Morelia with its broad streets lined with seventeenth-century mansions and outdoor cafés sheltered by arcaded plazas, you might easily be in Salamanca or Valladolid. Indeed, the city’s name was Valladolid until 1828, when it was changed to honour local-born Independence hero José María Morelos. Morelia has always been a city of Spaniards. It was one of the first they founded after the Conquest two Franciscan friars, Juan de San Miguel and Antonio de Lisboa, settled here among the native inhabitants in 1530 and first laid claim to the city. Ten years later, they were visited by the first viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendóza, who was so taken by the site that he ordered a town to be built, naming it after his birthplace and sending fifty Spanish families to settle it. From the beginning, there was fierce rivalry between the colonists and the older culture’s town of Pátzcuaro. During the lifetime of Vasco de Quiroga, Pátzcuaro had the upper hand, but later the bishopric was moved here, a university founded, and by the end of the sixteenth century there was no doubt that Valladolid was predominant. Though there are specific things to look for and to visit in present-day Morelia, the city as a whole outweighs them: it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991 and city ordinances decree that all new construction must perfectly match the old, such that it preserves a remarkable unity of style. Nearly everything is built of the same faintly pinkish-grey stone (trachyte), which, being soft, is not only easily carved and embellished but weathers quickly, giving even relatively recent constructions a battered, ancient look. Best of all are the plazas dotted with little cafés where you can while away an hour or two.

Everything you’re likely to want to see is within easy walking distance of the Plaza de Armas, the heart of the colonial centre. Avenida Francisco Madero, which runs along the north side of Plaza de Armas and the cathedral, is very much the main street, with most of the important public buildings and major shops strung out along it. At the heart of the city, Morelia’s massive cathedral boasts two soaring towers that are said to be the tallest in Mexico. Begun in 1640 in the relatively plain Herrerian style, the towers and dome were not completed for some hundred years, by which time the Baroque had arrived with a vengeance; nevertheless, the parts harmonize remarkably, and for all the cathedral’s size and richness of decoration, perfect proportions prevent it from becoming overpowering. The interior, refitted towards the end of the nineteenth century, after most of its silver ornamentation had been removed to pay for the wars. A few early colonial religious paintings are preserved in the choir and the sacristy. Flanking the cathedral, the Plaza de Armas (or de los Martíres) is the place to sit around and revel in the city’s leisurely pace relax with a coffee and a morning paper (you can buy a few international newspapers from the stands here) in the cafés under its elegant arcaded portales. On the southwestern edge of the plaza, at the corner of Allende and Abasolo, the Museo Michoacano (Tues–Sun 9am–4.30pm) occupies a palatial eighteenth-century mansion. Emperor Maximilian lodged here on his visits to Morelia, and it now houses a collection that reflects the state’s diversity and rich history: the rooms devoted to archeology are, of course, dominated by the Tarascan culture, including pottery and small sculptures from Tzintzuntzán, but also display much earlier objects, notably some obsidian figurines. Out in the patio are two magnificent old carriages, while upstairs the colonial epoch is represented in a large group of religious paintings and sculptures and a collection of old books and manuscripts. A smaller square, the Plaza Melchor Ocampo, flanks the cathedral on the other side. Facing it, the Palacio de Gobierno was formerly a seminary Independence hero Morelos and his nemesis Agustín Iturbide studied here, as did Ocampo, a nineteenth-century liberal supporter of Benito Juárez. It’s of interest now for Alfredo Zalce’s murals adorning the stairway and upper level of the patio: practically the whole of Mexican history, and each of its heroes, is depicted. Immediately east along Madero are several banks that are among the most remarkable examples of active conservation you’ll see anywhere: old mansions that have been refurbished in traditional style, and somehow manage to combine reasonably efficient operation with an ambience that is wholly in keeping with the setting.

One block west of the Plaza de Armas, the Colegio de San Nicolas is part of the University of Michoacán. Founded at Pátzcuaro in 1540 by Vasco de Quiroga, and moved here in 1580, the college is the second oldest in Mexico and hence in all the Americas it now houses administrative offices and various technical faculties. To the side, across Nigromante in what was originally the Jesuit church of La Compañía, is the public library, while next to this is the beautiful Palacio Clavijero, now converted into government offices. Alongside the Palacio, down Gomez Farias, enclosed portales are home to the Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías, groaning with the sweets for which the city is famed, along with stalls selling leather jackets, guitars and other handicrafts, though little of much quality. At the north end of Nigromante, on another charming little plaza the Jardín de las Rosas you’ll come across the Baroque church of Santa Rosa and, beside it, the Conservatorio de las Rosas, a music academy founded in the eighteenth century. From time to time it hosts concerts of classical music the tourist office should have details. Also here, at Guillermo Prieto 176, near the corner of Santiago Tapia, is the Museo del Estado (Mon–Fri 9am–2pm & 4–8pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm). Inside this eighteenth-century former home, the complete furniture and fittings of a traditional farmacia have been reconstructed, after which you move, somewhat incongruously, to the prehistory and archeology collections. This is mostly minor stuff, though there are some intriguing ceramic figurines and some fine, unusual Tarascan jewellery, including gold and turquoise pieces, and necklaces strung with tiny crystal skulls. Upstairs, there’s one room of colonial history and various ethnological exhibits illustrating traditional local dress and lifestyles a butterfly fishing net from Pátzcuaro plus displays on copper working and guitar manufacture. East of here, or north from the cathedral on Juárez, is the Museo de Arte Colonial (Mon–Fri 9am–8pm, Sat & Sun 9am–7pm). Its collection of colonial art is almost entirely regional, and not of great interest, though there is an expansive display of rather gory crucifixes. Of greater interest on the north side of the plaza, entered from Morelos, the beautiful old Convento del Carmen now houses the Casa de la Cultura (daily 10am–8pm). It’s an enormous complex, worth exploring in its own right, with a theatre, café, space for temporary exhibitions and classes scattered around the former monastic buildings.

Two blocks southeast of the cathedral, on Morelos Sur, the Museo Casa de Morelos (daily 9am–7pm) is the relatively modest eighteenthcentury house in which Independence hero José María Morelos y Pavón lived from 1801. It’s now a museum devoted to his life and the War of Independence. Nearby, at the corner of Corregidora (the continuation of Alzate) and García Obeso, you can see the house where the hero was born, the Casa Natal de Morelos (Mon–Fri 9am–8pm, Sat & Sun 9am–7pm), which now houses a library and a few desultory domestic objects. This in turn is virtually next door to the church of San Agustín, from where pedestrianized Hidalgo runs up one block to the Plaza de Armas. Walk a couple of blocks in the other direction or take Valladolid directly from the Plaza Ocampo to find Plaza Valladolid and the church of San Francisco. Its former monastery, next door, has been turned into the Casa de las Artesanías (Mon–Sat 9am–8pm, Sun 9am–3.30pm), possibly the most comprehensive collection of Michoacán’s crafts anywhere, almost all of which are for sale. One of the most attractive parts of town to while away a few hours lies about fifteen minutes’ walk east along Madero from the cathedral. Wander past the Baroque facade of the Templo de las Monjas and the adjacent Palacio Federal to reach tiny Plaza Villalongin, a small plaza through the middle of which runs the old aqueduct. Built on a winding course between 1785 and 1789, its 253 arches brought water into the city from springs in the nearby hills. Several roads meet here at the Fuente Las Tarascas, which features three bare-breasted Tarascan women holding up a vast basket of fruit. Eastbound roads split three ways here. Madero bears slightly left and, just past the aqueduct, take a peek down the Callejón de Romance (Romance Lane), a pretty bougainvillea-draped alley of nineteenth-century homes running down to a couple of fountains. The second of the three roads is La Calzada Fray Antonio de San Miguel (named for the bishop who built the aqueduct), a broad and shady pedestrianized walkway that leads down to the wildly overdecorated Santuario de Guadalupe, where market stalls, selling above all the sticky local dulces, set up at weekends and during fiestas. The last of the three roads, Avenida Acueducto, follows the aqueduct and, 300m along, passes the small Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Tues–Fri 10am–8pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm), featuring a variety of Latin American work. Behind it is Bosque Cuauhtémoc, in which there are some beautifully laid-out flower displays.

Each winter more than 150 million monarch butterflies migrate from the northeastern US and Canada to the Oyamel fir forests in the lush mountains of Michoacán in order to reproduce. It’s an amazing sight any time, but especially in January and February when numbers peak: whole trees are smothered in monarchs, branches sagging under the weight. In the cool of the morning, they dry their wings, turning the entire landscape a rich, velvety orange, while later in the day they take to the air, millions of fluttering butterflies making more noise than you’d ever think possible. As the afternoon humidity forces them to the ground, they form a thick carpet of blazing colour. The best place to see them is in the Santuario de la Mariposa Monarca (middle weekend in Nov to last weekend in March daily 9am–4pm), just outside the village of El Rosario, about 120km east of Morelia. It is best to go early in the morning, when the butterflies are just waking up and before they fly off into the surrounding woodlands. Guides, whose services are included in the entry fee, show you around the sanctuary and give a short explanation of the butterflies’ lifecycle and breeding habits. The walk to the best of the monarch-laden trees is about 2km, mostly uphill at an altitude of almost 3000 metres. Visiting the monarchs is possible on day trips from Morelia and Mexico City, but it is more satisfying to stay locally (probably in Angangueo) and visit at a more leisurely pace. During the season there are direct buses to El Rosario from Mexico City, but otherwise getting there by public transport generally involves changing buses in Zitácuaro. From Zitácuaro, buses run to Ocampo (every 15min; 30min) and continue to Angangueo (a further 20min). From Ocampo there is a minibus along a 10km cobbled road to El Rosario (every 15min; 30min). Those with a car can drive direct to El Rosario from Ocampo. If you are staying in Angangueo you could conceivably walk back downhill in a couple of hours. The sheer size of the congregation of monarch butterflies in the hills of Michoacán is astonishing, also impressive as their 4500-kilometre migration. In the fall, when the weather starts to turn cold in the Great Lakes region of the US and Canada, the butterflies head south, taking just four to five weeks to make it to Michoacán. Here, in an area of less than 150 square kilometres, they find the unique microclimate a perfect place to spend the winter. The cool temperatures allow them to conserve energy, the trees provide shelter from wind and precipitation and the fog-laden air prevents them from drying out. Monarchs typically have a life cycle of around two to five weeks, but when they fly south they go into a phase known as “reproductive diapause”. The same butterflies remain in Michoacán all winter, then breed in spring in time for their caterpillars to dine on the newly emergent milkweed plants their only food source before returning to the US and Canada. Around ten percent of all migrating monarchs get eaten by black-headed grosbeaks and black-backed orioles, but that offers no danger to species survival. The real threat is loss of this crucial mountain habitat.

Most people approaching the butterfly sanctuary change buses at Zitácuaro, a small town prettily scattered over low hills at around 1900 metres. Being a little warmer than Angangueo makes it a potential base for visiting El Rosario. There are regular combis from the bus station into town, or you can walk (about 1km), turning right as you leave the bus station, then left down Moctezuma till you reach the northern end of Revolución. The nearest substantial village to the El Rosario sanctuary is Ocampo, 20km north of Zitácuaro. It has good connections to El Rosario, most butterfly visitors stay at Angangueo, 9km further on, a former mining town wedged into a valley at almost 2600m: it can be cool in the evenings. The name is Tarascan for “entrance to the cave”, presumably an early reference to its mineral extraction potential. The mines have now closed, but with its terracottatiled roofs, winding streets and houses stacked up the hillside it is an attractive enough place and offers the best selection of hotels and restaurants around. Most things happen on Morelos, which becomes Nacional at the point where the minor Matamoros heads off up to the butterfly sanctuary. Angangueo celebrates the Día de la Santa Cruz (May 3) with traditional dances.

Morelia has a cuisine from the combination of the old Purepecha kitchen with European cuisine. Some of the snacks of this city are the placero chicken, chicken served with potatoes, carrots and enchiladas drenched in a thick chilli sauce; corundas, triangular green tamales wrapped in corn husks and uchepos, tender corn tamales topped with cream or served as an accompaniment to stews. Other delights include churipo, a broth made with red, beef and vegetable chili; the atapakua, a stew whose basic ingredients are corn and chile and served with meat and cheese; the famous carnitas, the michi broth, made with tuna fish and sour; the morisqueta, a dish of rice, beans and roast pork and aporreadillo, strips of dried meat fried with egg and chili. Among the desserts are, chongos Zamorano, a kind of sweet curd milk and fruit ates. They are also donuts, bread cream, canned fruits, chocolate metate, soft snows of pasta, a base of vanilla, egg, milk and sugar, and of course the morelianas known type wafer wafers with burnt sugar and milk. The various ingredients such as atole, blackberry, tamarind, bell pepper and herbs for flavor, we should also mention the gaspachos consisting of chopped fruit and prepared with orange juice, lemon, cheese and onion. Among the drinks is the charanda rum. Also mentioning the already recognized Mezcal which is produced in neighboring municipalities to Morelia. Morelia is one of the most important cultural centers of the country by the large number of art it developed, among which are music festivals (music, organ, guitar) and cinema, various exhibitions (painting, art), theater events, etc. It is also one of the cities with the highest architectural heritage, why was declared in 1991 as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Also, the city was the birthplace of prominent figures of the Independence of Mexico and Jose Maria Morelos, Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, Agustin de Iturbide, Mariano Michelena, was also place of residence and academic and intellectual formation of Miguel Hidalgo. Moreover, the number of higher education institutions counts (both public and private), also happens to be one of the main student cities. In this beautiful city education has become one of the main economic activities in the region. From 2003 holds the International Film Festival of Morelia, which has put this city in the spotlight worldwide. Every year in October, directors such as Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Guillermo del Toro Almovódar and give lectures and exhibit their latest creations to please connoisseurs of cinema audiences. Another festival of great tradition is the Gastronomic Festival in Boca Morelia, where you can taste delicious traditional dishes, wines and attend conferences and workshops. In addition to its festivals, Morelia is known for its museums, galleries and lively cafés. This is a city of contrasts: here the tradition is lived to the fullest, but also breathes modernity. Like any big city, Morelia has stadiums, convention centers, restaurants and upscale hotels. If you want to surround yourself by natural wonders, this destination offers many options. A 45 km away is Lake Patzcuaro, the native cultures identified as the border between life and death. The landscape surrounding the lake, where volcanoes are, is truly magical.