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| Merida Attractions and Things to See |
| One of the first things to do to familiarize yourself with Merida is a visit to Zocalo(the main part of downtown). Here there are several places to visit. Cathedral of San Ildelfonso, which is the oldest in the Americas. The Palacio de Gobierno, on the north side, houses 27 murals by Fernanco Castro Pacheco illustrating the somewhat violent history of Yucatan. |
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| One of the 27 paintings in the Palacio |
| Also located on the Plaza are Casa de Montejo and the Palacio Municipal. Another way to see some of Merida's major attractions is by taking the tourist bus from Parque Santa Lucia(calle 55 and 60). The tour leaves at 10am, 1pm and 4pm and passes Paseo Montejo, Ave. Colon, Parque Las Americas as well as other of the many points of intrest along the trip. The tour last for about an hour and a half. Merida is also blessed with some wonderful museums, the best one being the Anthropology and History Museum( Paseo Montejo and Calle 43 ). Here the have many artifacts of the Mayan and Spanish cultures including artifacts from Dzibilchaltun, Chichen Itza and Uxmal. Also the museum has traviling exibits from across the world. |
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| Other museums in Merida include, Museo Macay (Calle 60 next to the Cathedral and this year it's free), Natural History Museum (Calle 59 and 84) and the Merida City Museum (Calle 61 between 58 and 60). |
| At the end of Paseo Montejo is a wonderful monument (monumento de bandera). This monument to the flag was hand carved and it illustrates some awesome Mayan craftmanship. There is now a new tour bus in Merida. It's a big red double decker bus operated by ADO. The tour cost 120 pesos and there are tour guides aboard to explain the city's history and sites. You can either ride around on the bus or you can get off at each stop and visit the sites, then get back on when the next bus passes. This is a great way to experience Merida. If you are going to be in Merida on a Sunday make sure to be in Centro around Plaza Mayor(main plaza). Here on Sundays they block the streets off and have outdoor vendors and performers. Every week performers change so you can see a variety of performers if your here for a long stay. This also goes for Parque Las Americas. |
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| Another way to checkout the historical dowtown area is by horsedrawn carriage. It's a great way to relax and see the downtown area, plus it's fu for families and couples alike. |