Cuernavaca
The “City of Eternal Spring”, with the Palace of Cortés and the Jardín Borda, and the World Heritage ruins of Xochicalco and the silver town of Taxco nearby.
Cuernavaca, capital of the Mexican state of Morelos, sits in a valley about 85 km south of Mexico City at roughly 1,500 m, with temperatures of 18–28°C year-round — hence its nickname, the “City of Eternal Spring”. From Aztec nobles to Cortés to Emperor Maximilian, the powerful have built summer retreats here for centuries; today it remains a weekend getaway for Mexico City residents and a popular place for foreigners to study Spanish.
The old town centres on the Plaza de Armas: the Palace of Cortés (with Diego Rivera murals), the cathedral (part of a World Heritage Site), the Jardín Borda and the Robert Brady Museum are all within a 10-minute walk, and half a day covers it all; take a taxi to the Teopanzolco pyramid northeast of the centre. The highlights nearby are the World Heritage ruins of Xochicalco, about 38 km southwest, and the Las Estacas spring-fed park to the southeast; the classic day trip is the silver town of Taxco, about 1.5 hours' drive southwest, often combined with the Cacahuamilpa Caves.
The best season is the Oct–May dry season; the Jun–Sep rainy season mostly brings afternoon showers, lush greenery and full waterfalls. Getting there: buses such as Pullman de Morelos take about 1.5 hours from Mexico City's southern terminal (Taxqueña) or the airport; use ride-hailing apps to get between sights in town. Allow 2–3 days: one for the old town, one for Xochicalco and the springs, and one for Taxco and the caves. Hotels and roads get busy at weekends and over Easter and Christmas; take taxis at night and keep an eye on your belongings.
Top sights
- Palace of Cortés – Built by Cortés in the 1520s, one of the oldest surviving Spanish colonial civic buildings in the Americas, housing Diego Rivera's murals o…
- Jardín Borda – An 18th-century mansion garden of the Borda family, silver-mining magnates of Taxco, later the summer palace of Emperor Maximilian, with a…
- Xochicalco – A World Heritage Site: a hilltop fortified city from 650–900 CE, where the Feathered Serpent Pyramid reliefs and an astronomical observatio…
- Taxco & Santa Prisca – A hillside silver-mining town of whitewashed walls and red roofs, where the Churrigueresque-style Santa Prisca church and countless silver…
- Cuernavaca Cathedral – A fortress-style monastery founded by the Franciscans in 1529, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site 'Sixteenth-Century Monastic Complexes…
- Robert Brady Museum – The former home of American collector Robert Brady, whose old monastery outbuildings are filled with art and folk crafts from around the wo…
- Plaza de Armas & Jardín Juárez – The main square of the old town center and a small adjoining garden, surrounded by the State Government Palace and the Palacio de Cortés, w…
- Teopanzolco – A Tlahuica twin-temple pyramid within the city, with an even earlier stepped shrine hidden inside the later structure that predates the Azt…
- Juan Soriano Morelos Museum of Contemporary Art – A contemporary art museum opened in 2017, known for large bronze sculptures by Mexican artist Juan Soriano and an outdoor sculpture garden.
- Ethnobotanical Garden & Museum of Traditional Medicine – The former private villa of Emperor Maximilian, known as the Casa de Olindo. Its garden grows over a thousand medicinal plant species, and…
- Salto de San Antón – A roughly 36-metre waterfall in a basalt gorge west of the old town. Steps lead down to a path behind the falls, and the nearby San Antón d…
- Las Estacas Natural Park – Morelos' best-known spring park, built around a crystal-clear spring river for snorkeling and drifting. Its grassy lawns and shade make it…
- Cacahuamilpa Caves National Park – One of the largest cave systems in the world, with a main chamber up to 80 m high and a roughly 2 km lit trail linking more than 20 halls o…
- Lagunas de Zempoala National Park – Fir forests and highland lakes in the mountains north of Cuernavaca, with horseback riding, hiking and trout fishing. On weekends, roadside…
- Lake Tequesquitengo – A resort lake in southern Morelos known for water-skiing, speedboats, hot-air balloons and skydiving, and a weekend water playground for Me…
- Tlayacapan – A 'Magical Town' (Pueblo Mágico) where the 16th-century Monastery of St. John the Baptist is a World Heritage site, famous for its pottery…
Where to eat
- Las Mañanitas – Cuernavaca's most celebrated garden restaurant, set in the boutique hotel of the same name, where peacocks and flamingo…
- Casa Hidalgo – An old-town restaurant directly facing the Palace of Cortés, with a good terrace view. Creative Mexican dishes such as…
- La India Bonita – Opened in 1933 and considered Cuernavaca's oldest restaurant. Eat mole enchiladas and Yecapixtla cecina in a historic c…
- El Barco Pozolería (Old Town Branch) – A pozole specialty shop popular with Cuernavaca locals, offering red, green and white corn stews with generous portions…
Itineraries
- Mexico City South to Morelos – Head south from Mexico City to climb Tepozteco, and visit the Palace of Cortés and the ruins of Xochicalco.
- Slow Days in Coyoacán, South City and Taxco – Use Coyoacán's old town as home base to explore the south city's neighborhoods and canals, with a day in Cuernavaca and…