Picturesque around every corner, painted every color of the rainbow, and full of historic and cultural significance, Guanajuato is a must-visit destination. You might not have heard about it yet – but by the end of this article, I can bet you’ll add it to your list. The city is small enough to cover its main sights in a 48-hour trip. So, without further ado, here’s the perfect two-day Guanajuato itinerary.
Here’s what you can expect to do in 2 days in Guanajuato:
- Earn 7 years of good luck by kissing someone in the Callejon del Beso
- See some of the most well-preserved mummies (that’s right, mummies) in the world
- Learn about the city’s important history in the Mexican Revolution
- Treat yourself to a bougie show at the beautiful Teatro Juarez
- Take epic photos of the rainbow-colored city at the Pipila Monument
- Take a tour of what was once the largest mine in the world
- Stuff your face with the best traditional Mexican food
Where even is Guanajuato!?
Guanajuato is located in practically the smack-dab-center of the country. It’s managed to remain off of most tourists’ radar (so far) since hotspots like Tulum and Cancun draw crowds towards the coast of Mexico.
A Brief History of Guanajuato
First, let me properly introduce you to Guanajuato, because it’s actually a pretty important city historically. Since the land is so fertile here, people have been inhabiting it for thousands of years. The earliest people we know about were the Chupicuarios, a pre-historic group active between 800 B.C. and 300 C.E.
Fast forward 1,000+ years and the Spanish founded brutally colonized the city in the early 16th-century. Spanish conquistadors discovered there was an abundance of silver in the area, so they took over and forced the natives of Guanajuato to retreat in the nearby mountains.
Colonization went on for several hundred more years. Spain built up a colorful, opulent city from the immense wealth they gained from mining silver in the region. Meanwhile, inequalities with native groups of Mexico increased. The injustice of it all eventually led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, and Guanajuato was a crucial location. Guanajuato was the first major city taken back in the independence movement led by Miguel Hildalgo y Costilla.
Guanajuato was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in the 1980s, recognizing the historical importance as well as the unique architecture of the city.
Is Guanajuato safe? How about for solo travelers?
Safety risks while visiting Guanajuato are minimal. There are police scattered around the city at all times, keeping an eye on things. Outside of the city center in the surrounding area, there has been some cartel-related violence. But the chance of becoming involved in this as a tourist is slim to none.
I traveled here with my partner, but I went for walks around the city by myself when he wanted to rest back at the hotel. I personally felt 100% safe walking around the city by myself.
As with any city in the world, there are normal precautions you should follow. Avoid walking around by yourself at night time. Stay within the bustling city center, full of other tourists and locals. Avoid flashing expensive goods, like cameras, jewelry, or your wallet. These small precautions prevent you from sticking out like a rich tourist and becoming a prime victim of an opportunistic crime.
Best time to visit Guanajuato
365 days a year! Guanajuato’s climate is warm temperate all year round, only varying by a few degrees from the summer to winter months.
The high season is from May to September and also December/January when tourists are escaping the cold of their home countries. Expect more crowds during these months, + hotel and flight prices to be a bit higher.
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Pro tip: If you visit during the fall you’ll be in for a real treat: experiencing the city come alive for the Festival Internacional Cervantino. It is one of the most important cultural and artistic festivals in Latin America. The entire city participates, at all hours of the day. Exhibitions, parades, and shows of opera, music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and film are among just a few of the things that you’d witness during the festival.
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How to get to Guanajuato
By air:
Guanajuato is serviced by Guanajuato International Airport (also known as Del Bajío International Airport). There are direct flight connections from all over Mexico and major cities in the US (Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and more). Incoming flights from elsewhere will likely have to make a connection.
It takes around 30 minutes to an hour to drive from the airport into Guanajuato town. Uber and/or taxis are both available right outside the arrival doors of the airport. It should cost somewhere around the $15-$20 mark for the trip or about 400 Mexican pesos.
By bus:
If you happen to be in the nearby cities of Mexico City or Guadalajara, there are some pretty quick bus trips to Guanajuato. By quick I mean 4-5 hours, which isn’t so bad (especially when you compare to those 30-hour bus rides from hell in South America…). I recommend using Bus Bud to book your bus tickets in Mexico.
Where to stay in Guanajuato
Guanajuato is a relatively small town so choosing the perfect location isn’t tough at all. When looking at a map of the city, try to base yourself close to La Basilica Guanajuato, the centrally located bright yellow church that has become the symbol of the city.
Alternatively, you could stay higher up in the hills of the city near the Pipila Monument. That way, you get spectacular views of the colorful city down below. The downside is that you have to walk up/down 15 minutes of stairs every day to get down to town, and back up later. Let me tell you, it’s not so easy after you’re loaded up on yummy (but heavy) Mexican food.
We opted to stay up in the hills and this was the insane view from our AirBnb! You can book the same apartment here for only around $25 USD per night!
Guanajuato Itinerary: What to Do for Two Days
Wander the colorful streets
Kick-off your time in Guanajuato with a walk around town. You’ll discover in no time why I’m ranting and raving about it.
Every couple blocks lay a new vibrant plaza ready to be discovered, usually full of people, street performers, and yummy authentic Mexican restaurants to grab a bite to eat if you’re hungry. Guanajuato is one of those cities that is so freakin’ lovely to just get lost, following the different colors of the buildings left and right, to and fro.
The city is small enough to wander around on foot. What’s even better – there’s hardly any streets in the city that allow cars. It’s all pedestrian zones! So you’re free to totally lose yourself in the whimsical colors around you without dealing with beeping cars and traffic lights. This is what makes Guanajuato one of the best walking cities I’ve visited.
Don’t worry about getting lost, following the colorful pathways without a map part of what makes this city so special.
Take a look at the photos below for a preview of what a casual walk looks like in this city!
Visit the Yellow Church (Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato)
This striking, bright-marigold-colored building is the most important church in the city, and definitely an important stop on your Guanajuato itinerary. Wealthy Spanish miners from the colonial area constructed this iconic church beginning in the year 1671. It took 25 years to finish.
The Basilica is considered one of the most important displays of Baroque architecture in the Americas. It is said to serve as the inspiration for several more Baroque-style buildings around Latin America!
And visit the Pink Church at Templo de San Francisco
Templo de San Francisco is another beautiful, colorful church located a four minute walk away from the yellow Guanajuato Basilica.
Built around the same time period as the yellow church, the pink church is also in Baroque style. However, it had interesting Neo-classical features added in the 19th-century, including a clock on the front of the facade.
Kiss Your Beloved at The Alley of the Kiss (La Callejon del Beso)
Tucked away into a quiet narrow street there is an alleyway with a real kicker of a story.
It’s well known for somewhat of a tragic love affair between a well-to-do Spaniard named Ana and a miner named Carlos who lived on opposite sides of this tiny little street. Their balconies were so close together that Ana and Carlos could kiss and pursue their secret relationship from inside their respective homes.
Ana’s father vehemently opposed their relationship and forbid Ana to kiss Carlos again or he would kill Carlos. (Remember the animosity that existed between Spaniards and the Guanajuato natives?)
But Ana and Carlos were deep in love and risked it, continuing to kiss. As the legend goes, Carlos chose to end his life before Ana’s father could do it himself.
Legend has it that couples who visit Guanajuato who kiss on the famed step will have 7 years of good luck and happiness! If you visit the city with your partner, this is hands down a must-do in Guanajuato.
Take a stroll in nature at Jardin de la Union
If you’re after a nature break, there is a small but absolutely lovely little garden in the city center. It’s surrounded by a pleasantly busy plaza, so you can sit in the shade provided by the trees, enjoy a fresh limonada (or a margarita :P) and people watch.
Eat at one of Guanajuato’s best restaurants
If you’ve walked and kissed your way around the city for a few hours, you’ve probably worked yourself up an appetite. Good thing you’re in one of the best countries in the entire world for cuisine!
You really can’t go wrong by finding a busy plaza, grabbing a table, and watching the lively city unfold before your eyes. But if you’re looking for specific recommendations, I got you covered too.
For authentic Mexican food… eat at Mexico Lindo y Sabroso. All of the traditional Mexican items we know and love are here, including enchiladas, chili relleno, and mole poblano. Very big portion sizes here, so you’ll leave feeling satisfied.
For local Guanajuato food... eat at Enchilada Doña Lupe. Order the enchiladas mineras (miner’s enchiladas) – a typical dish that miner’s wives would prepare for their husbands when they returned home from a long day at the mines. Hearty and delicious.
For treating yourself to a luxury dinner… eat (and make reservations at) Los Campos. It’s a high-end Mexican-fusion restaurant that will leave your taste buds muy feliz.
For a break from Mexican food… (’cause we all know it can do a number to your body after a while) eat at Habibti Falafel. They have vegan and vegetarian options too.
Or… go on a food tour of Guanajuato
Are you a foodie traveler? Then you definitely shouldn’t miss this Guanajuato Food Tour, the original food tour of the city.
You’ll get to taste a variety of tasty bites from food stalls, mom-and-pop Mexican bakeries, and sample traditional foods like tacos and carnitas.
Get up Close with MUMMIES at Museo de Las Momias
You heard that right, there are mummies in Guanajuato! This was a total surprise to me when I arrived in Guanajuato. I was drawn to the city for the colorful colonial architecture and was surprised to hear there’s a whole museum with over a hundred mummies here.
Why? Apparently, the super dry air of the Guanajuato region can naturally mummify bodies that have been interred to rest.
The museum has a permanent exhibit of mummies they believed to have passed during a cholera outbreak in the early 17th century. So they’re definitely not as old as the ancient mummies on exhibit in Egypt, but it’s still a highly intriguing museum that I recommend to visitors who like a dose of freaky stuff while traveling.
A word of caution: It’s a bit of a “dark tourism” place. It can of course be a little creepy to walk around a building with still-very-human-like mummies surrounding you. I am fascinated by this kind of stuff so it was a must-visit for me during my two days in Guanajuato. But if mummies aren’t your thing and this stuff freaks you out, skip it!
Trigger Warning: photos of mummies
Take a Tour of the Guanajuato Mines
Mummies not your thing? Maybe touring mines is more up your alley.
There are a collection of mines open for tours, most located in the north of the city. It is not within walking distance from the city center. If you’ve rented a car, you can drive to the area, or take an Uber, taxi, or bus (headed toward “Valenciana”).
Museo de Sitio Mini Valenciana is the most popular mine to visit. At one point, this mine was the biggest in the world. It’s still in use today. An entrance ticket costs only 35 pesos, so under $2 USD.
A second popular mine system to visit is the Bocamina San Ramon. It’s a smaller tour, where you descend around 150 feet into a shaft and back out.
A word of caution: visiting mines can trigger claustrophobia. Sometimes visibility is low and you can’t see too far in front of you. I don’t recommend it for people afraid of small, dark spaces.
If you don’t feel like physically visiting a mine, that’s okay – there is a museum with mining information in the city center. Head to the Museo de Mineralogia located inside the Univerisity of Guanajuato. There are some interesting mineral facts here and it is consistently ranked one of the top mineral museums in the Americas.
Marvel at the view of the city from Pipila Monument
Alright, I’m about to ask you to spend about 15 minutes walking up a long set of stairs. I know what you may be thinking, but the view at the top so picturesque you’ll forget about the leg cramps in a second.
From central Guanajuato, ascend the stairs – either route yourself with Google Maps to Pipila Statue to find them, or ask around for ‘las escaleras para subir.’
After about 15 a minute climb, and you are rewarded with an elevated view of the entire city in all its colorful glory. It’s a great place to grab an ice cream or a journal or a beer and just soak up the incredible views in front of you, full of just about every comprehensible color on the spectrum. It was really hard to rip my eyes away from that view when it was time to leave!
There’s usually a lot of artists up here painting their surroundings. You might even get lucky and see a mariachi band!
You can also take the funicular from the city center down below up to the Pipila Monument. The price as of 2021 is 36 pesos per person – so just under $2 USD.
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Pro tip: Visit during the daytime AND come back for nighttime. The nighttime view of the city is what inspired the creators of the Pixar film Coco. Can you see the resemblance below?!
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Learn about Guanajuato’s history at Alhóndiga de Granaditas
Remember the horrors I mentioned of the Spanish colonization period? That most guidebooks gloss over? I encourage you to learn more about that by paying a visit to the Alhóndiga de Granaditas.
The building itself is the site of an old grain storage building. But don’t be fooled by the boring exterior, there is loads of important information to learn inside that makes it well-worth a visit.
The massive building tells the story of the struggle for independence and courage of the Mexican people through art, historical artifacts, and informative signposts
I think it’s extremely important for tourists to any destination to learn about the (sometimes terrible) history of the places they visit. We can only collectively learn from the past and move on if we properly educate ourselves.
Watch a show at one of Guanajuato’s theatres
Keen on treating yourself to a classical music performance? Or a Spanish vaudeville comedy? Perhaps opera? You’re in luck, there are two main theatres in Guanajuato that put on regular shows.
Juarez Theatre is an architecturally stunning building with a classical-style exterior and an art-deco interior. It’s worth visiting simply to see the building yourself, but you can also see a variety of performances – check this link for the schedule. Don’t leave Guanajuato without visiting this theatre, at the very least to see the striking architecture.
A second theatre is Teatro Principal. It originally began as a comedy club, but now hosts all sorts of shows from music to the arts. It is smaller and (I think) less elaborate or beautiful than Juarez Theatre, so I wouldn’t go out of your way to visit if there’s not a show that interests you on display.
Shop around at Mercardo Hidalgo
You’ll find plenty of cute shops selling local-made goods around the streets of Guanajuato. But if you’re searching for a proper market to visit during your trip, then Mercardo Hidalgo is a decent stop.
If you’ve been to other markets in Latin America, I don’t think you’ll be overly impressed by this one. The building that houses the market is beautiful, but the market itself doesn’t sell much that you won’t find in the city center.
Conclusion
This list of things to do in Guanajuato will make for an exciting, jam-packed two-day itinerary. Pick and choose what sounds interesting to you and make the best of your trip! If I were you I’d hurry up and make it to Guanajuato ASAP before its cuteness puts it at the top of the tourism radar.
