Zacatecas Things to Do

The cable car, or 'teleferico,' offers a fantastic bird's eye view of the entire city and its surroundings, for those who are not afraid of heights. It was built in 1979 by a Swiss company, which, according to the explanation on the ticket, 'gurarantees that it will function in complete safety.' The operator will be happy to point out churches and other points of interest as you pass from one hill to the other on a cable far above the city streets.

The journey takes eight minutes and will carry you 650m from one station to the other, at a leisurely pace of 1.5 m per second.

The cable car station is open daily 10am to 6pm, and one-way tickets cost 21 pesos.

2 more images

Guadalupe is a small town with a lovely church and attached monastery, now a museum. It is an easy day trip from Zacatecas.

The Viceroyal Museum of Guadalupe (Museo Virreynal) is located in what was the Colegio de Propaganda Fide de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, founded in 1707 by Friar Antonio Margil de Jesus. The aim of the Colegio was to train monks in the evangelization of infidels in the north zone of New Spain. Inside there is a large collection of viceroyal paintings and original furniture. The upper and lower cloisters are covered with paintings of the Passion of Christ and the life of St. Francis of Assisi, respectively.

The architecture of the monastery is completely barroque, even though parts of it weren't constructed until the 19th century.

In the building adjacent to the art gallery is a transport museum with a collection of old vehicles.

1 more image

This aqueduct no longer functions but is nontheless impressive. It is built to the same design as the aqueducts built by the ancient Romans, such as the famous one in Segovia, Spain. Spanish conquistadores exported this ancient technology to the New World.

1 more image

Unlike the many colonial churches in Zacatecas, this one was built just a few decades ago as a neo-gothic replica of a church in Fatima, Portugal. The original Portuguese church stands on the site where three sheperd children were said to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary in 1917 and is a major piligrimage destination for Catholics.

Museo Pedro Coronel
Another museum that will test your endurance - but will reward your time spent there. This place a little of everything and quite a lot of (surprisingly)
1. Goya
2. Piranesi (the best drawing of the column of Trajan I have ever seen)
3. African masks
4. Pre-columbian ceramics and sculpture
etc.

Some of Mexcio's best colonial period architecture can be seen by wandering around the streets of Zacatecas. Site for the State capital and a university, Zacatecas has an air of sophistication for its size. Walking the streets you can discover many gems.

Bufa is an old Spanish word for wineskin, which the peak looks like with a little imagination, or wine or both;-\ The peak is norhteast of the city center and is topped with large rock outcroppings. From atop here, the views out over the City and beyond are memorable. You can get up here with the Teleferico; there is a road, the Carretera de la Bufa, going north from the City center - follow roadsigns to the La Bufa; or you can use a footpath that begins just east of the Cathedral. Atop the peak is the Museo de la Toma de Zacatecas, a weather station and La Capilla de la Virgen del Patrocinio, named for the patron saint of miners and Zacatecas. Around 8 September, thousands of pilgrims make their way to the chapel en route to the healing powers inherent within the 18th century altar's image of the Virgin.

The easiest way up to the top of the Cerro de la Bufa is to take the teleferico across from the station on the base of the Cerro de la Grilla. From the center, walk up the stairs of the Callejon de Garcia Rojas. The teleferico runs every 15 minutes from noon til 1930. Views across the city get grander the higher up you go.