Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
You'll find Sayulita's church at the main plaza, along with restaurants, taco stalls, and other eateries. Mass is held daily, and while small it does have some charm.
37 Best Sights in Mexico
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Parroquia de San Jacinto
With its ancient dome and roof line rising above the shops that flank the west edge of Plaza San Jacinto, this church built by Dominican friars during the 16th and 17th centuries is best viewed from its gracious courtyard. From the beautiful gardens, you can take in the view of the church's distinctive facade of volcanic stone and chipped and faded salmon-pink stucco. It's a peaceful spot to relax and catch your breath after shopping around San Ángel, and the interior—with its ornate Spanish Rococo–style retablo behind the altar—is stunning.
Parroquia de San Juan Bautista
One of the earliest churches built in New Spain, this huge and striking church dates to 1527, although construction wasn't completed until 1550, and it's been rebuilt and extensively remodeled at various times (its spire had to be repaired after it was badly damaged in the city's 2017 earthquake). The interior is quite spectacular, with priceless artwork and a gorgeous vaulted ceiling. Next door, the cloister of the former convent is a peaceful spot to relax and reflect.
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Parroquia San Sebastián Mártir
Built in the mid-1500s and containing a remarkably ornate, 18th-century altarpiece, this small oft-photographed church with high, timber-beam ceilings anchors a small plaza in a quiet section of the charmingly historic Chimalistac neighborhood. More intimate than many of the city's noteworthy places of worship, the church is unusual for having a sanctuary that's much wider than it is deep.
Templo de San Blas
Templo de San Blas, called La Iglesia Vieja (“the old church”) by residents, is on the town's busy plaza. It's rarely open these days, but you can admire its diminutive beauty and look for the words to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Bells of San Blas" inscribed on a brass plaque outside. (The long-gone bells were actually at the church dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, on Cerro de San Basilio.)
Templo de San Francisco
On the site of Mexico's first convent (1524), this church has served as a barracks, a hotel, a circus, a theater, and a Methodist temple. The main sanctuary's elaborate baroque facade is set past an iron gate and down a pretty flight of steps from street level. Inside, the Templo is one of the best places in Centro to get a sense of the seismic shifts that continue to unsettle Mexico City. Stand at the back of the nave and note the chandeliers, which appear frozen mid-swing: an effect of gravity combined with the incline of the aisle, which has sunken unevenly over the centuries. The church next door, in a French neo-Gothic style, was added later.
Templo Expiatorio
The striking neo-Gothic Church of Atonement is Guadalajara's most breathtaking church. Modeled after Italy's Orvieto Cathedral, it has phenomenal stained-glass windows—observe the rose window above the choir and pipe organ.
