Time of visit: November 2021

Duration of visit: 8 hours

Mode of transportation: rental car, day trip from San Miguel de Allende

Guanajuato is beautiful, colorful, and eclectic. Tourists were a-plenty in the historic center, but for a reason - it is such a captivating place, and frankly perhaps slightly underrated relative to the more frequented attractions in San Miguel de Allende and the pueblo magicos near Queretaro. 

The day started with a half hour drive from SMA for short visit at Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco (part of the San Miguel de Allende WHS, but more on that separately), and then another 1.5 hr drive from there to Guanajuato.  Our first stop within Guanajuato was the Museo Ex-Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrera, which featured a beautiful set of gardens and a historic 17th-century hacienda residence. This was our first hacienda in Central Mexico, and somewhat to our surprise, the architecture was so similar to the several haciendas that we had previous visited in Yucatan. Absolutely beautiful and worth the ~15 minute de-tour to the western edge of town. 

We spent the rest of our day in the historic center. There is something about the consistent architecture of homes all around town that instantly called attention to Guanajuato's history as a mining town - likely a combination of the hilly environs, rectangular buildings, and the bright, eclectic colors.

Highlights within the WHS zone included: 

• Monumental al Pipila - beautiful viewpoint from high up of the entire town, and a great way to get a lay of the land. Accessible via funicular close to the town square.  Don't make the mistake I did by climbing up without doing the research - oops, no wonder the road up there was devoid of visitors. Slightly strenuous, and the warning signs about potential criminal activities were a little concerning, but generally felt safe enough to walk up during day time.  
• Teatro Juarez - exterior was pretty, but the real gem is the interior. Beautiful Moorish design all around in the main theater - reminiscent of times spent in Seville and Granada. One of the most beautiful theaters I've been to, and definitely one where I had the lowest expectation. 
• Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato - the central cathedral was classically gorgeous, but interior and exterior were similar to those that we've recently visited across CDMX, Cuernavaca, and SMA. That said, the alter and dome did jump out, and I stared at them for a good five minutes. There is a small museum to the side of the main basilica focusing on religious art and artifacts - worth the visit and a "private" walk through from the museum curator!
• Universidad de Guanajuato - not totally sure what architectural style is (perhaps Venetian, with a twist of Gaudi?), but it was so humorously out of place but also so beautiful. Unfortunately the stairs and entry into the university main building was closed to visitors.

Most overrated spot: Callejón del Beso. Narrow enough where to people can kiss from opposing balconies. Brought me back to bad memories of the very narrow alleys in Fez (attempted theft) and Jodhpur (rabid dog bite), but fortunately this was just a very short alley. Still kind of gross given COVID, but never-the-less took a few selfies. 

We also spent some time at the Diego Rivera Museum, Regional Museum (neat architecture as a former grain exchange), and Mercado Hidalgo, but no standouts, and frankly, we're not huge museum people, and the market was very similar to others we've been to in Central Mexico. 

We skipped the Mummy Museum - seemed too creepy and disrespectful, and the fact that some of these people died during a cholera break was enough of a turn-off. Apparently there is also a strange smell in the museum because of the mummies. No thanks, hard pass! :)

All said, Guanajuato made a lovely day trip from SMA, and frankly I wish we had more time to enjoy the city - perhaps a dinner or even a two day stay. Unfortunately our underground tunnel tour was canceled last minutely, otherwise likely would've been a highlight too given its history and uniqueness. Hope to be back one day!

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Side remark 1 - the WHS map zone is quite strange and almost seems to be arbitrarily set with a few specific coordinates and lines connecting them.  Perhaps a function of how long ago Guanajuato was first listed, but I founded a little funny and unusual to the more recent listings. 

Side remark 2 - learned that "alhondiga" means a grain exchange. Saw this word several times in Guanajuato, SMA, and CDMX, and finally decided to look it up.  I knew it was an Arabic influenced word given the "al" prefix, but it was neat to learn about its origin. My wife and I jokingly called these "albondiga", which means meatballs :)