Things to do in Zapopan

Culture · Zapopan Centro

The seventeenth-century basilica at the heart of the old town, home to the small maize-paste Virgin known as La Generala and the destination of the October Romería.

Local tip: The Museo Huichol Wixárika next door is the reason to come on an ordinary day. It is small, staffed by community members, and the yarn paintings and beadwork are explained rather than merely displayed. Then eat tejuino from a cart on the plaza.

Nature · Western edge of Zapopan

A 30,000-hectare pine and oak forest over a volcanic caldera, with hot springs, a river and hundreds of kilometres of trail, starting where the last suburb ends.

Local tip: Go on a weekday morning and enter from the Pinar de La Venta side rather than the Bosque Escondido gate everyone uses at the weekend. Check the fire situation before you drive out between February and June — the forest closes sections without much notice.

Food · Zapopan, near Av. Ávila Camacho

Western Mexico's big seafood market — wholesale in the small hours, retail stalls and a row of cocktail counters by mid-morning.

Local tip: Buy at the back where the restaurants buy, then eat at a counter rather than a restaurant. A campechana or a tostada de camarón before noon costs a fraction of what the same thing costs in Providencia, and it is fresher.

Neighborhood · North-east Zapopan

Glass towers, an open-air luxury mall and the metro area's densest concentration of corporate offices, hotels and new apartments.

Local tip: The interesting version of this district is the Sunday morning one, before the mall opens, when the whole corridor is given over to runners and cyclists. During the week, treat Av. Patria as something to be crossed as rarely as possible.

Landmark · Zapopan Centro

The ceremonial arch marking the entrance to the old town, and the pedestrian street that runs from it to the basilica plaza.

Local tip: Line 3 of the tren ligero stops right here, which makes Zapopan Centro one of the few genuinely car-free destinations in the metro area. Come on a Friday evening when the andador's food stalls are out and the plaza fills up with families.

Culture · Zapopan Centro, on the basilica plaza

A serious contemporary art museum in an unassuming building right beside the basilica — usually two or three shows, often Latin American artists you will not have seen elsewhere.

Local tip: Free or near-free, rarely crowded, and it keeps different hours from the basilica. Pair it with the market and the andador and you have a half day in Zapopan Centro that most people who live in the metro area have never done.