A Day in Puebla, Mexico, Puebla, Mexico

A collection of beautifully tiled and colourfully painted heritage buildings adorn the streets in Puebla’s historic centre. Ornate colonial churches fill its squares. These buildings along with its unique beginning makes Puebla a great city to spend at least a day exploring.

There are two very different historical events related to the city of Puebla. Its location, 130 km away from the capital, is key to these stories.

In 1531, the Spanish Crown decided to test a ‘trial republic’ where the local Spanish population would no longer be able to depend on taxes from the indigenous population. The Spanish called it City of Angels (Puebla de las Angeles). The decision to build this new city in the Cuetlaxcoapan Valley was ideal to both, protect Mexico City as well as the trade route between CDMX and the port in Veracruz. This trial republic turned out to be very successful and as a result, citizens in Puebla became very wealthy. At the time it was considered the second most important city in New Spain.

Today, Puebla’s Old Town is overflowing with examples of the prosperity that this city enjoyed. With over 2,600 historic buildings it’s easy to see how it achieved UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).