Layout of Veracruz
The city is a strip along the shore of a shallow bay, wider south than north, with the working port wedged into its northern end. The centro histórico is the small grid around the zócalo — formally Plaza de Armas — closed on one side by the Palacio Municipal, begun in 1608, and on another by the cathedral of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción; the portales along its edges are the city's main outdoor cafés and the place the danzón is still danced in the evening. Two blocks north-east the malecón runs along the harbour front past the fish market and the passenger pier to the aquarium at Plaza Acuario. The Baluarte de Santiago, four blocks inland, is the only one of the nine bastions of the seventeenth-century city wall left standing.
Across the harbour on what was the reef island of La Gallega sits San Juan de Ulúa, the coral-block fortress that guarded the anchorage for three centuries and is now reached by road around the container terminal. The port itself is the oldest in Mexico and its busiest for general cargo, and has been expanding north into Bahía de Vergara since 2014. South of the centre, Boulevard Ávila Camacho follows the beach through the districts of Villa del Mar, Costa de Oro and Mocambo and runs on into the neighbouring municipality of Boca del Río, about 10 km out, where most of the newer hotels, malls and restaurants are. The ADO central de autobuses is on Avenida Díaz Mirón about 2 km south-west of the zócalo; General Heriberto Jara International Airport (VER) is 9 km south-west on Highway 140, near Las Bajadas.
Distances from Veracruz
Highway 150D climbs from sea level to the 2,400 m plateau at Puebla in about three hours; Highway 180 runs the length of the Gulf coast in both directions. The road map shows the toll network behind these figures.
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport (VER) | 9 | 20 min | Hwy 140, taxi |
| Boca del Río | 10 | 20 min | Blvd Ávila Camacho, city bus |
| La Antigua | 25 | 30 min | Hwy 180 north |
| Cardel (Zempoala) | 35 | 40 min | Hwy 180 north |
| Xalapa | 105 | 1 h 30 | Hwy 140D |
| Córdoba | 125 | 1 h 30 | Hwy 150D |
| Puebla | 280 | 3 h 30 | Hwy 150D |
| Coatzacoalcos | 300 | 3 h 30 | Hwy 180D |
| Mexico City | 400 | 5 h | Hwy 150D |
| Villahermosa | 480 | 6 h | Hwy 180D |
Beaches, Boca del Río and the reef
The beaches improve with distance from the port. Villa del Mar, the closest, is a city beach; Mocambo and Costa de Oro, 6–9 km south, are wider and back onto the hotel strip; the best water is further out still, at Antón Lizardo about 30 km south-east, which is also the dive base. All of it lies inside the Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, a chain of some fifty coral reefs and islets between the mouths of the Río La Antigua and the Río Papaloapan, protected as a national park since 1992 and listed as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The water is warmer and browner than the Caribbean — the rivers keep it turbid — so the reefs are a diving destination rather than a snorkelling postcard. The beaches map sets them against the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
The municipality counted 428,323 people in 2020 and the built-up area, taken with Boca del Río, Medellín de Bravo and Alvarado, holds about 940,000 — the largest urban concentration on the Mexican Gulf coast. North along Highway 180 the history is thick: La Antigua, 25 km out, is where the Spanish town stood from 1525 to about 1599 and keeps a ruined customs house; Zempoala near Cardel, 40 km out, is the Totonac city whose ruler allied with Cortés in 1519, and is mapped on the archaeological sites map. Inland, the escarpment rises fast: Pico de Orizaba, at 5,636 m the highest mountain in Mexico, is 100 km west and shows above the plain on clear winter days. For the wider coast see the Gulf Coast region and the Gulf of Mexico map.
Questions about Veracruz
Where is Veracruz on the map of Mexico?
On the Gulf coast in the centre of Veracruz state, about 400 km east of Mexico City on Highway 150D and 105 km downhill from the state capital, Xalapa.
Is Veracruz the oldest city in Mexico?
It is the oldest Spanish municipality on the American mainland. Hernán Cortés founded the Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz in April 1519; the settlement moved twice before taking its present site opposite the San Juan de Ulúa reef around 1599.
What is San Juan de Ulúa?
The stone fortress on the reef across the harbour, begun in 1535 to protect the anchorage and later used as a customs post and a prison. It was the last position in Mexico held by Spanish troops, surrendered in 1825, and is open as a museum.
When is carnival in Veracruz?
In February or March, in the nine days before Ash Wednesday, so the dates move with Easter. It is one of the largest carnivals in Mexico and fills the malecón and Boulevard Ávila Camacho with parades.
Is Veracruz safe to visit?
The port, the malecón, the zócalo and Boca del Río are used heavily by Mexican domestic tourists year-round. Veracruz state has carried a lower US State Department advisory level than neighbouring Tamaulipas, with the usual cautions about intercity road travel after dark; check the current advisory.