Merida Yucatan. Merida city. What to see in Merida

From the moment of the conquest to the present day, Mérida has been considered the cultural capital of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Mexican city is steeped in colonial history, with narrow streets, wide central plazas and the region's best museums. The combination of antiquity and modernity, proximity to world-famous Mayan ruins, natural attractions and the Caribbean coast have made the city a starting point for exploring the most interesting places of the Yucatan Peninsula. But before you go there, you need to know the location of Merida on the map, climate, its history, attractions, hotels. You can find out all this in this article.

Merida is located in the Northwestern part of the peninsula and the state of the same name Yucatan, at coordinates 20°58′04″ N. w. 89°37′18″ W d.

Climate

In the high season, the air warms up to +28.5°C, and the sea +24.7°C. Low – air +25.2°C, water +23.8°C, precipitation 2362.4 mm, 10 rainy days, only 9 sunny days. Mild climate almost all year round. The beach season here lasts at least 12 months.

When is the best time to come to Merida?

February, November, December are the best times to relax. The weather is nice and warm, from +28°C to +30°C. At this time of year there is little rain, no more than 1 day per month, with precipitation ranging from 16.7 to 39.6 mm. Also in Merida during these months the sea is warm with water temperatures from +23°C to +25°C and swimming is a pleasure. There are maximum sunny days for the whole year - from 9 to 13 days.

Story

Merida was founded by Spanish conquistadors in the 1540s on the site of an ancient Mayan city named T'ho. The Spanish conquistador Francisco de Montejo changed the name - the white color of the buildings reminded him of the famous Roman ruins in the Spanish city of Merida. Before the arrival of the conquistadors, the city was the center of Mayan culture.

From its founding until the mid-19th century, Mérida was a fortified city intended to protect the peninsula and the Creoles (descendants of European settlers) from periodic uprisings by the indigenous Maya. Some of the fortress gates still remain, but the modern capital of Yucatan has expanded far beyond the walls of the old city.

From the 1880s until about 1945, tens of thousands of hectares of land in the Yucatan were cultivated to grow henequena, a spiny plant of the agave family (also called Yucatan hemp). Ropes, twines, and coarse fabrics were made from the leaves of this fibrous plant. The Yucatan Peninsula was considered the world's largest henequen-growing region and the number one producer of rope in the world, and Merida was experiencing a construction and development boom as a result. The henequin crop was in such great demand that it was nicknamed “oro verde” (translated as “green gold”). Ships loaded with “green gold” returned with expensive European furniture and luxury goods for the large haciendas that grew them. Electric trams and street lighting appeared in the city long before Mexico City. Rich citizens built the huge Paseo de Montejo, much like the Champs Elysees in Paris.

Land reform (which deprived many haciendas of huge land holdings), as well as the invention of synthetic fibers, ended the boom in henequin cultivation. The once prosperous haciendas were abandoned, and Merida became the provincial capital of the Mexican state.

New development of the city began in the 1980s and 1990s thanks to joint ventures with foreign capital, which opened many assembly plants here. Today it is home to about 1 million inhabitants, the proportion of the indigenous population is the most significant compared to any other major city in Mexico.

Merida became the very first city of Yucatan built by the Spanish colonialists, and other cities were built according to its model

At the turn of the 20th century, Merida was rumored to have more millionaires than any other city in the world. The claim is controversial, but the concentration of this wealth can still be seen today.

Streets in the historical center of the city have numerical names. Even names run from north to south, odd names run from east to west. This numbering allows you to determine how far you have moved from the center.

Attractions

Calle 60 502 B Altos, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc., Mexico

Palacio Municipal

Opposite the Mérida Cathedral is the seemingly nondescript City Hall (Palacio Municipal). Originally, the Municipal Palace was next to the Royal House (now the government palace). It was a one-story stone mansion that included the municipal jail. It was built during the reign of Santiago Aguirre (1734-1736). Over time, it underwent several modifications to its architecture, and in 1928 its façade was reconstructed and a new clock tower was built, which was later replaced by another in 1919. From the second floor balcony there is a beautiful panorama of the adjacent area.

Calle 62 LB, Centro, 97000 Merida, Yuc., Mexico

Palacio de Gobierno

On the north side of the Plaza Grande is the Palacio de Gobierno, which houses the government of the state of Yucatan. Some of the palace premises are open to the public. Here travelers can admire the frescoes of the famous artist Fernando Castro Pacheco, who reflected scenes of Mayan life and their struggle against the Spanish conquerors in his wall paintings, as well as appreciate the historical setting preserved in the palace. The palace has a large tourist information center where you can learn about cultural and entertainment events planned in the city. The palace is open to everyone from Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 20:00, on Sunday from 9 am to 17:00 (often later).

Calle 60 s/n (con esq calle 61), Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc., Mexico

Casa de Montejo

On the south side of the main square is the Casa de Montejo, Mérida's oldest building. Until the 1970s, this building was the family residence of the Montejos, conquerors of the Yucatan Peninsula. Francisco Montejo Jr. began construction of this house in 1542. The entrance features figures of conquistadors standing on the heads of defeated Indians. Such images were probably borrowed from pre-Columbian customs of depicting Mayan kings walking on the heads of defeated enemies. Currently, the building houses the Cultural Center and the Montejo Museum.

Calle 63 506, Centro, 97000 Merida, Yuc., Mexico

Peon Contreras Theater

Near the Parque de la Madre is the Teatro Peón Contreras, named after the Mexican doctor, playwright, poet and philosopher Peon Contreras. The theater is extremely beautiful. Designed by Italian architect Enrico Deserti more than a century ago, the theater is famous for its marble staircase, dome frescoes and wall paintings. The building is incredibly beautiful. The theater houses another tourist information center.

Calle 60 490, Centro, 97000 Merida, Yuc., Mexico

Hotels in Merida

Hotel Luz en Yucatan

All rooms at the hotel have a flat-screen TV and a private bathroom with shower, while some have a seating area. The rooms are equipped with a refrigerator. There is a terrace. Front desk staff speaks English and Spanish. The main square is 400 m away.

The location of this option is one of the best in Merida.

Calle 55 499 x 60 y 58, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc., Mexico

Hotel Medio Mundo

Hotel Medio Mundo is located just 4 blocks from Merida Plaza Grande. It is housed in a colonial building with an outdoor pool and tropical gardens. It features free Wi-Fi and a 100 percent vegan café serving international cuisine, according to booking.com.All rooms at Hotel MedioMundo are spacious and have colorful Mexican-style décor with tiled floors. Some rooms have air conditioning, others have ceiling fans. All rooms have a private bathroom with shower and separate dressing area.

Calle 55 533, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc., Mexico

Casa Azul Monumento Historico

Set in a 19th-century listed building, Casa Azul Monumento Histórico Boutique Hotel is located 2 blocks from Calle Montejo. According to booking.com, it features an outdoor pool, a restaurant and luxurious suites with free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs.

All suites are elegantly individually decorated with antique furniture and original artwork. Each also includes air conditioning, a safe, a minibar and an iPod docking station. The stylish bathrooms include toiletries, bathrobes and slippers.

Casa Azul Boutique Hotel also offers free private parking on site.

Calle 60 343, Centro, 97000 Centro, Yuc., Mexico

Center for Mayan culture Yucatan was the city Merida is the modern capital of the state of Yucatan, in which there is a noticeable sense of geographic isolation from the rest of the country. Mérida is characterized by its Caribbean atmosphere, Mayan heritage and folk cuisine, white stone colonial architecture and cleanliness.

"White City", as Merida is sometimes called, was founded by the first conquistadors on the peninsula on the ruins of the city of Ichkansijo in 1542. Carved stones from ancient structures were used for the many 17th- and 18th-century buildings around the main Independence Square, or Plaza Grande, in the city center.

On the south side of the Zocalo is Casa de Montejo- the mansion of Francisco Montejo, the founder of the city, which once occupied an entire block, of which the main facade in the Plateresque style with decorative elements of the Montejo family has been preserved. Descendants of an old Spanish family lived here until the 1980s, then the building was reconstructed and turned into a museum of colonial life.

Cathedral San Ildefonso 1598 - one of the oldest in Mexico. The exterior of the temple is made in the Renaissance style, but is quite simple: the walls have practically no decoration, and only the main entrance is framed by Tuscan columns, above which are images of Saints Peter and Paul, as well as the shield of the Spanish Crown. Next to the cathedral is the former residence of the bishop, which since 1994 has become the Fernando Garcia Ponce-Masai Museum, which houses collections of modern art, painting and sculpture.

On the north side of the square, the beautiful mint color attracts attention. Government Palace- a two-story mansion with a traditional colonnade, built in 1892. One of the halls of the mansion is dedicated to the history of the peninsula Yucatan, and the painting of the premises was done by local artist Fernando Castro Pacheco.

The quarters of the historical center are named after the parish churches, examples include San Juan, San Cristobal, Santa Ana, Santa Lucia and others. The ancient streets are lined with parks and squares and there are many interesting museums, including Merida Museum, Museum of Numismatics, Museum of Yucatan Song, Pinacoteca, Museum of Folk Art. There are beautiful quiet corners, for example, Maternidad Park, where near the Church of the Third Order in the shade of greenery there is a sculpture of a mother with two children.

At the end of the 19th century, a group of businessmen Merida decided to give the city a more respectable European look, as a result of which the avenue appeared Paseo de Montejo, the prototype of which was the Parisian Champs Elysees.

Tour the avenue and see its elegant colonial mansions, monuments to the conquistadors of Montejo, the sailor Gonzalo Guerrero and the monumental complex La Patria as unforgettable as excursions to archaeological sites, or a trip to the biosphere reserve 56 km from Merida, where colonies of American pink flamingos live in natural conditions.

One of the symbols Merida became a local cuisine based on a mixture of Mayan customs and gastronomic traditions of Europe and the Caribbean, offering a complex combination of flavors. The best dishes are annatto-marinated suckling pig (Cochinita Pibil), stuffed cheese (Queso Relleno) and spicy turkey (Relleno Negro), which can be tasted in many Mexican restaurants.

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Merida is a city that is the administrative center of the state of Yucatan and the administrative center of the municipality of Merida. The city has a population of about 778 thousand people, which allowed it to become the largest city in terms of population on the Yucatan Peninsula.

With the introduction of land reform and the invention of synthetic fiber, henequen cultivation virtually ceased. As a result, the once prosperous haciendas were abandoned, and Mérida became an ordinary provincial town. Only at the end of the twentieth century. Thanks to huge foreign investments, new development of the city began.

Thanks to its nature, proximity to the world-famous Mayan ruins, excellent combination of antiquity and modernity, Merida attracts a huge number of tourists every year and is the starting point for exploring the Yucatan Peninsula.

Old houses built of white limestone in the Spanish colonial style have long given Merida its unique style, for which it was nicknamed the “white city”. One of the main attractions of the city and the most beautiful street of Merida is Paseo de Montejo. Nowadays, there are a huge number of restaurants, dance clubs, expensive hotels and, of course, many old mansions.

Independence Square is located in the city center.

There is an ancient monument to the Heroes of Independence, which was erected here on August 10, 1809.

Independence Square received its modern name in the sixteenth century. Since its creation, the square has been rebuilt more than once. Originally, this was the main source of water for local residents, and therefore it was always crowded. A little later, historically significant buildings began to appear here.

On Independence Square there are the ancient Cathedral, the Carondelet Palace, the Municipal Palace and the Archbishop's Palace.

The first tiles appeared here in the seventeenth century. And in the nineteenth century, low steps were built at the entrance to the square. It has remained in this state to this day.

There is a fountain in the southern part of Independence Square. Everyone who approaches the fountain must make a wish and throw a coin into the fountain to make it come true.

Merida City Museum

The Municipal Museum of Mérida is a museum that houses exhibits depicting the political and cultural development of Mexico. The city museum was created in 1986. It is located in the former Temple of San Juan de Dios, built in the 17th century. The museum has several halls. Each of them houses exhibits dating back to a specific era. In the “Antiquities” hall, tourists are presented with objects whose origin dates back to the year 900 AD. Here you can see zoomorphic engravings, clay vessels, as well as the first decorations.

The Hall of Military Glory houses items related to military actions in which Mexico participated. Guns, daggers, revolvers, as well as military uniforms of commanders-in-chief and ordinary soldiers are stored here. The museum has created a special exhibition of paintings and graphics. It features works by local artists. The Merida City Museum is open daily from ten in the morning to eight in the evening.

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Merida city center

Merida is the cultural and spiritual capital of the Yucatan Peninsula, as if frozen in the colonial past with its narrow streets, wide squares, beautiful women and gallant men.

Merida was founded in the mid-16th century and became the first city built by Spanish colonialists in the state of Yucatan on the site of an ancient Mayan settlement. Limestone was once mined here, so the city center is almost entirely white - it’s not for nothing that Merida received the nickname “White City”.

The architectural appearance of the old city is full of special colonial charm. From its founding until the mid-19th century, Merida was a fortified city, but almost nothing remains of its military past. But a lot remains from those years when Merida was the largest trading center and had more millionaires than any other city in the world.

First of all, this is the monumental boulevard Paseo de Montejo, built in the image and likeness of the Champs Elysees in Paris, surrounded by expensive mansions and centuries-old trees. Today Paseo de Montejo is the most fashionable area of ​​the city: expensive restaurants, dance clubs, hotels, offices of large companies, etc. are located here. One of the most notable buildings on the boulevard is undoubtedly the Palacio Canton, which houses the Regional Museum of Anthropology.

Not far from the main boulevard are the central square Plaza Grande, the main cathedral of Merida, which is considered one of the oldest on the American continent, the Palacio de Gobierno, where the government of the state of Yucatan works, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Casa de Montejo (the oldest building in city) and many other attractions.

Almost every evening in numerous parks and squares in the city center there are free concerts, creative and dance evenings, as well as holidays, folklore performances and carnivals dedicated to Mayan culture and traditions.

Kite Club Yucatan is one of the largest water sports centers in Mexico. On the territory of a private club, owned by American athletes, there is a kite surfing school, a small hotel and a restaurant.

The club is located on the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. This place is famous for its winds and moderate warm climate. The strongest winds blow in the Yucatan from April to June, and during this time the club is filled with water kite enthusiasts who specially come to Mexico to practice their skills.

The club operates a kite surfing school; instructors teach classes for both experienced athletes and green beginners. Club Yucatan is developing as a major tourist center - club specialists organize water cruises, fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, excursions to coastal caves and tours to abandoned and flooded cities of the ancient Mayans.

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Merida Cathedral

The Cathedral of Saint Ildefonso in Merida is the largest religious building in Mexico and is considered the second largest cathedral in the New World. This majestic building has a dramatic aura surrounding it. During its construction, the Spanish conquerors used the Mayans as cheap labor, forcing the indigenous people to destroy their own city in order to exalt the new culture that came to the New World. Some of the stones that make up the cathedral are stones from destroyed Mayan temples.

Saint-Ildefonso was built in 1561 with the blessing of Pope Pius IV. The architect of the cathedral is Juan Miguel de Aguero. The interior of the cathedral is quite simple. But its echoing sacred space does not need decoration. The scale and grandeur of the building in its simplicity is stunning. And one of the most impressive and impressive elements of the interior is the huge crucifix inside the cathedral.

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