Things to do
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Catedral de Campeche
Two tall towers of pale stone face Parque Principal, the central square of the walled city, where the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception has stood since colonial times. The interior is plain and white. The square in front fills on weekend evenings with families, music and snack stalls.
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Centro histórico
A grid of single-storey colonial houses, painted in strong colours, fills the old walled town between the two surviving gates. Calle 59 is pedestrian at night, with tables set out in the street. The seafront malecón runs for several kilometres just outside the wall, and at sunset joggers, cyclists and families walk it. The whole walled town is walkable, so leave the car at the hotel.
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Edzná
The five-storey Edificio de los Cinco Pisos rises over a great plaza here, each level holding rooms, with a temple on top. A network of canals once drained the valley around the city, and their lines are still visible from the main platform. Fifty kilometres southeast of Campeche, reached by car or tour. Little shade covers the plazas, so carry water from town.
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Baluarte de la Soledad
Beside the old Sea Gate, this bastion of the city wall houses the Museo de Arquitectura Maya, a set of vaulted rooms lined with carved stelae from sites across the state. Parque Principal and the cathedral lie a few blocks inland. Small, ticketed and closed on Mondays.
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Fuerte de San José el Alto
North of the centre on a hilltop, a small fort with a moat and drawbridge holds the Museo de Arqueología Subacuática. Its collection comes from shipwrecks, cenotes and flooded caves of the peninsula: anchors, cannon, ceramics and bones. The roof gives a wide view back over the city and the harbour. Closed on Mondays; a taxi is the simple way up.
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Fuerte de San Miguel
On the hill of Bellavista above the southern shore, this moated pentagonal fort holds the Museo Arqueológico de Campeche. The jade funerary masks of the lords of Calakmul and clay figurines from the island of Jaina are the core of the collection, and the cannon on the roof look over the Gulf. Open Tuesday to Sunday; a taxi from the centre is the easy way up.
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Hacienda Uayamón
Half an hour inland from the city, this former henequen and cattle estate is now a hotel built into its own ruins. Roofless stone walls and columns of the old machine house frame the pool, and the guest casitas stand in the grounds among trees. The chapel and main house have been restored. No bus serves the village, so arrive by car or arrange a transfer with the hotel.
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Puerta de Tierra
The Land Gate is the eastern end of the walled city, with the longest surviving section of wall running from it, walkable along the top. Inside, a small exhibition covers the fortifications. The gate lies a short walk from Parque Principal, along the inside of the wall.
