Mérida is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán as well as the largest city of the Yucatán Peninsula. Merida is located in the northwest part of the state, about 35 kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico coast.

The city is also the municipal seat of the Municipality of Mérida, which includes the city and the areas around it.

Mérida is a cultural center, featuring multiple museums, art galleries, restaurants, movie theatres, and shops. Mérida retains an abundance of beautiful colonial buildings and is a vibrant cultural center with music and dancing playing an important part in day-to-day life.

At the same time, it is a modern city boasting a comprehensive range of shopping malls, auto dealerships, top-quality hotels, restaurants, and leisure facilities. The famous avenue, Paseo de Montejo, is lined with original sculptures.

Mérida has heavy Mayan, Spanish, French, British, and, to a lesser extent, Dutch influences.

Mérida served as the American Capital of Culture between the years 2000 and 2017.

There were three Spanish conquistadors named “Francisco de Montejo”:

  • Francisco de Montejo “el Adelantado” (“The Lieutenant”, the eldest)
  • Francisco de Montejo y León “el Mozo” (“The Boy”, his son)
  • Francisco de Montejo “el Sobrino” (“The Nephew”)

Mérida was founded in 1542 by Montejo y León (“el Mozo”) on the site of the Maya city of T’hó. T’ho had been a center of Mayan culture and activity for centuries. Due to this fact, some historians consider Mérida the oldest continually occupied city in the Americas.

Carved Maya stones from ancient T’ho were widely used to build the Spanish colonial buildings that are plentiful in downtown Mérida. Much of Mérida’s architecture from the colonial period through the 18th and 19th centuries is still standing in the historic center of the city.

From colonial times through the mid-19th century, Mérida was a walled city intended to protect the residents from periodic revolts by the indigenous Maya. Several of the old city gates survive, but modern Mérida has expanded well beyond the old city walls.

Late in the 19th century and the early 20th century, the area surrounding Mérida prospered from the production of henequén. For a brief period, around the turn of the 20th century, Mérida was said to house more millionaires than any other city in the world.

The result of this concentration of wealth can still be seen today.

Many large and elaborate homes still line the main avenue called Paseo de Montejo, though few are occupied today by individual families. Many of these homes have been restored and now serve as office buildings for banks and insurance companies.

Colonial homes line the city streets to this day, in various states of disrepair and renovation; the historical center of Mérida is currently undergoing a minor renaissance as more and more people are moving into the old buildings and reviving their former glory.

Mérida has a “centro histórico” (“hisctoric center”) typical of colonial Spanish cities. The street grid is based on odd-numbered streets running east/west and even-numbered streets running north/south, with Calles 60 and 61 bounding the “Plaza Grande” in the heart of the city.

The more affluent neighborhoods are located to the north, and the most densely populated areas are to the south. The “Centro Histórico” area is becoming increasingly popular with American and other expats who are rescuing and restoring the classic colonial structures.

Historic sites

  • Monumento à la Patria (1956)
  • Palacio de Gobierno (1892)
  • Catedral de San Ildefonso (1598), first in the continental Americas
  • Barrio y Capilla de Santa Lucía (1575)
  • Barrio y Templo Parroquial del antiguo pueblo de Itzimná
  • Barrio y Templo Parroquial de San Cristóbal (1796)
  • Barrio y Templo Parroquial de San Sebastián (1706)
  • Barrio y Templo Parroquial de Santa Ana (1733)
  • Barrio y Templo Parroquial de Santa Lucía (1575)
  • Barrio y Templo Parroquial de Santiago (1637)
  • Capilla de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (1706)
  • Capilla y parque de San Juan Bautista (1552)
  • Casa de Montejo (1549)
  • Antiguo convento de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación (Nuns)(1596)
  • Iglesia del Jesús o de la Tercera Orden (Third Order) (1618)
  • Templo de San Juan de Dios (1562)

Cultural centers

  • Centro Cultural Andrés Quintana Roo, in Santa Ana, with galleries and artistic events
  • Centro Cultural Olimpo. Next to the Municipal Palace in the Plaza Grande
  • Casa de la Cultura del Mayab, the Casa de Artesanías (house of handcrafts) resides there. It’s in downtown Mérida
  • Centro Estatal de Bellas Artes (CEBA). Across the El Centenario, offers classes and education in painting, music, theater, ballet, jazz, folklore, Spanish dance, among others
  • Centro Cultural del Niño Yucateco (CECUNY) in Mejorada is a 16th-century building with classes and workshops specifically designed for kids
  • Centro Cultural Dante is a private center within one of the major bookstores in Mérida (Librería Dante)

Museums

  • Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, Yucatán’s Mayan Museum, offers a view of Yucatán’s history and identity
  • Museo de Antropología e Historia “Palacio Cantón”, Yucatán’s history and archaeology Museum
  • Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán (MACAY), in the heart of the city, right next to the Cathedral. Permanent and rotating pictorial expositions
  • Museo de la Canción Yucateca Asociación Civil in Mejorada honors the trova yucateca authors, Ricardo Palmerín, Guty Cárdenas, Juan Acereto, Pastor Cervera, and Luis Espinosa Alcalá
  • Museo de la Ciudad de Mérida, in the old Correos (post office) building since 2007, offers information about the city from the prehispanic times’ Tho’ or Ichcaanzihó to current days
  • Museo de Historia Natural, natural history museum
  • Museo de Arte Popular, a popular art museum, offers a view of popular artistry and handicrafts among ethnic Mexican groups and cultures
  • Museo Conmemorativo de la Inmigración Coreana a Yucatán

Major theaters with regular shows

  • Teatro José Peón Contreras
  • Teatro Daniel Ayala Pérez
  • Teatro Mérida (Now Teatro Armando Manzanero)
  • Teatro Colón
  • Teatro Universitario Felipe Carrillo Puerto
  • Teatro Héctor Herrera

Merida is a perfect city to stay there for a while, exploring the surrounding areas on daily tours on your own or guided ones.

Suggested 1-day tours from Merida:

  • Uxmal + Kabah
  • Uxmal + Kabah + Sayil + Xlapak + Labna + Chacmultun (Puuc Route)
  • Acanceh + Mayapan
  • Ake + Izamal
  • Mani
  • Dzibilchatun
  • Progreso + Xcambo
  • Celestun + Ria Celestun
  • Chichen Itza

For more information about all these suggested places to visit and how to get there, use the search form on our website or related tags.

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