Why I keep going back to the underrated city of Aguascalientes

Of each the large cities successful Central Mexico, Aguascalientes was 1 of the past my hubby and I visited, chiefly due to the fact that we’d heard it was ample and industrial. When we yet made it determination successful 2020, we weren’t expecting much. Barry and I person since decided the metropolis needs to bash a acold amended PR job: it’s present our favourite Mexican metropolis extracurricular Guanajuato, where we unrecorded portion of the year.

Unlike Querétaro, Aguascalientes metropolis isn’t surrounded by vino country, and dissimilar San Luis Potosí, it doesn’t person the adjacent majestic quality of the Huasteca. But that besides means it isn’t crammed with tourists. In fact, it was lone past month, during our 3rd sojourn that we yet spotted different foreigners successful Aguascalientes, a Canadian couple.

Aguascalientes was founded successful the 16th period arsenic portion of the Kingdom of New Galicia. (Carl Nebel)

We support going back, and here’s why.

Plaza de la Patria

Aguascalientes’ ample, people-friendly cardinal quadrate is dominated by ample fountains, benches and a immense cathedral that dates to 1704. It besides boasts the Patio de las Jacarandas, an innovative nationalist creation portion built for the 100th day of the Aguascalientes Convention that recreates the Portal de Jesús, a colonial-era arcade.

The accepted barrios

On our archetypal sojourn to the city, we went to the adjuvant section tourism bureau and picked up a representation of the barrios of Aguascalientes, each with its ain religion and garden. The archetypal we visited was the Encino neighborhood, wherever we checked retired the Templo del Encino, dedicated to the Black Christ of the oak tree. Nearby is the José Guadalupe Posada museum, named for the celebrated Mexican caricaturist who created La Catrina, Mexico’s emblematic grinning skeleton cartoon.

Later we checked retired the vicinity of Guadalupe, with its baroque Templo de Guadalupe and plot afloat of ash and poplar trees. Nearby are the city’s oldest cemeteries, De la Cruz and Los Angeles. We emotion wandering astir gravestones, and some cemeteries diagnostic paintings, ironworks and sculptures made from marble and the section pinkish cantera stone.

The entranceway to the Jardín de San Marcos. (Luisalvaz/CC BY SA-4.0)

Walking westbound from the cathedral astir 15 minutes, is the Jardín de San Marcos, 1 of our favourite outdoor spaces successful each of Mexico, which we instrumentality to repeatedly. Visitors participate done a immense gross flanked by a debased partition with ornamental columns that situation the full park. The plot is graceful and shady, lined with trees, pathways and benches. This vicinity is 1 of the champion known successful Aguascalientes owed to its presumption arsenic home to the Feria Nacional de San Marcos, which attracts visitors from each implicit the satellite and is held successful April and May.

Climb El Picacho 

This eight-thousand-foot-high hill, besides called the Cerro del Muerto, is astir 20 minutes northbound of the city, connected the mode to the Pueblo Mágico of Calvillo. You tin ascent a steeper, shorter way to the apical oregon a longer, much gradual way that goes down the peak. A tiny entranceway interest is charged. 

Midweek, there’s nary 1 there, but the past clip we visited was during a three-day weekend, and connected Monday, hordes of adults, kids and dogs, were hiking. Our taxi operator told america that the Sunday oregon vacation contented is to ascent the peak, past spell location for a luncheon of borrego, oregon barbecued lamb.

Visit Aguascalientes’ museums

I enjoyed the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, wherever I chatted with a unit member, proceeding each astir his divorce, his 3 big children and his involvement successful learning danzón, a slow, measured spouse creation primitively from Cuba but fashionable successful Mexico. “I joined astatine 17,” helium said. “Too young?” I asked. He nodded ruefully.

The Museo Ferrocarrilero, Aguascalientes’ erstwhile rider bid stop. (Gobierno de Aguascalientes)

Because we emotion trains, we had to sojourn the Museo Ferrocarrilero, located successful Barrio de la Estación, wherever we learned astir the region’s past arsenic a large railway hub, admiring the restored bid presumption and the assortment of historical and modern bid cars, including the erstwhile statesmanlike car of Lazaro Cardenas, who served arsenic Mexico’s president from 1934 to 1940. 

On the mode to the bid museum, we visited the Templo de San Antonio, an architectural jewel and 1 of the city’s astir important historical edifices. Built betwixt 1895 and 1908 successful a pastiche of styles, it has neoclassical, Baroque, Gothic, Moorish and Russian features. It besides has a double-stained solid dome, 3 towers and vaulted ceilings.

Try the blistery springs

During our sojourn successful January of 2023, the hot springs which gave the metropolis its name were disappointing: they weren’t precise hot. We were told they were hotter successful immoderate months than others, but speechmaking online, I saw different complaints that they were lukewarm. In the blistery season, you mightiness bask the tepid temperature.

Calvillo, the self-proclaimed Guava Capital of the World, is simply a Magical Town afloat of civilization and tradition. (Meagan Drillinger)

Explore Calvillo

The Pueblo Mágico of Calvillo is astir 45 minutes from Aguascalientes. It boasts a Christ the Redeemer statue connected apical of a acceptable of steep steps and the Museo Nacional de los Pueblos Mágicos, the lone depository successful the state dedicated to preserving and showcasing the folklore, traditions and crafts of the 177 towns that marque up the Pueblos Mágicos program.

Most notable astir the town, though, is its signature cultivation product. Billing itself arsenic the Guava Capital of the World, Calvillo is location to implicit 4,500 guava producers, and pastries and different treats made with guava are sold each implicit town. 

Three times truthful far, and counting

We cognize we’ll beryllium back. Besides loving the parts of the metropolis we’ve already seen, we cognize there’s ever thing other to explore. For example, we conscionable learned that Aguascalientes is the astir bicycle-friendly metropolis successful the country, truthful we’ll rent bikes adjacent time. And we ever admit the city’s affable and unpretentious people.

Louisa Rogers and her hubby Barry Evans disagreement their lives betwixt Guanajuato and Eureka, connected California’s North Coast. Louisa writes articles and essays astir expat life, Mexico, travel, carnal and intelligence health, status and spirituality. Her caller articles are disposable connected her website, authory.com/LouisaRogers