Mérida, it is an inevitable stop. Nicknamed “La Ciudad Blanca” after its white limestone buildings (now covered in peeling layers of gem-coloured paint), the capital of Yucatán state is in every sense the leading city of the peninsula, with a population of some 1.6 million. But within its historic core, there’s a sense of small-town graciousness coupled with an extremely lively and sometimes avant-garde cultural scene. It draws thousands of visitors, both Mexican and foreign, and has seen a rash of expat investment in the last decade. But even as the buzz increases, the city retains its grace and manners: every street in the centre boasts a well-maintained colonial church or museum, and locals still ride in little horse-drawn taxis, which gather by the plaza in the evenings. Not only can you live well here, but you can also find good beaches nearby, and it’s a great base for excursions to the Maya sites of Uxmal and Chichén Itzá. Founded in 1542 by conquistador Francisco de Montejo the Younger, Mérida is built over, and partly from, the ruins of a Maya city known as Tihó or Ichcansihó. Like the rest of the peninsula, it had little effective contact with central Mexico until the 1960s and looked to Europe for influence. This is especially evident in the architecture of the older houses, built with French bricks and tiles that were brought over as ballast in ships that exported henequen, the rope fibre that was Yucatán’s “green gold” from early in its colonization to World War I. Trade was interrupted in the spring of 1849, when, early in the Maya uprising that became known as the Caste Wars, rebel armies laid siege to Mérida. They were within a hair’s breadth of capturing the city and thus regaining control of the peninsula, when, legend has it, the Maya peasant fighters could no longer neglect their fields and left the siege to plant corn. Thus spared, the Yucatecan elite quickly arranged a deal with the central Mexican government ceding the peninsula’s independence in exchange for support against future Maya rebellions, which ground on for some fifty years. By 1900, Mérida had become an extraordinarily wealthy city or at least a city that had vast numbers of extremely rich haciendados (estate owners). Much of this wealth was poured into grandiose mansions on the outskirts of town (especially along Paseo de Montejo) and European educations for upper-class children. Mérida is elegant, prosperous and intellectual it’s said to have Mexico’s highest number of PhDs per capita. The streets are filled with a vibrant mix of Maya, mestizos, Lebanese (who emigrated here in the early twentieth century) and more recent transplants from Mexico City and abroad, all drawn by the city’s mellow yet cosmopolitan feel.

Any exploration of Mérida begins naturally in the Plaza de la Independencia, also called the Plaza Grande or Plaza Mayor. It’s the hub of city life, particularly in the evenings, when couples meet on park benches and trios of trovadores wait to be hired for serenades. The plaza is ringed by some of Mérida’s oldest buildings, including the simple Catedral de San Ildefonso (daily 6am–noon & 5–8pm), built in the second half of the sixteenth century. Most of the church’s valuables were looted during the Mexican Revolution. One object that was destroyed, the Cristo de las Ampollas, has been recreated and is the focal point of a fiesta from mid-September through to mid-October. According to legend, this “Christ of the Blisters”, which is in a chapel to the left of the main altar, was carved from a tree in the village of Ichmul, which had burned for a whole night without showing the least sign of damage; later, in 1645, the church at Ichmul burned down, and the crucifix survived, though blackened and blistered. Beside the cathedral, the former bishop’s palace has been converted into shops, offices and the MACAY (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán; 10am–6pm daily, closed Tues), which has the best modern art collection in the region, with permanent displays featuring the work of internationally acclaimed Yucatecan painters Fernando Castro Pacheco, Gabriel Ramírez Aznar and Fernando García Ponce. On the south side of the plaza stands the Casa de Montejo, a palace built in 1549 by Francisco de Montejo, the first conquistador to attempt to bring the peninsula under the control of Spain. His initial effort, in 1527, failed, as did several later forays; however, his son, Francisco de Montejo the Younger, did what the father could not, and secured the northern part of the peninsula in the 1540s. The building now belongs to Banamex, and most of it is used as office space. During weekday business hours, visitors can see the lavishly restored wood-panelled dining room, off the back right corner of the Moorish-feeling courtyard. Above a staid doorway of Classical columns, the facade is decorated in the manically ornate plateresque style (probably the first instance of it in the New World), with conquistadors depicted trampling savages underfoot. Across the plaza from the cathedral, the Palacio Municipal is another impressive piece of sixteenth-century design, with a fine clock tower. Next door, the modern Centro Olimpo de Cultura contains an auditorium, a planetarium and an art gallery showing local works and travelling exhibits. Completing the square, the nineteenth-century Palacio de Gobierno (daily 8am–10pm) is a must-see; enormous, aggressively modernist murals by Fernando Castro Pacheco cover the walls on the ground floor and in the large front room on the second floor. They powerfully depict the violent history of the Yucatán and the trials of its indigenous people.

Most of the remaining monuments in Mérida lie north of the plaza, bordering Calle 60 and Paseo de Montejo. Calle 60 is one of the city’s main commercial streets. It also boasts a series of colonial buildings, starting one block north of the plaza with the seventeenth-century Jesuit Iglesia de Jesús, on the corner with Calle 59. It was built using stones from the original Maya city of Tihó, and a few pieces of decorative carving are visible in the wall on Calle 59. In the same block of Calle 59, the Pinacoteca del Estado Juan Gamboa Guzmán (Tues–Sat 8am–8pm, Sun 8am–2pm) houses a collection of nineteenth-century portraits of prominent Yucatecans and Mexican leaders Emperor Maximilian, who was executed less than three years into his reign, looks particularly hapless among the crowd of presidents. Back on Calle 60, continuing north, you reach Teatro Peón Contreras, a grandiose neoclassical edifice built by Italian architects in the heady days of Porfirio Díaz. Across the street stands the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, a highly respected institution that has existed, under various names, since 1624. Detour east on Calle 57 to Calle 50 for the Museo del Arte Popular de Yucatán (Tues–Sat 9.30am–7pm, Sun 9am–2pm), a small but flawless collection of Mexican craftwork. Behind the former monastery of La Mejorada, on Calle 57 between calles 50 and 48, the Museo de la Canción Yucateca (daily 9am–5pm) details the diverse musical influences on the local trovadores, from pre-Columbian traditions to Afro-Cuban styles. Returning to Calle 60, one block north of the Teatro Peón Contreras the sixteenth-century Iglesia Santa Lucía stands on the elegant plaza of the same name a small square that was once the city’s stagecoach terminus. Three blocks further, Plaza Santa Ana is bordered by a cluster of market stalls. The surrounding neighbourhood is developing an art scene see what’s on at the Centro de Artes Visuales (Mon–Fri 9am–10pm, Sat & Sun 9am–7pm), the university’s exhibition space. Up and down the block are several private galleries. Head east from here a couple of blocks to reach the south end of Paseo de Montejo.

Paseo de Montejo is a broad boulevard lined with trees and modern sculptures. It’s also lined with the magnificent mansions of the henequen-rich grandees who strove to outdo one another around the end of the nineteenth century. One of the most striking, the Palacio Cantón, at Calle 43, houses Mérida’s Museo Regional de Antropología (Tues–Sat 8am–8pm, Sun 8am–2pm). The Beaux Arts palace, grandly trimmed in wrought iron and marble, was built at the beginning of the twentieth century by Francisco Cantón Rosado, the railway tycoon, state governor and general who was a key supporter of Dictator Porfirio Díaz. The walk to the museum from the plaza takes about thirty minutes; you can also get there on a “Paseo de Montejo” bus running up Calle 56, or in a horse-drawn calesa taxi. The collection is short on actual relics, but it’s a useful introduction to the sites and Maya culture nonetheless, with displays covering everything from prehistoric stone tools to modern religious practice and an informative emphasis on ancient Maya daily life and belief. Upstairs, temporary exhibits examine Mérida’s history and specific archeological sites. The bookshop offers leaflets and guidebooks in English for dozens of ruins in the Yucatán and the rest of Mexico. Another fifteen minutes’ walk north on Paseo de Montejo, past scores of mansions, brings you to the Monumento a la Patria, covered in neo-Maya sculptures relating to Mexican history. You could also visit Parque de las Américas, west on Colón, which is planted with a tree from every country on the American continent. Travellers with children or anyone who wants to see modern Mérida at leisure can head for the green space of Parque del Centenario, west of the plaza (head straight out along Calle 59 to Avenida Itzáes). It contains a zoo, with a miniature train running through it. The streets get more crowded and the shops more jumbled as you head towards Mérida’s main market, a huge place between calles 67, 69, 54 and 56. In two vast joined halls plus a clutch of stalls around the periphery, more than two thousand vendors ply their trades. It’s a wild scrum of consumer goods, from freshly hacked-up beef to hand-tooled leather belts to numerous varieties of bananas. Arrive before noon to see the most bountiful foodstuffs; craft shops (many in a separate wing on Calle 56-A at Calle 65) are open all day. On Calle 65 at Calle 56, the grand Museo de la Ciudad (Mon–Fri 9am–8pm, Sat & Sun 9am–2pm) occupies the beautiful old central post office. The exhibits trace city history from ancient Maya times through the henequen boom. There’s also a gallery of local contemporary art in the building.

For crafts, before buying anything, head for the Casa de Artesanías (Tues–Sat 9am–8pm, Sun 9am–1.30pm), in the Casa de la Cultura on Calle 63 two blocks west of the plaza. Run by a government-sponsored organization, the shop sells consistently high-quality crafts, including delicate silver filigree jewellery. One of the most popular souvenirs of Mexico is a hammock and Mérida is probably the best place in the country to buy one. If you want something you can realistically sleep in, comfort is measured by the tightness of the weave and the breadth. Cotton threads (hilos de algodón) are more comfortable and better hold their shape, but nylon is easier to wash. Other good buys include clothing, in particular men’s guayabera shirts, which both Cubans and meridanos claim to have invented; Panama hats, known here as jipis; and huipiles, which vary wildly in quality, from factory-made, machine-stitched junk to hand-embroidered, homespun cloth. Mérida’s distinctive trova music is available in many gift shops on CD; it’s especially cheap at the weekly serenade on Parque Santa Lucía, where vendors sell remastered classics or newer songs in the same vein. You can also try the gift shop at the Museo de la Canción Yucateca.

Good restaurants are plentiful in the centre of Mérida, though the best are open only for lunch. At dinner, many restaurants are a bit cater largely to foreigners; locals tend to frequent the snack stalls on Plaza Santa Ana (Calle 60 at Calle 47) and Parque de Santiago (Calle 59 between calles 70 and 72) for panuchos, salbutes and sopa de lima. There are also sidewalk cafés on the Parque Hidalgo, along Calle 60 between calles 61 and 59. Juice bars notably Jugos, on the southwest corner of the plaza serve all the regular juices, as well as home-made root beer, and La Parroquia (Calle 62 between calles 65 and 67) is a lechería, serving cinnamon-laced chocolate milk, fruit plates and yogurt. The bakery, at the corner of calles 62 and 63, also makes a good breakfast. In addition to all the free entertainment, there are mariachi nights in hotel bars and salsa dancing in nightclubs. On Fridays, the Ballet Folklórico de la Universidad de Yucatán, presents a colourful performance of traditional Mexican and Maya ceremonies at the Centro Cultural Universitario, Calle 60 at Calle 57 (9pm). Also check the schedule at Teatro Peón Contreras, which hosts some excellent musicians, and tickets are usually very affordable; the symphony orchestra plays alternating Fridays and Sundays October–April. Apart from hard-drinking cantinas (and there are plenty of these in the city, including a couple on Calle 62, just south of the plaza), many of Mérida’s bars double as restaurants, with relatively early closing times to match.

Mérida is laid out on a simple grid: like all Yucatán towns, even numbered streets run north–south and odd from east to west, with the central Plaza Grande bounded by calles 60, 61, 62 and 63. Mérida has two main bus stations, both on the southwest side of town. The Terminal CAME, reserved for express and firstclass services from ADO, ADO GL and ADO Platino, is on Calle 70 between calles 69 and 71. You’ll arrive here if you’re coming directly from Cancún, Campeche or Chichén Itzá. The Terminal de Segunda Clase, across the street on Calle 69 between calles 68 and 70, deals with ATS, Mayab, Sur and some Oriente buses. The latter station has luggage-storage service. Some deluxe buses from Cancún arrive at the Fiesta Americana hotel, north of the centre off Paseo de Montejo at Colón. City buses don’t go all the way from the bus stations to the Plaza Mayor, take a taxi or it’s a twenty-minute walk. Mérida’s Manuel Crecencio Rejón airport is 7km southwest of the centre. To get downtown, buy a ticket for a taxi at the transport desk outside. You could also take bus #79 (“Aviación”), which goes to the Parque San Juan, but the stop is a very long walk from the terminal, and it runs infrequently. Mérida’s tourism bureau gives a free walking tour Mon–Sat at 9.30am; reserve at the office in the Palacio de Gobierno. Horse-drawn carriages (calesas) a one-hour trip around the centre and up Paseo de Montejo. Two bus tours go further afield than you’d walk. As the biggest travel hub in the Yucatán, Mérida has a profusion of bus stations, each theoretically dedicated to certain bus companies and regions. The fastest long-distance services ADO, semi-deluxe ADO GL or deluxe Platino go from the Terminal CAME and, mostly for Cancún, the Fiesta Americana terminal off Paseo de Montejo. You might be able to find a comparably fast and cheaper trip at the Terminal de Segunda Clase, across the street from the CAME; also come here if you want a bus to any town between Mérida and Campeche, or a town on the Ruta Puuc. Buses at the Noreste terminal, on Calle 67 at Calle 50, serve coastal towns east and west of Progreso (such as Chelem, Dzilam de Bravo and San Felipe) and some points on the Ruta de Conventos southeast of Mérida (such as Mayapán). For Dzibilchaltún and Progreso, go to the AutoProgreso station on Calle 62 between calles 65 and 67. AutoCentro, Calle 65 at Calle 48, specializes in Izamal, and provides the only service to the ruins of Aké. Additionally, colectivos often provide more frequent service to destinations an hour or two outside the city, and to smaller villages. These, as well as small buses to Dzibilchaltún, Oxkutzcab and Ticul, congregate on Parque San Juan (Calle 62 at Calle 69). For Progreso, colectivos leave from the east side of Calle 60 between calles 65 and 67. Flights depart from Lic. Manuel Crecencio Rejón airport for Mexico City, Cancún and Villahermosa, as well as Houston; to get to the airport, catch bus #79 (“Aviación”) from Parque San Juan or a taxi from the centre. The Ruta Puuc bus: Infrequent buses make the ruins on the Ruta Puuc difficult to visit without a car, but Autotransportes del Sur (ATS) offers a day-trip service for tourists that’s budget-friendly , if a bit rushed. The bus leaves at 8am every day from the Terminal de Segunda Clase, visiting Uxmal, Sayil, Kabáh and Xlapak. To go to Uxmal only. You get just long enough at each site to form a general impression, and there’s no guide or lunch included in the price.