Cuernavaca Information Needed!
 

Hola Fodorites -
Thinking about going to Cuernavaca next January after a week Mexico City. We've never been there and are looking for any suggestions. Are there areas that are better to stay, such as La Condesa or Coyoacan in CDMX. Museums you like? Restaurants? Will probably take the bus from Mexico City. Thanks

I gotta admit, Cuernavaca was probably our least favorite colonial city in all of Mexico. We had booked 2 nights but only stayed 1.and currently, one of the main attractions, Cortez' castle is closed because of repairs due to the earthquake. That will likely change in a year from now. We liked Taxco & Atlixco much better. Even Tepoztlán, but primarily for the mountain scenery.

I've only been once, and that was fifteen years ago. It was primarily a literary pilgrimage for me -- it is the setting of Malcolm Lowry's great novel Under the Volcano. I visited a few sights from the novel and took a day trip to Xochicalco. This is I think the northernmost city of the Maya. It's about a forty minute drive by highway from Cuernavaca. We took a taxi, the round-trip was about $60 and took less than an hour coming back (via the toll highway) and considerably longer getting there on local roads. I highly recommend the trip. Like baldone, however, I was less taken with Cuernavaca. It's a large city of I think over a million.

There are ruins near Cuernavaca that are worth seeing:

https://flic.kr/p/CXYs3a
This museum is worth a visit to see how an ex-pat lived:

https://flic.kr/p/CW4o3D
We stayed in this hotel, a ten minute walk from the center of town:

https://flic.kr/p/Cz47wt
There is a large central market:

https://flic.kr/p/Dwsvig
And Taxco was a day's outing for us:

https://flic.kr/p/DmUcd3

Hey Michael -
Do you remember what the name of the hotel was?

Hotel Antigua Posada

Baldone, I always respect your opinions on Mexico. What didn't you like about Cuernavaca, architecture? too big? We heard it was the garden city so I thought there might be some nice gardens. I did hear the Cortez Castle was closed. We thought Cuernavaca because of it's proximity to CDMX

I don't know if it was any one thing. Traffic, pollution, lack of interesting architecture, vibe, stuff like that. Some places just have 'it', others, not so much. You've probably felt that way about certain places. And for us, it wasn't that it was a big city, some of our favorite places are big cities. Maybe we should give it another shot. We just visited friends in Tepoztlán and we'll probably visit them again sometime. Maybe we'll do a day trip with them.

The Robert Brady Museum in Michael's photo is certainly worth a visit. The ruins pictured above it are particularly interesting. The Aztecs were busy building a newer temple covering an older one when the Spanish arrived. The work stopped, and we are left a snapshot of history.

I got the feeling that much of Cuernavaca's charm is hidden behind the walls of private villas. You might get a taste of it at Las Mananitas. https://lasmananitas.com.mx. You might also visit the Borda Gardens.