Things to do
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Casa Borda
Facing Santa Prisca across the plaza, the mansion of the silver miner who paid for the church is now a cultural centre. From the square it looks two storeys tall, but the back drops several floors down the hillside. Rooms hold changing exhibitions and a small theatre. Entry is usually free, and the rear windows give a view over the lower town.
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Cristo de Taxco
A white statue of Christ with outstretched arms stands on the Atachi hill above the town. The terrace below it looks over the full sweep of white walls and tiled roofs to the towers of Santa Prisca, a view best at dusk when the lights come on. Taxis climb the steep road in minutes; walking up takes longer and is a hard climb.
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Grutas de Cacahuamilpa
Vast chambers, some taller than a ten storey building, open one after another along a lit path inside this national park cave north of Taxco. Guides lead groups through halls of stalactites and stalagmites named for their shapes. The walk is on a paved track and takes about two hours. Taxco is the nearest base, and tours run in groups with a guide.
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Museo de Arte Virreinal
Alexander von Humboldt stayed one night in 1803 in this house with a Moorish carved stone facade, now known as the Casa Humboldt. Its rooms display religious art, vestments and objects from the church of Santa Prisca. The museum is a short walk downhill from the plaza. Ticketed, and closed on Mondays.
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Museo Guillermo Spratling
William Spratling, the American designer who revived silversmithing here in the late 1920s, left his collection of pre-Hispanic figures and jade to the town. Three floors behind Santa Prisca show the pieces, with a strong run of Olmec and Aztec ceramics. The rooms are compact and labelled in Spanish. Closed on Mondays.
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Santa Prisca
Pink stone towers rise over the Plaza Borda from the church paid for by the silver miner José de la Borda in the mid eighteenth century. Inside, gilded Churrigueresque altarpieces fill the nave from floor to vault, and the sacristy holds paintings by Miguel Cabrera. Tiled domes catch the sun from the hillside streets. Free to enter, with quiet expected during mass.
