We are considering visiting Morelia in January or February of 2005. Would this be a good time to visit? We can be somewhat flexible with our schedule and are also wondering if New Year's Eve would be a good time to be there. We are planning to be in Morelia for three full days and are looking for advice on restaurants, activities, and weather. We plan to stay at Villa Montana. We are frequent travelers, but this is our first visit to central Mexico. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!

We really enjoyed Morelia. I think it was late February when we visited. We easily found enough to do to fill 4 or 5 days. We visited Santa Clara del Cobre and bought copper pieces, also visited Patzcuaro. I can't recall the names of the restaurants, but I was quite impressed by the food in Morelia. Some of the retsaurants were lovely. We also spent a day going to see the monarch butterflies and that was defiitely a highpoint of the trip. It was generally cool in the mornings, but warmed up considerably during the day.

I was in Morelia this past February - , beautiful city, perfect weather (bring a light jacket as it does get chilly at night), great food. I had dinner at the Villa Montana - incredible view of the city. Do try and have a meal at Hotel Juaninos - great food, jaw dropping view of the cathedral

http://www.hoteljuaninos.com.mx

The monarch butterflies was great. I used this company - Luis Miguel was very informative.

http://www.mmg.com.mx/

Morelia is a jewel.

Morelia is beautiful and the nearby towns are also.
I have stayed at the Villa Montana in December and I never will again! It is the prettiest hotel in Morelia but it is very rustic. There's no heating and it gets pretty chilly in December. They do have fireplaces but the room never gets comfortable enough. There are lots of hotel in town, Holiday Inn is popular and has a great location. Lots of kids but it's warm. Do go to the Villa Montana to eat or have a drink during the day, when it's warm!
Don't miss the town of Patzcuaro. My mother lives in Morelia, and I lived there for several years as a kid and go back frequently. I think it is one of the prettiest cities in Mexico. There is a hotel right in downtown overlooking the plaza around the cathedra. It has a bar at the top: great to have a drink and observe the live of downtown from the top.
Manenira

January or February would be a lovely time to visit. Midday will be warm and sunny but I'd go a step further than Mark and say be prepared temperatures bordering on cold in the evenings. In Mexico City winters, which are very similar to Morelia's, it gets down into the 40s at night and I wear a leather jacket when going out in the evening and on my way to work in the morning.

Having no heat other than a fireplace is very common in high-altitude parts of Mexico, even in very well-to-do homes. I no longer think of it as rustic, just traditional.

I stayed at Villa Montana in the summer, it was nice and the restaurant was very good. The big fireplaces are romantic but I would find it very chilly at night in the winter with no heat. If it matters to you, check if they have heat other than the fireplace, I don't remember.

Consider a daytrip to Paricutin, which is just north of Uruapan. You can walk or ride horses to the ruins of the town of Paricutin, which was destroyed by a volcano in the 1940s-50s. There isn't much left other than the walls of the church, and it was really interesting to see the lava field and be able to climb up around it. It was about 90 minutes to drive each way from Morelia, plus another 30 minutes or so one way on the horse. You can also go all the way to the volcano, but I understand that is a 12-14 hour round trip.