Guadalajara was founded in 1532, one of the fruits of the vicious campaign of Nuño de Guzmán at the time of the Conquest. The city, named after Guzmán’s birthplace, thrived, was officially recognized by Charles V in 1542 and rapidly became one of the colony’s most Spanish cities in part because so much of the indigenous population had been killed or had fled during the Conquest. Isolated from the great mining industry of the Bajío, Guadalajara evolved into a regional centre for trade and agriculture. The tight reins of colonial rule restrained the city’s development, and it wasn’t until the end of the eighteenth century, as the colonial monopolies began to crumble, that things really took off. Between 1760 and 1803 the city’s population tripled, reaching some 35,000; a new university was established; and the city became famous for the export of wheat, hides, cotton and wool. When Spain’s colonial empire finally fell apart, Guadalajara supported Hidalgo’s independence movement and briefly served as the capital of the nation. By the beginning of the twentieth century it was already the second largest city in the Republic, and in the 1920s the completion of the rail link with California provided a further spur for development. More recently, the exodus from Mexico City and attempts at industrial decentralization have continued to swell the urban area’s population, which now tops four million. The second city of the Mexican Republic, Guadalajara is considered the most “Mexican” of the country’s big cities. Being less frenetic than the capital, however, doesn’t make it peaceful, and Guadalajara is huge and sprawling. It also remains a great place to see something of traditional and modern Mexico, as it offers everything from museums, galleries and colonial architecture to magnificent revolutionary murals by José Clemente Orozco to a nightlife scene enlivened by a large student population. Parks, little squares and open spaces dot the city. Right downtown, around the cathedral, is a series of plazas unchanged since the days of the Spanish colonization. This small colonial heart of Guadalajara can still, especially at weekends, recall an old-world atmosphere and provincial elegance. The centre is further brightened by the Plaza Tapatía, which opens out the city’s historical core to pedestrians, mariachi bands and street theatre. Around this relatively unruffled nucleus revolve raucous and crowded streets typical of modern Mexico, while further out still, in the wide boulevards of the new suburbs, you’ll find smart hotels, shopping malls and office buildings.

Any tour of Guadalajara inevitably starts at the cathedral. With the Sagrario, or sacristy, next door, it takes up an entire block at the very heart of the colonial centre, which is bordered by four plazas that form the shape of a Latin cross. Guadalajara’s rapid expansion has swallowed up numerous communities: once-distinct villages are now barely distinguishable from the city all around. Heading west, the university area blends into chic suburbs and some of the city’s most expensive real estate. East, Tlaquepaque and Tonalá are the source of some of the area’s finest handicrafts. And finally to the north, Zapopan has a huge, much revered church and a museum of indigenous traditions, while the Barranca de Oblatos offers stunning canyon views and weekend picnic spots. With its pointed, tiled twin towers, Guadalajara’s cathedral (daily 8am–8pm) is a bizarre but successful mixture of styles. The richly decorated interior is best seen in the evening, when they turn on the lights. The picture of the Virgin in the sacristy is attributed to the Spanish Baroque artist Murillo. Flanking the cathedral is a series of bustling plazas Plaza Guadalajara, Rotonda de los Jaliscenses Ilustres, Plaza de la Liberación and Plaza de Armas. The Plaza Guadalajara, formerly known as the Plaza de los Laureles for all its topiaried laurel trees, faces the main west entrance of the cathedral. It is bordered to the north by the porticoed Presidencia Municipal (only built in 1952). On the north side of the cathedral lies the Rotonda de los Jaliscenses Ilustres. This Neoclassical circle of seventeen Doric columns is the latest architectural expression of Jaliscan pride and commemorates the state’s heroes. Around the cathedral and departing regularly from in front of the Museo Regional, Mercado de San Juan de Dios and the Jardín de San Francisco are calandrias, or elegant horse-drawn covered carriages.

The Museo Regional (Tues–Sat 9am–5.30pm, Sun 9am–4.30pm) is housed in an eighteenth-century colonial mansion. Over time it’s been a religious seminary, a barracks and a school; it’s now a supremely elegant setting for an extensive and diverse collection.The deep shaft tombs displayed here are unique in Mexico, but were common down the Pacific coast in Peru and Ecuador. In the centuries before the Conquest, the Tarascan kingdom, based around Pátzcuaro, almost came to rival the strength of the Aztecs partly due to their more extensive knowledge and use of metals. The Aztecs tried, and failed, to extend their influence over Tarascan territory; it wasn’t until after Cortés’s destruction of Tenochtitlán that the Tarascans submitted relatively peacefully to the conquistadors. The Plaza de Armas centres on an elaborate belle époque rotunda a present from the people of France where there’s music (often the state band) Tuesday to Friday and Sunday evenings at 6.30pm. Dominating the eastern side of the square is the Palacio de Gobierno (daily 9am–7pm), recognizable by its Baroque facade with a clock surrounded by elements from the Aztec calendar. Here Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (the “father of Mexican Independence”) proclaimed the abolition of slavery in 1810, and, in 1858, Benito Juárez was saved from the firing squad by the cry of “Los valientes no asesinan” – “the brave don’t murder.” But the overwhelming reason to enter the arcaded courtyard is to see the first of the great Orozco murals. The main mural dates from 1937 and is typical of Orozco’s work Hidalgo blasts triumphantly through the middle, brandishing his sword against a background of red flags and the fires of battle.

The Plaza de la Liberación, which lies between the cathedral and the Teatro Degollado, to the east. Modelled on La Scala in Milan, the theatre was built in the mid-nineteenth century and inaugurated in 1866 during the brief reign of Maximilia. It’s an imposing, domed Neoclassical building with a Corinthian portico; look on the portico’s pediment for a frieze depicting the Greek Muses. A programme of drama and concerts is still staged here, mostly in October during the fiesta, though also sporadically throughout the rest of the year. The impressively restored interior is notable for its frescoed ceiling, which illustrates scenes from the fourth canto of Dante’s Divine Comedy. On either side of the theatre are two small churches, Santa María and San Agustín, the only remains of a monastery that once stood here. San Agustín has a fine Baroque facade; relatively plain Santa María is one of the oldest churches in the city, built in the seventeenth century on the site of Guadalajara’s first cathedral.

The Plaza Tapatía, with its view all the way down to the Hospicio Cabañas, home to another set of Orozco’s murals. The plaza was constructed in the late nineteenth century by demolishing some of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, but manages to look as if it has always been there. It takes its name from tapatío an adjective used to describe anything typical of Guadalajara, supposedly derived from the capes worn by Spanish grandees (Guadalajarans themselves are often referred to as Tapatíos). At its eastern end, the plaza opens out to a broad paved area full of wacky anthropomorphic bronze sculptures, the work of Guadalajara native Alejandro Colunga. Stretched, squashed and generally distorted human figures form chairs, their patinas rubbed shiny by thousands of tired shoppers and tourists. Beyond the sculptures, the Instituto Cultural-Hospicio Cabañas (Tues–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–3pm) was founded as an orphanage by Bishop Juan Cabañas y Crespo in 1805 and took nearly fifty years to complete. Designed by Spanish architect Manuel Tolsá, the Hospicio is a huge, beautiful and tranquil building, with 23 separate patios surrounded by schools of art, music and dance; an art cinema/theatre; various government offices; and a small cafeteria. The chapel, the Capilla Tolsá, is a plain and ancient-looking structure in the form of a cross, situated in the central patio right at the heart of the building. The Man of Fire who leads the people from their dehumanizing, mechanized oppression has a symbolic role as liberator, which is clearly the same as that of Hidalgo in the palace murals. In this case, he is a strange synthesis of Christian and Mexican deities, a Christ-Quetzalcoatl figure. There are benches on which you can lie back to appreciate the murals, and also a small museum dedicated to Orozco, with sketches, cartoons and details of the artist’s life. Almost alongside the Hospicio is the vast Mercado Libertad (locally known as Mercado San Juan de Dios), which Guadalajarans claim is the world’s largest indoor market. Although the building is modern, much of what’s inside is thoroughly traditional, and it’s one of the few places in the city where you can still haggle over prices. Beyond the touristy souvenir stalls, you’ll find curanderas offering herbal remedies, dried iguanas (for witches’ brews) and the renowned Paracho guitars. There are also countless stalls selling all manner of regional food and vast piles of colourful fruit, vegetables, chocolate and spices and traditional leather goods from saddles to clumpy working boots. The market is huge, chaotic and engrossing, but before you buy crafts here, it’s worth paying a visit to the Instituto de la Artesanía in the Parque Agua Azul, boutiques in Tlaquepaque, to get some idea of the potential quality and value of the goods. Immediately southwest of the Mercado is the Plaza de los Mariachis, a place to return after dark to hear Guadalajara’s finest musicians.

The churches of San Francisco and Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu face each other across 16 de Septiembre. San Francisco lies on the site of what was probably Guadalajara’s first religious foundation, a Franciscan monastery established in the years just after the Conquest. The present church was begun in 1684 and has a beautiful Baroque facade. Aranzazu, by contrast, is entirely plain on the outside, but conceals a fabulously elaborate interior, with three wildly exuberant, heavily carved and gilded churrigueresque retables. The Jardín de San Francisco, which would be pleasantly peaceful were it not for the number of local buses rattling by, lies across from the two churches. The Parque Agua Azul (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm). An outdoor concert shell (la concha) hosts popular free performances on Sundays, and weekends see football games and crowds. Nonetheless, by Guadalajara standards, it’s a haven of calm, especially during the week, and the entrance fee includes attractions such as a dome full of butterflies; exotic caged birds, including magnificent toucans; a palm house, also full of tropical birds; and a strange, glass-pyramid orchid house. Perhaps the area’s greatest attraction (and accessed from outside the park) is the Instituto de la Artesanía Jalisciense, Calzado González Gallo 20 (Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–4pm), a showcase for regional crafts that is as much a museum as a shop. Its collection is ambitious, with examples of all sorts of local crafts – furniture, ceramics, toys, glassware, clothing – of the highest quality. The small, general Mercado Corona is at Santa Monica and Hidalgo. A little further out, the university area is quieter than the centre, the streets broader, and there’s also a younger atmosphere, with plenty of good restaurants and cafés. Still further in the same direction are expensive residential areas, interesting in their own way for the contrast to crowded downtown. The “Ex-Templo de la Compañía”, or the Biblioteca IberoAmericana Octavio Paz (Mon–Fri 9am–9pm, Sat 9am–5pm) lies just west of the Plaza de Armas at the junction of Pedro Moreno and Colón. Originally a church, the building later became a university lecture hall, during which time the nineteenthcentury Neoclassical facade was added and it was decorated with murals by David Siqueiros and Amado de la Cueva. The closest is the Templo de Santa Monica, on Santa Monica between San Felípe and Reforma, with fabulously rich doorways and an elegant, stone interior. The nearby Templo de San Felípe Neri, San Felípe at Contreras Medellin, is a few years younger dating from the second half of the eighteenth century and more sumptuously decorated, with a superb facade and lovely tower. A block along Gonzales Ortega, at the corner of Garibaldi, the Templo de las Capuchinas is, conversely, plain and fortress-like; inside, though, it’s more interesting, with paintings and a lovely vaulted brick roof. Back south towards Juárez and the main drag, the Museo de la Ciudad, Independencia 684 (Tues–Sat 10am–5.30pm, Sun 10am–2pm), housed in a former convent, showcases the city’s history through photos and artefacts. Back on the main route west, at Juárez and 8 de Julio, the Ex-Convento del Carmen was one of the city’s richest monasteries, but its wealth has largely been stripped, leaving an austere, white building of elegant simplicity. Modern art exhibitions, dance events and concerts are regularly staged here (a programme of forthcoming events is posted outside the entrance).

The University is a fifteen-minute walk west along Juárez from the centre. The Parque Revolución, immediately west of Federalismo, marks the start of the campus of the Universidad de Guadalajara. A couple of hundred metres on you can see more of Orozco’s major murals, among the first he painted in Guadalajara, in the University’s Rectoría General at Juárez 975 (Mon–Fri 8am–8pm). Head for the main hall (paraninfo) to see the frescoed dome and front wall. The Museo de las Artes, López Cotilla 930 (Tues–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm) houses temporary art exhibitions. Immediately south of the museum is the Templo Expiatorio, a modern neo-Gothic church modelled on Orvieto cathedral in Italy and featuring some innovative stained glass and an attractive altarpiece. The Zona Minerva is a place of broad avenues, shops and pleasant restaurants. Beyond Centro Magno, Vallarta crosses the major artery of López Mateos at the Minerva Circle, an intersection marked by a double triumphal arch. This Neoclassical Monumento Los Arcos (daily 8am–7pm) contains a colourful mural and stairs up to the roof, which has good views. Most buses turn left at the Minerva Circle down López Mateos Sur towards the Plaza del Sol, a vast commercial development said to be one of the largest in Latin America.