As read on Conde Nast Traveler: Best Cities in the World, 2022 Readers Choice Awards, Merida is the #4 best city to visit on your next vacation, but we already knew this so we decided to create The Ultimate Guide on what to do in the beautiful city of Merida.
A vibrant city built over an abandoned Pre-Hispanic settlement, with French-style mansions, abandoned Haciendas, unmissable gastronomy, and beautiful landscapes within and outside the city.
Merida is full of magic for everyone, choose your favorite season to visit, depending on the different activities scheduled all year round.
Let’s get started.
ANCIENT ACCOMMODATIONS
The great thing about Merida as a travel destination on the Yucatan Peninsula is that it is a walkable city with many things to do and sights to see. As an experienced traveler, you must be aware that where you stay during a trip can make or break the whole experience. You can choose from the downtown-vibrant-hotel-experience to the live-like-a-local experience at hostels or Airbnbs, longer-term rentals and even old restored Henequen Haciendas that will immediately take you back in time and allow you to fully immerse yourself in the local experience. You can also visit them as a day trip to enjoy a traditional lunch, or a spa treatment, while others are now museums detailing the history of the henequen golden years.
source: teorema.com.mx
TASTE THE TRADITIONAL GASTRONOMY
Start your day with some homemade Huevos Motuleños, freshly squeezed orange juice, a cup of coffee, and homemade pan dulce, the perfect energetic breakfast to keep you rolling all day around this beautiful City or at least until you find one of the many Cochinita Pibil street stalls located all around Merida’s Downtown or the popular restaurants found at the Restaurants Row at Paseo de Montejo.
Yucatecan Cuisine can be described as the fusion of old-world flavors with local traditional ones, creating the tastiest dishes in Mexican gastronomy.
The Eating With Carmen Food Tour Guides are here to take you on a foodie local adventure throughout Merida’s Downtown most tasty spots, with a spoonful of ancient history and sprinkles of local tips.
source: Eating With Carmen
If after the food tour, you just can’t stop eating, don’t worry, we understand. Luckily Merida has a bunch of food and drinks options all around town.
One of my favorite ways to stroll around town at night it’s the Cantina Hopping Experience. Not only do you get super cheap beer but with every round of drinks you order, a variety of traditional dishes are served as snacks, to keep you drinking, eating, and having a good time.
VISIT HISTORICAL SPOTS
One of Merida’s main avenues is Paseo de Montejo, named after Francisco de Montejo y León, conqueror of Yucatan and founder of the city. Paseo de Montejo is a wide avenue inspired by the elegant French boulevards, with large trees, beautiful old buildings, and emblematic monuments, as well as mansions that once were the residence of wealthy characters in the Yucatan of the 19th century, which nowadays are houses, restaurants, boutique hotels, shops, museums, and bars.
The most scenic stretch of Paseo de Montejo is from El Monumento a Los Montejo near Plaza Santa Ana to the Monumento a la Patria. This section can take about 30 minutes to walk, each way. To beat the tropical humid heat you can walk inside some of the Historical Monuments just as, The Casas Gemelas, or twin houses, a popular attraction due to the amazing architectural design.
One of these twin houses is now Montejo 495 Casa Museo. A museum with more than 20 bedrooms decorated with the original furniture and decoration from the early 20th Century.
The Monumento a la Patria is a must-visit-spot in Paseo Montejo, because of its unique beauty represented by the Colombian sculptor Rómulo Rozo who stone carved important characters and key historical events in this masterpiece. A very instagrammable spot either by day or night.
source: mexicoescultura.com
Merida’s landscape looks like an art exhibit itself with the architectural design found in many of the ancient buildings and mansions, if you are looking to visit more of this, try Casa Amábilis or the House of Legal Cultures, located at 59th street, a French-style mansion designed in 1915 by the Yucatecan architect from the Parisian École Spéciale d’Architecture, Manuel Amábilis.
Perhaps an expert could help you out a little more with all the historic places you really need to visit, head to the Palacio Municipal, the pink building at Plaza Grande, and find the free walking tours offered by the Merida Tourism Office, typically there is one in the morning and one in the late afternoon from Monday to Saturday. Guides are bi- or multi-lingual and please consider tipping your guide after the tour !!
RELAX AT THE PUBLIC PARKS AND PLAZAS
To absorb all the beautiful ambiance that Merida has to offer, visit the Plazas and parks located all throughout Merida. Begin at Plaza Grande, a fantastic square located in the center of the city, with many shops, restaurants, and historic places to visit. Depending on the day of the week, you can enjoy a different traditional event taking place at the main square. For example, Wednesdays at 8 pm are for the typical Mayan Ball game, Pok Ta Pok, in a non-sacrifice version.
The second most popular park in Merida is Parque Santa Lucia, characterized by the “Kissing Chairs”, an architectural mystery found everywhere in Yucatan.
source: asiesmerida.com
Grab a lemon ice cream or refreshing lemon water and chill at sunny Parque Santa Ana or Parque Santiago with their Tuesday-Night local orchestra that attracts local dancers of every age.
TAKE A MUSEUM TOUR
One of my favorite things to do while growing up in Mexico City was going to a different museum every other weekend, there is always something new to learn and admire about our history and other cultures from around the world.
The City of Merida has quite some options for you to wander around hundreds of exhibition rooms to soak a little bit more in Mexico’s ancient history:
source: visitax.eu
- The Mayan World Museum of Mérida houses the largest collection of Mayan art and artifacts in Merida.
- The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán, or MACAY, is a contemporary art museum in the Yucatan Peninsula with 15 temporary exhibition rooms, which rotate exhibits every three months, so check their schedule to see what’s on view during your stay.
- To learn about Yucatan food, and eat it, head to the Museo de la Gastronomía Yucateca MUGY. Located in downtown Merida with a replica of a Mayan village.
- The Palacio de la Música has eight virtual pavilions showcasing the history of music from all over Mexico. There’s one whole room dedicated to the local Yucatan Trova, a type of serenade, as well as a music library, video library, and a concert hall.
ADMIRE AND SHOP FOR TRADITIONAL ARTESANÍAS
Throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, handcrafts (artesanías) of the most diverse materials, designs, and colors are made, which in addition to being useful, add beauty and elegance to our environment.
There is a wide variety of techniques and styles that characterizes Yucatecan handcrafts. Filigree jewelry in gold and silver, tortoiseshell, snail, wood and carved stone artifacts, mud vessels, musical instruments, henequen and cotton fiber fabrics, embroidery, lace applications, openwork, and cross stitch, suits, guayaberas and hammocks, straw and palm hats, reed and vine mats and leather bags and shoes.
The best place to start your shopping is the beautiful Museo de Arte Popular, which features an extensive permanent collection of traditional crafts from around Mexico, including textiles, pottery, stoneware, woodwork, glasswork, and miniatures.
Next, you can head to Bazar Garcia Rejon, where you can also find a lot of ceramic items, clothing, and souvenirs. The Bazar is pretty big and has existed since 1862. It is open from 8 am to 9 pm every day.
Walk all the way to the Casa de las Artesanias at 63 street, the Taller Maya at 60 street, and at 55 street you can find The Merida Artists Foundation, an organization that provides a space for artists of all disciplines to showcase their original artwork and promotes education and awareness of art through community-based education initiatives.
As you walk through downtown and the main Plazas, chances are that you’ll meet with lots of street vendors selling crafts from nearby towns made by local artisans. Remember to always support local businesses and artists.
source: yucatan.gob.mx
TAKE THE PUUC ROUTE
The Pu what? The Puuc Route, also known just as The Puuc, is an area of the peninsula with several archeological sites that are less visited by tourists. While exploring hidden Mayan ruins, you’ll get the chance to visit nearby towns and cities that probably were not on your list in the first place but could totally add a little more magic to your trip.
The Mayan Riviera and the Yucatan Peninsula are guardians of the most beautiful natural wonders in Mexico, but throughout the years, Mayan citizens have built majestic cities that prevail to the present. Nearby Merida, traditional towns such as Valladolid, Izamal, and Progreso count with more attractions to visit, such as less visited Mayan ruins, hidden cenotes, and even pink beaches like Las Coloradas, all of them worth visiting for a day or even more if you have the chance.
source: arqueologiamexicana.mx
Lovely Mérida, Yucatán, with so much to see and eat, you’ll probably find yourself wanting to come back again and again, and every time you do, there will always be something new to discover, but some things will remain the same, like your favorite taco spot downtown.
(Make sure to write down the exact location for future reference.)
Until next time.
-Your food & travel tipster, Abbey.
