Places to visit in San Luis Potosi

San Luis Potosi is the capital city of the state of the same name. Located in the center of the country, it is part of the so-called “colonial Mexico”. We are going to take a tour of the places to visit in the center of the city of San Luis Potosi.

Our passage through this city was very brief, we arrived one day at the beginning of the afternoon, to leave the next day before noon. The objective on this trip was not to see it in depth, we had a precise mission in this city: to see the Christmas light projection show by French artist Xavier de Richemont.

How to get to San Luis Potosi?

It can be reached by bus from various parts of Mexico. In our case we took a bus from Mexico City and in about 5 hours we were there. Another option is to arrive by plane, the nearest airport is 13 km from the city.

Best sights at San Luis Potosi (places to visit)

As night fell, we set out to explore the city center on foot.

Plaza de Armas (Main Square)

The Plaza de Armas is where we find the Government Palace, the Municipal Palace and an octagonal kiosk made of pink stone reigns in the center of the square. In general, there is a very pleasant atmosphere in the square, where you can see people coming and going, having a good time.

A statue that we could not help noticing is that of a man who has many pigeons around. It was made in honor of Mr. José Moreno Díaz who was known as “The Lord of the Doves”.

Parks in the city

The city center has several green areas, one can sit quietly and read a book or watch people go by.

If you have time to look for a much greener area, but away from the historic center, you can go to Tangamanga I Park, it is located in the west of the city. It has two lakes, trees, cultural centers, a spa, and it is the second largest urban park in Mexico, the first being Chapultepec.

Countless churches

One of the things that we saw the most in the center are churches, but it was impressive how there were so many religious centers of different styles, shapes, etc. Of all I have to say that my favorites are the baroque.

Look at the different styles of churches and tell me which one you like best:

The Temple of Carmen (third picture), inaugurated in 1764, would be the place that when night fell we would see illuminated, we were eager to see it 🙂

The church in the last photo is the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Luis Potosi that was built between 1670 and 1730, dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Expectación (Our Lady of Expectation).

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Museums

As part of the places to visit in San Luis Potosi there are several museums, this time we could not visit them due to the short time of our trip. But here we leave them for when we can return:

• Museum of the Viceroyalty of San Luis Potosi: it opened its doors in 2003, and is located in the building that was the Convent of Carmelitas Descalzas. It is dedicated to Mexican viceregal art.
• Museum Leonora Carrington: opened in 2018, it houses sculptures, jewels and various objects by the artist. IYou can learn more about Czech Leonora Carrington here.
• National Mask Museum: It exists since 1982 and has a collection of something like 1,300 pieces, made up of Mexican dance costumes and masks, the largest in the whole country.
• Potosi Regional Museum: opened since 1952, where you can see the history of the Potosinos from several centuries ago to the most recent events such as the revolution.
• Railway Museum “Jesús García Corona”: Inaugurated in 2007, here are exhibited pieces related to steam trains, their history and how it was used in Mexico during the 20th century.

And there are even more

Going through the center we come across several cars that could well go into a museum now, like an old-style Renault. But Vicente’s favorites are “vochitos” (beetles) and we saw several. We also had the opportunity to “sneak in” to the mass of a quinceañera (15-y-o-lady party), we saw it almost from the outside, do not think that we went there to the mass among the guests. It was the time when colorful quinceanera dresses began to become fashionable.

We also sneaked into a pastorela (shepherd’s celebration) that some children were giving, it was curious to see them with their costumes characterized by the wise men, etc.

Christmas light show

This was what brought us to the city, it was time to see the light show. The idea was to “paint” the Temple of Carmen in colors, with the figures chosen by the artist, the challenge was to combine the lights with the shapes of the enclosure so that everything was harmonious. It was very beautiful, the bad thing is that what I show here looks horrible because the camera that I brought does not take good photos at night 🙁 but try to imagine it beautifully.

After the show we went to dinner at a nearby inn and I asked for a gringa.

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Our accommodation in San Luis Potosí

During the only night we slept in the city, we stayed at the Hotel Progreso. This hotel is located in the center, very close to the main square. It was a double-A (affordable and adorable). We had a nice balcony view. If a but I have to put it is that the bathroom was not very nice, but for one night it was ok.

Delicious breakfast

Before leaving the city, we had a delicious breakfast in a restaurant that was one block from the hotel (of which I don’t remember the name). Here I leave you, what would be a typical breakfast in Mexico 😉

And that was the end of our brief stay in the state capital, we will have to return to explore other places in the state.

As you can see, there are many places to visit in San Luis Potosi, and we still need to see what is outside the capital.

Another colonial city that we have visited is Taxco, we invite you to see it with us.