Puebla with glorious views of the snowy heights of Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl along the way. Puebla is the republic’s fifth largest city (after Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana). The centre has a remarkable concentration of sights a fabulous cathedral, a “hidden” convent, museums and colonial mansions, while the mountainous surrounding country is in places startlingly beautiful. Nevertheless, Puebla tempt you into staying particularly long, you can see the best of the city and nearby Cholula. The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1531, preferring it to the ancient sites of Cholula and Tlaxcala possibly because the memories of indigenous power there remained too strong. It rapidly assumed great importance as a staging point on the journey from the capital to the port at Veracruz and for the shipment of goods from Spain’s Far Eastern colonies, which were delivered to Acapulco and transported across Mexico from there. Wealth was brought, too, by the reputation of Puebla’s ceramics, particularly its tiles. This industry still very much in evidence was helped by an abundance of good clays in the region, and by settlers from Talavera in Spain, who brought traditional ceramic skills with them. The city did well out of colonial rule, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it took the wrong side in the War of Independence. As a result, it preserves a reputation for conservatism and traditional values, not dispelled even by the fact that the start of the Revolution is generally dated from the assassination of Aquiles Serdán in his Puebla home.

Puebla’s zócalo is the centre of the numbering system for the ancient grid of streets (lowest numbers are nearest to the centre) and home to the great looming cathedral (daily 10.30am–12.30pm & 4–6pm), the second largest in the republic. Built between 1562 and the middle of the following century, the exterior is grey, but the inside improves considerably, with amazing ornamentation in onyx, marble and gilt and a wonderful altar designed by Manuel Tolsá in 1797. The cathedral, and particularly the tower, was partly funded by Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, an illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman who grew up with his poor mother but inherited his father’s fortune. Behind the cathedral, at 5 Oriente 5, lies the old Archbishop’s Palace, which was converted to a library in the seventeenth century (the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, reputed to be the oldest library in the Americas), and houses the original collection of ancient books and manuscripts on the upper floor. Downstairs there’s the Casa de la Cultura (Mon–Sat 8am–9pm, Sun 8am–6pm), which hosts regular exhibitions of local arts and crafts.

The undoubted star in Puebla’s museum firmament is the modern Museo Amparo, 2 Sur 708 at 9 Oriente (daily except Tues 10am–6pm), which concentrates on art from pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica, with additional material from the colonial and more recent eras. Set in a pair of modernized colonial buildings with peaceful courtyards and piped classical music, the collection is the legacy of philanthropist Manuel Espinosa Iglesias, who set up the Amparo Foundation in honour of his wife. The historical significance of the pieces isn’t glossed over, but the focus is firmly on aesthetics, with well-presented cases displaying artefacts to their best advantage. To set the tone, the entrance features an impressive glass replica of a tzompantli skull-wall with alternating Olmec and Totonac heads in each of the glass blocks. A room decorated with reproduction cave paintings from Altamira in Spain, Arnhemland in Australia, Utah, Norway and Baja California puts Mexico’s cultural development into some sort of context before you launch into the main collection. Though far smaller than that in Mexico City’s anthropology museum, this is well chosen and a good deal more manageable. It is particularly strong on the Olmecs, a people who greatly influenced life around Puebla and left behind some strikingly beautiful pieces such as the half-metre-wide stone head on display here. Elsewhere notice the exquisite Colima jaguar, the beautiful carved conch shell from the Gulf coast and the sculpture of a kneeling woman from Nayarit with her distinctive face and body painting. The last section of the museum is devoted to colonial painting and rooms of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century furnishings. Everything in the museum is thoroughly documented at strategically located computer consoles. Free guided tours in English and Spanish take place at noon on Sunday.

Head north from the zócalo along 5 de Mayo and you’ll reach the church of Santo Domingo at the corner of 4 Poniente. The chapel here, the Capilla del Rosario, is, even in comparison to the cathedral, a quite unbelievably lavish orgy of gold leaf and Baroque excess; a constant hushed, shuffling stream of devotees light candles and pray to the image of the Virgin. Three doors down, the Museo José Luis Bello y Zetina, 5 de Mayo 409 (Tues–Sun 10am–4pm), displays the paintings and furniture of the wealthy Bello family, who lived here during the nineteenth century you’ll see everything from seventeenth-century Flemish masters to a Napoleonic bedroom suite. It somehow seems too comfortless to be a home yet not formal enough for a museum, though the enthusiasm of your personal guide. Nearby, a passage leads to the glass and iron Mercado Victoria, at the corner of 5 de Mayo and 6 Oriente, once Puebla’s main market but now a rather sanitized shopping centre. East of the market, candy stores along 6 Oriente sell camotes, gooey fingers of sweet potato and sugar flavoured with various fruits a regional speciality. Further along the street, the devotional Museo Regional de la Revolución Mexicana, 6 Oriente 206 (Tues–Sun 10am–4.30pm), records the struggles for Liberalism of the Serdán family against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. The assassination of Aquiles Serdán in this house was one of the most important steps in the fall of Díaz: the date of Serdán’s death, November 18, 1910, is in the absence of any firmer indicators generally recognized as marking the start of the Revolution. The bullet holes in the house have been lovingly preserved, and a huge smashed mirror still hangs on the wall where it appears in contemporary photos of the carnage. Revolution buffs will also enjoy the biographies of key figures in the struggle, photos of the ragtag bands of wide-hatted revolutionaries with their bandoleers and the trap door in the floor under which Serdán spent several fruitless hours trying to avoid his eventual end. Nine blocks north of the zócalo you’ll find the city’s remarkable convent, now operating as the Museo Religioso Santa Mónica, at 18 Poniente 103 (Tues–Sun 9am–6pm). Here, from the suppression of the church in 1857 until their discovery in 1934, several generations of nuns lived hidden from the public gaze behind a smokescreen of secret doors and concealed passages. Just how secret they were is a matter of some debate many claim that the authorities simply turned a blind eye and certainly several lay families were actively supportive, providing supplies and new recruits. But it makes a good story, embellished by the conversion of the building into a museum that preserves the secret entrances along with many religious artworks and a beautiful seventeenth-century cloister. Several simple cells are also in evidence, and from the hidden chapel you can look down through a screen at the still-operating church next door. In the same general direction, on the corner of 3 Norte, lies the Ex-Convento de Santa Rosa, 3 Norte 1203 (Tues–Sun 10am–5pm), whose main claim to fame is that the great mole poblano was invented here in its wonderful yellow-tiled kitchens. The kitchens are the highlight of a guided tour that includes rooms full of crafts from around the state of Puebla.

The rest of the town’s attractions are concentrated mostly to the east and northeast of the zócalo. First stop is the Museo Casa de Alfeñique, at the corner of 4 Oriente and 6 Norte (Tues–Sun 10am–5pm), located in an elaborate old mansion covered in Puebla tiles. Within, you can see period furnishings, Puebla ceramics, a small archeological section and an excellent display of colonial art. At the end of 4 Oriente lies the Mercado Parian and the Barrio del Artista, traditionally the artists’ quarter, now selling work aimed squarely at the tourist market. The Teatro Principal, nearby, is a fine eighteenth-century theatre, said to be the oldest on the continent, which still hosts occasional performances. Follow 4 Poniente west from the zócalo to reach Taller Uriarte, 4 Poniente 911 (shop open Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–5pm), about the best known of Puebla’s pottery factories. It is a small-scale affair shoehorned into what appears to be just another urban house, but it is well set up for visitors. You can see every stage of the pottery-making process, from forming the plates and bowls to painting the intricate designs in paints whose colours are completely transformed during firing into distinctive blues and yellows. Press on a few blocks further out to the Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles, 11 Norte at 12 Poniente (Tues–Sun 9am–5pm), an open-air collection of Mexican railroad cars arranged around Puebla’s former train station. Pride of place is given to some menacing-looking steam locomotives, including one 285-tonne monster built in 1946, which was so heavy it could only be run on the most robust lines from Mexico City to the US border.

To the northwest of the centre, crowning the Cerro de Guadalupe, the site of numerous nineteenth-century battles and sieges, is the Centro Cívico 5 de Mayo, a collection of museums. Neither of the two forts nor any of the museums here is a match for sights downtown, but they are a decent place to spend a couple of hours away from the fumes and the noise of the centre. Your first stop should be the Fuerte de Loreto (Tues–Sun 9am–5.30pm), where a moat and high walls protect a large empty parade ground and a small church containing the Museo de la No Intervención. This focuses on the events surrounding the 1862 Battle of Puebla, celebrated on Cinco de Mayo, and records 150 years of the defence of the republic through replicated battle scenes. The views of Popo and Ixta from the battlements are some of the best in Puebla. The best of the rest of the sights out here is the modern Museo Regional de Puebla (Tues–Sun 9am–6pm), largely devoted to the state’s archeology and ethnology. There’s some exquisite Olmec jade sculpture and sculptural pieces along with a four-metre-high polychrome statue of San Cristóbal from the seventeenth century and sections of wider relevance, such as a detailed explanation of native migration from east Asia through Alaska. Readers with kids will want to traipse across the road to the Museo Interactivo Imagina (Mon–Fri 9am–1pm & 2–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm), a collection of educational interactive games, or to the adjacent Planetarium, with its IMAX screen, which usually has shows twice a day (Tues–Fri 5pm, Sat 2pm, 3pm & 5pm, Sun 2m, 4pm & 6pm). The highest point on the hill is occupied by the Fuerte de Guadalupe (Tues– Sun 9am–5.30pm), the meagre but well-tended remains of an 1862 fort really just a few arches and roofless rooms.

Puebla's gastronomy, product mix that became the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, is one of the most representative of Mexico. Many myths are associated with some of the most famous dishes of the regional cuisine of the state, which is usually identified in Mexico in connection with two dishes that are considered national dishes: mole poblano, chiles in walnut sauce and mole hips . On the mole, the legend says it was creating Sister Andrea de la Asuncion, the convent of Santa Rosa in the city of Puebla. This nun would have created the dish on the occasion of the visit of the bishop to his congregation. In the legend, the name of the dish is associated with an expression of admiration from a fellow Andrea de la Asunción to see it grinding the ingredients busily, 79 although it is known that the word mole is home náhuatl80 and mixed peppers dried or fresh in the preparation of sauces was common practice in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cuisines. To this base of chiles, one of the basic ingredients of Mesoamerican cuisine, spices and oils arrived with the Spaniards, who gave rise to contemporary moles were added, the preparation is by no means unique to Puebla, but the mole more known is precisely the poblano. Another traditional and endemic state of Puebla dishes is undoubtedly the chiles in walnut sauce. The ingredients used for the preparation of this dish are varied, besides being characteristic of the region is to fill in a poblano chile with beef or pork pre-cooked with raisins, almonds, apple and pear panochera (the name He gives a type of pear in the region); and filling it weathers in egg until stiff and white flour; bathing in walnut sauce, a sauce made with milk, walnuts, brandy and goat cheese, garnished with grains of Granada and parsley leaves. The legend associated with the creation of this dish with a nun from the convent of Santa Monica, also in the city of Puebla. The dish would have been made in honor of Agustin de Iturbide, at that time, Emperor of Mexico. However, the walnut sauce recipe appears in the eighteenth century, at least a century before independence from Mexico, walnut sauce and chili thirty years not listed in these recipes until the mid-nineteenth century, after the abolition of the First Empire Mexicano.81 Chile in walnut sauce prepared. The mole of hips is a traditional dish of goat meat in the region of Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico. Is considered one of the most important dishes of the region, due to the long aging and care in the preparation of the animal-of which all the flesh and the Festival of Slaughter accompanying takes advantage and starts the slaughter of farm animals for food preparation and for subsequent preservation and curing of meat. In preparing the mass of flesh and bone hips hip, salt-based seasonings and chili, with a broth of boiled red meat with hips and wild beans are used. The flavor of the dish is characteristic of meat goats that are taken during a journey than a year grazing through the southern regions of the state of Puebla and northern Oaxaca, feeding livestock only with grass in the region and Large amounts of salt avoiding at all costs the animals drink water and stay hydrated only through that that provide vegetables consumed. In practice this type of aging flesh of a strong and distinctive flavor which traditional dishes are prepared is obtained. Beyond these two widely known dishes in Mexico and worldwide, Puebla's cuisine is varied and share with other Mexican cuisines crossbreeding of indigenous elements, Spanish and Asian product of history. Only in the city of Puebla it is possible to find lots of dishes, from appetizers as sloops, cemitas, tortas, tamales of different styles; up haute cuisine, sweets and drinks as individual as the raisin (which is a drink made of liquor raisins which is accompanied by a piece of cheese and a raisin skewered on a stick, one of the Angelópolis). Throughout Puebla, the base of the food is corn, beans and chili, and these three elements combine to produce a lot of dishes, like enfrijoladas, consumed in any locality Puebla. Besides the capital, Puebla kitchen is diversified in each of their regions, which incorporates special features, and ingredients according to the resources available. For example, the mass of Tehuacan hips prepared in honor of the Festival of La Matanza, in the family herds of goats are slaughtered. In the Mixteca, the gastronomic repertoire includes insects like cuetlas and jumiles; biznaga and cacti as pitaya; tropical fruits like black sapote, and the huaxmole.82 huajes base is prepared in the center of the state can be found mixiotes, barbecue and pulque maguey all debtors; there's the great tradition of dairy Chipilo, where the descendants of the Venetians established in the region continue to produce cheese in the style of Italy. Candy In the state of Puebla, a great variety of sweets that stand out for their great color and variety of flavors occurs, most created since the colonial era. In the convents of Santa Monica and Santa Rosa they were developed for the first time the full range of its characteristic sweet taste and quality have become famous in Mexico and in the world as are the pancakes Santa Clara, Puebla yams or sweet potatoes Santa Clara, stuffed lemons coconut jamoncillo, garapiñados peanuts, macaroni, candied fruit, muéganos, pinion burnt milk, etc. The most famous and characteristic sweet the sweet potato poblano which, legend, originated in the convent of Santa Rosa in the seventeenth century, as the nuns received large donations of potatoes. It is said that Bishop Manuel Fernandez de Santa Cruz and Sahagun visit the convent was then that a young woman named Angelina suggested developing a new dish sweet potatoes advantage.