Typical Campeche Street
Campeche, the Yucatan Peninsula’s UNESCO world heritage city that is virtually unknown outside of Mexico, is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited. The historic center features narrow streets lined with meticulously preserved colonial buildings, surrounded by walls built to keep out invading pirates.
Every house is a different pastel color – none of the colors were repeated, and almost every house looks newly and beautifully restored. I’ve been in a lot of Spanish colonial cities with historically accurate renovated colonial buildings, but none of them are as pristine as Campeche.
The lack of information about these colonials of Campeche is astounding. Every guide book and travel site mentions the walls, forts and churches, but there is minimal information on the houses, other than to say they are pastel. Luckily, I met a very knowledgeable docent at the Museum at the Baluarte Santa Rosa who spoke great English and filled me in.
