Things to do
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Catedral de Zacatecas
Carved pink stone covers the main front in a dense Churrigueresque relief of saints, vines and angels, with Christ and the twelve apostles at its centre. The cathedral stands on Avenida Hidalgo in the middle of the old town, so the carved front is easy to include on any walk through the centre.
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Cerro de la Bufa
A crest of bare rock rises east of the centre, and the terrace below it gives the full view of domes and roofs packed into the ravine. On top stand a chapel to the Virgen del Patrocinio, a museum of the 1914 battle for the city, and equestrian statues of Villa, Ángeles and Natera. A road climbs to the summit from the edge of the old town.
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La Quemada
Stone columns of a great hall, a steep stairway and a tapering pyramid stand on a hillside about 56 kilometres south of Zacatecas, the remains of a fortified city abandoned around the year 900. A site museum at the entrance explains the layout. The climb to the upper terraces is steep and exposed, so carry water; the site is reached by car or a bus towards Villanueva.
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Mina El Edén
Worked from the sixteenth century until the nineteen sixties, this silver mine runs under the hill of El Grillo, and a small train carries visitors into its tunnels. Guides then lead on foot along the galleries, past deep shafts crossed by walkways. Tours run through the day and are ticketed at the lower entrance, and a second exit comes out near the cable car station on El Grillo.
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Museo de Guadalupe
Seven kilometres east in the town of Guadalupe, a Franciscan missionary college now holds a vast collection of colonial painting, with large canvases by Cabrera, Villalpando and Juan Correa lining its cloisters. The Capilla de Nápoles beside the church is a gilded chapel under a single dome. Local buses and taxis run out from Zacatecas, and the museum closes on Mondays.
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Museo Pedro Coronel
Housed in a former Jesuit college beside the church of Santo Domingo, the collection the painter Pedro Coronel gave his home city spans African masks, Egyptian and Greek pieces, Asian art and European prints, with works by Picasso, Miró, Dalí and Goya. His own canvases hang here as well. Entry is ticketed, and the museum closes on Mondays.
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Museo Rafael Coronel
The roofless nave and arches of the old San Francisco convent frame the museum Rafael Coronel made from his own collection. Its core is a hall of Mexican dance masks, thousands of them, hung wall to wall, alongside puppets from the Rosete Aranda company, village pottery and drawings by Diego Rivera. It lies on the north side of the centre, a steady walk uphill, and closes on Wednesdays.
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Quinta Real
Built into the stone ring of the old San Pedro bullring, this hotel wraps its rooms and restaurant around the former arena. The arches of the colonial aqueduct run past outside. It lies on the south edge of the historic centre, a short walk downhill from the cathedral.
