Top Five Must-Sees of Campeche, Mexico

The following is a list of the five most important activities to do in Campeche, as well as all of the locations that you simply must visit.

Edzná

It was found by an archaeologist named Nazario Quintana Bello in 1927. It is thought that the city covered about 25 km2 and has a little more than 200 structures, including foundations, platforms, buildings, and housing complexes. So far, only the structures around the Great Plaza have been explored, including the Great Acropolis, the Platform of the Knives, the Great House or Nohochná, a sacbé or white road, a Ball Court, a group of temples to the south of the Great Plaza, and the Small Acropolis, among others. Some of these buildings have elements of the puuc and chenes styles of architecture.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

It dates to the 16th century. It's made of quarry stone and sahcab (white limestone earth that abounds in the subsoil of the Yucatan peninsula and is mixed with lime to make mortar used in masonry). The facade is made of carved stone, with two bodies framed by fluted pilasters on pedestals and a simple curved finial with a perillon (pediment finial) on the axis. The door has a half-circle arch with an iron gate. "La Campechana" and "La española" are the names of the bell towers. It has an arched choral window with sculptures of St. Peter and St. Paul, fluted pilasters, and niches in between. The dome is half orange and round, and a lantern sits on top. The church is built in the shape of a Latin cross, with a single nave that is split by toral arches.

Fort of San José el Alto

It was built in the 18th century and is an example of the military architecture that was created in America to protect the Spanish colonies from pirate attacks from the Gulf. Today, it is a museum with a collection of weapons, ships, and items from colonial times.

Puerta de Tierra

Don Antonio de Figueroa y Silva built it in 1732. It is between the San Francisco and San Juan bastions. It has a huge vault with two rooms for the officer's quarters and the guard corps. There is a small parade ground with 8 cannons on top of the vault. For grenades and artillery fire to protect the door, it has a space for the rake to go down and up.

Independence Square (Zócalo)

Even though no one knows for sure, it was likely built when the town of San Francisco de Campeche was founded at the end of 1540 or the beginning of 1541. Around one mile from the native town of Ah Kin Pech, where most of the Spanish people lived, the plaza became the center of their lives. During colonial times, it was called Plaza Mayor. Later, it was called Plaza de la Constitución, and in 1826, it was finally called Plaza de la Independencia. The square has changed over the years, but its central kiosk and trellis have brought it back to how it looked in the early 1800s.