Puebla, deeply religious and proud of her history, has managed to preserve the treasures created by her architects, artists and craftsmen.
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It would be difficult to find a better place for preserving the traditions and wealth of the Colonial era than the streets, churches and buildings of a city that was supposedly designed by the angels.
Today, the Historic Centre is a World Heritage Site where you can visit churches and convents, admire colonial doorways and facades, wander through plazas and patios or visit museums displaying everything from pans to railroad cars including paintings, archaeological objects, and of course, the books in the valuable Palafox Library collection.
The city also has shops specializing in Talavera pottery and traditional confectionery, and antiques in the Los Sapos district as well as a wide range of restaurants where you can sample the wonderful local cuisine. Other nearby places worth visiting include the Laguna de San Baltasar, an environmental project centre, the archaeological zone of Cholula and a zoo where the animals roam freely.
There were no pre-Hispanic settlements here. Puebla was founded in 1531 by the Spaniards to encourage immigration, concentrate European knowledge, reduce the atrocities against the Indians and establish an enclave on the route between Veracruz and Mexico.
Textile and ceramics industries were established there soon afterwards, although the clearest evidence of the town's success was the increase in the population, which rose from 50 settlers to 70,000 during the last third of the 17th century. This was mirrored by an increase in the number of churches and their influence and before the liberal triumph, the clergy owned half the buildings in the city.
During the century of wars, its strategic position made it a hostage of both sides and the city made its mark on history when in 1862, led by Ignacio Zaragoza, the patriots defeated the French invaders. On September 16 1869, President Juarez rode into the city on the first train from Mexico. Volkwagen now has a factory there with 16,000 employees that produce and export 1500 cars daily.
Puebla lies 129 km away from Mexico City in a valley reached by crossing the volcanoes to the east, to the north of Tlaxcala and to the south of La Mixteca. It has a mild climate with an average temperature of 16C, dropping to a minimum of 6C in January. The rainy season lasts from June to October.
