonial religious artists. His work can be seen in the medallions of the altarpieces; lunettes of the martyrdom of St Prisca and St Sebastian; a series of fifteen scenes from the life of the Virgin in the Episcopal Sacristy behind the altar; and a collection of paintings of prominent townspeople of the age (including Borda), in a side chapel to the left. The manifestador, a gilt construction immediately in front of the altar, was designed to display the Holy Sacrament and comes decorated with small statues of Faith, Hope and Charity. It was thought to have been lost until rediscovered in 1988 during renovations.

In the northeast corner of the zócalo, a doorway opens onto a courtyard packed with silver shops, which in turn provides the approach to the Museo de la Platería, Plaza Borda 1 (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm). Turn left and down the stairs to reach this small but worthwhile collection of silver, including beautiful Art Deco cutlery, a coffee jug and a gorgeous teapot from William Spratling’s original workshop. The rest of what’s on display spans the years since Spratling’s time: everything from a walking stick in the form of a snake to modern designs incorporating amethysts found in geodes hereabouts. Almost next door, the Centro Cultural de Taxco (Tues–Fri 9am–4pm, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm) is really just a showcase for local artists and is worth a quick visit if only for the views over the town from many of the windows.

William Spratling’s personal collection of antiquities is contained in the Museo Guillermo Spratling, Porfirio Delgado 1 (Tues–Sun 10am–7pm), right behind Santa Prisca and reached down Calle del Arco at the right-hand side of the church. There are several good pieces, but overall it is not quite interesting, especially if you’ve been to the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City. Taxco’s most interesting museum, the Museo de Arte Virreinal, Juan Ruíz de Alarcón 6 (Tues–Sat 10am–7pm, Sun 10am–4pm), is housed nearby in the beautiful colonial Casa Humboldt, an old staging inn named after an German explorer-baron who spent just one night here in 1803. Labels in Spanish and English provide detailed and diverting background on the town, its religious art and history, partly focusing on Taxco’s importance on the Spanish trade routes between Acapulco and Veracruz. The life and works of José de la Borda and Humboldt both get extensive coverage too, and there’s a good collection of ecclesiastical vestments and furniture, including a fine sacristy bench and a kind of waffle iron for making communion wafers.

Beyond these sights, the way to enjoy Taxco is simply to wander the streets, nosing about in platerías and stopping occasionally for a drink. If you’re in the market for silver you can be fairly sure that the stuff here is the real thing (check for the mark: “.925” or “sterling”), but prices are much the same as they would be anywhere and quality and workmanship can vary enormously: there’s everything from mass-produced belt buckles and cheap rings to designer jewellery that will set you back thousands of dollars. The shops off the main streets will be cheaper and more open to bargaining. A section in the market, down the steps beside the zócalo, dedicated to silver-hawkers is a good place to start. But the bulk of the market seems to specialize in tourist goods.

There is interest in the immediate vicinity, though to while away an afternoon you could follow Benito Juárez to Plazuela el Minero (a small square with a statue of a miner), then head left up Avenida de los Plateros to the northern end of town (around 2km – alternatively take a combi from the zócalo to Los Arcos), from where you can catch the teleférico (daily 7am–8pm) up to the hilltop Hotel Monte Taxco for the pleasant views.