Layout of Puebla
Puebla de Zaragoza was founded on 16 April 1531 on empty ground deliberately chosen between the existing Indigenous cities of Cholula and Tlaxcala, which makes it one of the first Spanish towns in the Americas laid out from scratch on a plan. The grid it was given that year still governs the centre, and the streets are numbered rather than only named: calles run north–south, avenidas east–west, counting outward in both directions from the crossing of 5 de Mayo–16 de Septiembre with Avenida Reforma–Avenida Máximo Ávila Camacho, one block from the main square. The historic centre — about 390 blocks and some 2,600 listed buildings — was inscribed by UNESCO in 1987.
The Zócalo is arcaded on three sides. The cathedral occupies the block to its south: built between 1575 and 1649, its two towers of roughly 70 m are the tallest church towers in Mexico. Behind it, the Biblioteca Palafoxiana of 1646 holds about 45,000 volumes on its original shelving and is generally called the oldest public library in the Americas. Five blocks north, the Capilla del Rosario, finished in 1690 inside the church of Santo Domingo, is gilded floor to vault and is the standard reference for Mexican baroque. Facades across the centre are faced in the local red brick and the glazed Talavera tiles the city has produced since the 1550s.
East of the covered course of the Río San Francisco lie the old barrios of Analco and El Alto, the districts of the Indigenous and mixed population from the sixteenth century, reached by the Paseo del Río San Francisco. The Barrio del Artista and the antique dealers of the Callejón de los Sapos are a few blocks south-east of the Zócalo. North-east, the hill of Loreto y Guadalupe carries the two forts where the Mexican army beat a French column on 5 May 1862. On the opposite side of the city, Angelópolis is the district built from the 1990s onwards with offices, malls and the modern museums.
The CAPU bus terminal, one of the busiest in Mexico, is north of the centre off the Boulevard Norte, with departures to Mexico City's TAPO every few minutes. Hermanos Serdán International (PBC) lies 22 km north-west at Huejotzingo, close to the 150D motorway, and handles domestic flights plus a small number of US services; Mexico City's two airports are within two hours by direct coach.
Distances from Puebla
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cholula and its pyramid | 10 | 20 min | Recta a Cholula, local bus |
| Puebla airport (PBC) | 22 | 30 min | Hwy 150D to Huejotzingo |
| Atlixco | 30 | 35 min | Hwy 190 |
| Tlaxcala | 35 | 40 min | Hwy 119, frequent buses |
| Orizaba | 130 | 1 h 30 | Hwy 150D |
| Mexico City | 130 | 1 h 45 | Hwy 150D, bus to TAPO |
| Cuernavaca | 170 | 2 h 30 | Hwy 160 via Cuautla |
| Xalapa | 200 | 3 h | Hwy 140 via Perote |
| Veracruz | 280 | 3 h 30 | Hwy 150D |
| Oaxaca City | 340 | 4 h 30 | Hwy 135D |
Cholula, the volcanoes and the valley
Cholula, 10 km west and now joined to Puebla by the arrow-straight Recta, has been continuously occupied for more than two thousand years. Its Tlachihualtepetl is the largest pyramid in the world by volume, about 400 m along each side and 66 m high, built up in at least four stages from around 300 BC; it survives as a grassed mound with the church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, begun in 1594, on the summit, and several hundred metres of tunnel dug by archaeologists run through the interior. The town is split between San Pedro and San Andrés Cholula and is said to have a church for every day of the year — the real figure is around forty.
West of Cholula the ground rises to the Sierra Nevada: Popocatépetl at 5,426 m, in continuous eruptive activity since 1994 and monitored daily by CENAPRED, and Iztaccíhuatl at 5,220 m, extinct and climbable. La Malinche (4,461 m) closes the valley to the north and Pico de Orizaba (5,636 m), the highest mountain in Mexico, stands about 100 km east on the Veracruz border; on a clear winter morning all four are visible from the city. The sixteenth-century monasteries at Huejotzingo and Tochimilco, on the Puebla side of Popocatépetl, belong to the same UNESCO listing as those in Morelos. Atlixco, 30 km south-west, grows most of the cut flowers sold in central Mexico. The volcanoes map and Central Mexico map set out the wider picture.
Questions about Puebla
Where is Puebla on the map of Mexico?
130 km east of Mexico City at 19.04° N, 98.20° W, on a plateau at 2,135 m between the Sierra Nevada and La Malinche. It is the capital of the state of Puebla and the fourth-largest city in the country by municipal population.
How far is Puebla from Mexico City?
130 km by the 150D toll motorway, about 1 h 45 to 2 h by car. Buses leave Mexico City's TAPO terminal every fifteen minutes or so and there is a direct coach from Mexico City airport.
What is Puebla known for?
Its UNESCO-listed colonial centre with more than seventy churches, Talavera tin-glazed pottery made here since the sixteenth century, mole poblano and cemitas, and the Battle of Puebla of 5 May 1862, which is what Cinco de Mayo commemorates.
Can you see Popocatépetl from Puebla?
Yes, on clear days. Popocatépetl (5,426 m) and Iztaccíhuatl (5,220 m) stand about 45 km west of the city and are its usual western horizon. Popocatépetl is active and CENAPRED publishes a daily alert level; the exclusion zone around the crater is closed to climbers.
What is the pyramid at Cholula?
The Tlachihualtepetl at Cholula, 10 km west of Puebla, is the largest pyramid in the world by volume at roughly 4.45 million m³, built in stages from about 300 BC. It looks like a hill because it is largely unexcavated, and the church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios of 1594 stands on top.