Time of visit: November 2021

Duration of visit: 3 hours

Mode of transportation: by rental car, from San Miguel de Allende en route to Puebla

Review and experience

Lovely historic centre and definitely one of the cleanest city cores we visited in our 3-week stays in central Mexico. To our surprise, having done very little research ahead of time, the overall city of Queretaro was surprisingly large and modern, with many skyscrapers in scattered around the city. The city core was a pleasant contrast to the modernity of the broader city. It was calm, quaint, and not particularly packed with foreign tourists that we had otherwise experienced in San Miguel de Allende. 

That said, I completely agree with other reviewers perspective that this is among the weaker colonial towns in Mexico. Of 7 that I've visited to-date (Campeche, CDMX, SMA, Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Queretaro), Campeche and Queretaro were my least favorite. That said, I don't think it necessarily should be de-listed. For Queretaro, I imagine its OUV lies in the city's origin and the peaceful cohabitation of the Spanish and the indigenous. I'm taking this at face value, as I'm sure there was still lots of persecution of the indigenous population that took place here. While the architecture didn't feel different on the two sides, the layout of the urban core on Google Maps was very distinct. Furthermore, the convent at the Regional Museum was one of the most beautiful ones I had seen on this trip!