Guanajuato, a former mining city which became prosperous under Spanish occupation, is at an altitude of 2 000 metres. Its urban fabric is incredibly close knit and it has a reputation for its impressive colonial buildings and innate sense of festivity.

Guanajuato, 400 km to the north west of the capital of Mexico, in a region of the same name, is built in a high valley enclosed by mountains which has cramped the development of the town and created what looks like a tangled web. It is an incredible network of winding streets, callejones, next to delightful squares, fountains and houses with wrought-iron balconies which almost kiss the balconies on the other side of the street. Guanajuato’s other surprise is that this maze is mirrored by another one, underground, composed of a labyrinth of underground streets and tunnels reminiscent of the town’s primary vocation: mining. With its former deposits of gold and silver, Guanajuato effectively prospered under Spanish domination and distinguished buildings sprang up everywhere. The Alhóndiga de Granaditas is the most impressive. This former granary, built in a neoclassical style, resembles a fortress and houses today an ethnographic museum containing souvenirs of Mexico’s war of independence, which started here. The other sites dating from colonial times are just as impressive, such as Teatro Juárez, the Garden of the Union, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato and the El Pípila monument. The town also has a reputation for its lively student and artistic life. Every week-end, musicians clad in 19th century garb invade the streets and every year, the Cervantino Festival attracts major dance and theatre companies, from all over the world.