12 Best Sights in San Miguel de Allende and the Heartland, Mexico

In the 16th century, Vasco de Quiroga, the bishop of Michoacán, helped the Purépecha people develop artistic specialties so they could be self-supporting. At this two-story museum and store you can see the work that the Purépechas still produce: copper goods from Santa Clara del Cobre, lacquerware from Uruapan, straw items and pottery from Pátzcuaro, guitars from Paracho, fanciful ceramic devil figures from Ocumicho. Some of these items are showcased on the two main floors around the courtyard of the Museo Michoacana de las Artesanías, and artists demonstrate how they are made.

Morelia's cathedral is a majestic structure built between 1640 and 1744. It's known for its 200-foot baroque towers, which are among Mexico's tallest, and its 4,610-pipe organ.

If you have a sweet tooth, don't miss Morelia's candy market. All sorts of local sweets are for sale, such as ate (a candied fruit) and cajeta (heavenly caramel sauce made from goat's milk). Wooden knickknacks, cheap jewelry, and handcrafted acoustic guitars are among the nondigestible crafts.

What is now a two-story museum was acquired in 1801 by José María Morelos and was home to generations of the independence leader's family until 1934. It exhibits family portraits, various independence-movement artifacts (including a camp bed used by Ignacio Allende), and a fragment of the blindfold Morelos wore at his execution. Display tags are in Spanish only, but interesting information about the independence movement is presented in both English and Spanish.

José María Morelos's birthplace is now a national monument and library, with mostly literature and history books, naive paintings of the rebel, and prints of old Morelia (as well as two murals by Morelian Alfredo Zalce). In the back courtyard, a marker and an eternal flame honor the fallen hero.

While not something to go out of your way to visit, this museum is just a few blocks from the more interesting Museo Casa de Morelos.

On a lovely property a stone's throw from both the aqueduct and the Bosque Cuauhtémoc, this late-19th-century summer home is now Michoacán's principal contemporary-art museum. The permanent collection has work by famed muralist, lithographer, and illustrator Alfredo Zalce, a Pátzcuaro native. Some of Mexico's leading contemporary artists have temporary exhibitions here. Dance, cinema, theater, and music performances are held regularly in the small auditorium.

Across from a small plaza with statues of Bishop Vasco de Quiroga and Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, this history museum is in a stately mansion that was previously home to the wife of Agustín de Iturbide, Mexico's only native-born emperor. Among the 18th-century home's highlights is a complete Morelia pharmacy from 1868. On display are regional archaeological artifacts and exhibits about mining and indigenous culture.

Formerly an 18th-century palace, the museum traces Mexico's history from its pre-Hispanic days through the Cardenista period, which ended in 1940. President Lázaro Cárdenas, a native of Michoacán, was one of Mexico's most popular leaders because he nationalized the oil industry and supported other populist reforms. On the ground floor is an art gallery, plus archaeological artifacts (many intact) from Michoacán. Upstairs is an assortment of colonial objects, including furniture, clothing, household objects, and religious paintings. Displays are labeled in Spanish only.

Notable graduates of this former Tridentine seminary, built in 1770, include independence hero José María Morelos, social reformer Melchor Ocampo, and Mexico's first emperor, Agustín de Iturbide. In the 1960s local artist Alfredo Zalce painted the extensive yet simplistic murals (on the stairway and second floor), which depict dramatic, often bloody scenes from Mexico's history. There's a tourist office here, too.

This is the largest zoo in Mexico, with more than 3,800 wild animals. It also has the largest aviary in Latin America. This is a great place to take the kids, and there's an especially exciting nighttime tour Friday at 7:30; otherwise the zoo closes at 5 pm during the week, or 6 pm on weekends.

During the War of Independence, several rebel priests were brutally murdered on this site, and the plaza, known as Plaza de los Mártires, is named after them. Today sweethearts stroll along the tree-lined walks, friends chat under the silver-domed gazebo, and painters exhibit their work on sunny days.

Tranvía Bus Tours. This group of guides can lead city tours, trolley tours, and also tours to Pátzcuaro, the monarch butterflies, or other Michoacán destinations. 443/166–2642.