Puebla de Ensueño Offering City tours in Puebla, México since 2014 by certified local guides. We love to Share with our Visitors Puebla's cultural and historical richness and local life. Let’s stroll through some of Puebla´s oldest and most emblematic neighborhoods; visit one of the remaining clay pot factories or make our way to the market and delight in its sights, sounds, aromas, its FLAVORS and of course its AMAZING gastronomy!

Amparo Museum: Considered one of the most important museums in Latin America, inaugurated in 1991, it boasts state of the art multimedia technology and a very innovative layout. Pre-Columbian monoliths, masks, god effigies, and diverse tools of Mixteca, Zapoteca, Maya and Olmeca origins, amongst other pre-Hispanic Cultures, are exhibited in its rooms. The museum also houses attractive collections of the colonial period, including some beautiful religious paintings. The original 18th Century colonial building was refurbished to become the inviting exhibition rooms of the Museum, located on 708, 2 Sur Street.

Regional Museum or Alferique House: Several blue prints and photographs that constitute part of Puebla's historic past, stand out amongst its cultural treasures. Interesting to see the actual clothing worn by historic characters, as in one display. It was inaugurated in 1926, housed in an 18th Century hacienda. The house has a facade with profuse decoration, brick and glazed tile coverings, and white plaster adornments that resemble the sweet candies from Puebla, called alferiques, which is where its name comes from. It is located on 412, 4 Oriente Street, in the Historic Center.

Barrio del Artista / The Artists Neighborhood. one block from the famous shopping area, El Parian (see shopping section). Located along a passageway behind the Teatro Principal. Consists of some 50 artist's studios, open to the public, where local painters produce, display, and sell their work. Located at 6 Oriente, corner of 6 Norte.

Escuela de la Talavera Poblana-Patio de los Azulejos/Puebla Talavera Craft School - Glazed Tile Courtyard. Artisans from Talavera de la Reina, Spain, brought their ceramic techniques to Puebla in colonial times. Today, dozens of workshops and studios in the city continue to produce vividly colored tiles and dishware in the Talavera style, and the school's courtyard is a fine example, found at 11 Poniente No. 111 (one block west of 16 de Septiembre).

Catedral de la Concepcion Inmaculada / Immaculate Conception Cathedral. takes up one whole side of the zocalo. One of Mexico's largest churches, completed in 1649. The interior features 14 chapels, an onyx main altar, a beautiful wood inlay choir loft, and colonial religious art. Outside, the fence that surrounds the cathedral has angels all around, guarding the church. Located at 16 de Septiembre, corner of 5 Oriente, on the zocalo.

Los Fuertes/The Forts. These are located a bit out of the central area of town, but a short (and interesting) taxi ride will take you there. Huge stone forts were the site of the battle of Cinco de Mayo and the forts are also connected to a large recreation area.

Africam. Also located out of the central area, this zoo-like attraction is a wild animal park, housing all sorts of African species. This park has been upgraded and the animals and the surroundings have had facelifts. Great place to visit if traveling with the kids.

City of Cholula/Pyramid and Iglesia de Los Remedios. For the traveler who is fascinated by pre-Hispanic ruins, and/or ornately decorated churches, San Andres Cholula is an absolute MUST to see. It is located only 20 minutes from downtown Puebla and is so very worth the small side trip. There are several cute and inexpensive hotels all around the main plaza and the ruins are a short walk away. They have recently (2006) found more ruins in the center of town and have dug up the sidewalks in several places to excavate underneath. The Pyramid itself was uncovered during the construction of an insane asylum in 1910.

These ruins, commonly called "The Cholula Pyramid" but also known as the Great Pyramid of Tepanapa, is one of the most fascinating pyramids/ruins in all the world. Cholula was the most important center of the Mexican highlands after the fall of Teotihuacan in the Classic Period. It sits under the threatening eyes of the magnificent twin volcanic peaks Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl.

The Great Pyramid Of Tepanapa, dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, is the largest single structure in Mexico. Towering 181 feet high and covering an area of some 25 acres, the pyramid was begun in Pre-Classic times and enlarged at least four times. It's base has been measured to be about 400 meters to a side and it covers 25 acres. That makes it the largest base for any pyramid structure in the world, including the great pyramids in Egypt.

The Cholula Pyramid is oriented to the North North West and it aims at the setting sun during summer solstice. There is a natural spring located beneath the pyramid which is probably why it was built in its original location. There is also a cave under the pyramid. In the center of the pyramid there is a chamber that may represent an artificial cave.

One of the truly amazing aspects of The Cholula Pyramid is that the Spaniards built a church on top of these massive ruins, not uncommon during the time of the Conquest. However, the Spaniards did not dig into much of the structure and it was left, for the most part, intact, although some stones were taken from the pyramid and used to build the church on top. It could have been that because their mission was to build a church for every day of the year in Cholula, they didn't have time to carefully dig for treasures.

More often than not, histories of Cholula say that there were 365 churches constructed in Cholula, but this was only the intention of the conquistadores. They only succeeded in building approximately 245 churches before they were instructed to move on; after all, these churches are so elaborately decorated it would have taken several decades to construct that many churches. Many of these original churches still stand, almost 3/4 of the original number.

The churches themselves are so ornate, it's hard to see everything in one visit! As was usually the case with 16th Century churches, the indigenous people were made to construct and decorate the churches, therefore you can distinctly see the faces of the angels, for example, to be indigenous and not European. Pagan symbols such as the moon and the sun were also snuck in by the locals while working on the Spaniard's churches.

Ruins of Cacaxtla: Also of great interest for its incredibly well-preserved murals are the ruins at Cacaxtla; located approximately 1 hour from downtown Puebla, this site is best seen by hiring a guide to take you there. This way you will get the full explanation of the history of the site and transportation to and from.