silver mine – PalmTreeMusings

November is such a nice time of year to visit Mexico- beautiful weather, low crowds- so this year we decided to spend Thanksgiving break in Taxco, one of Mexico’s “Pueblo Magicos”, or Magic Towns. These charming small cities feature walkable city centers, historic churches and plazas, and plenty of delicious options to eat and drink.

Arriving at the Mexico City airport, there’s three easy ways to get to downtown, or to any of the main bus stations. You can hop in a taxi, take the Metrobus, or walk all the way down to Door One and access the subway. For 15 pesos (75¢ US) you can buy a metro card, and then each ride is 5 pesos (25¢). Two people can share one metro card. We transferred to the blue line’s last stop, the Tasqueño bus terminal. It’s a very nice, very modern bus terminal, and we found busses departing for Tasco every 90 minutes. 554 pesos later (approx $25 USD), we had two bus tickets on Costa Lines and were on our way.

We arrived in Taxco two and a half hours later and walked from the central bus station to our hotel, the Posada de San Javier ($65 per night for a king suite, with breakfast). The city of Taxco trails down the side of a mountain, so it doesn’t matter where you stay- everywhere you go is going to be a short but steep climb from your hotel or restaurant or the main zocalo. Just take it slow and steady, or hop in one of the ubiquitous VW taxis that constantly circle the plazas.

The stunning main feature of Taxco is the twin-spired baroque Church of Santa Pisca, built from 1751-1759. Everything else in the historic city can be found in relation to the church. Wanting to really relax on our trip, we spent four days in town and found ourselves lounging on rooftop terraces, enjoying coffees and chilaquiles in the mornings or hot chocolates and churros in the evenings. We spotted a few other gringo tourists in town, but the majority seemed to be visitors from other parts of Mexico or Latin America. Taxco feels safe, is easy to walk around, and has options to fit any budget.

Our favorite activities in Taxco:

Take the cable car up to the Hotel Montetaxco and enjoy the view from their mirador, while sipping a juice cocktail. It costs 9 pesos to hop in a collectivo (combi) to reach the base of the teleferico. Round trip tickets on the cable car are 120 pesos, or you can take the cable car up and walk down.
Visit the Pre-Historic Mine, located underneath the Hotel Posada de la Mision. Tickets are 180 pesos and come with a mezcal cocktail afterwards at the hotel bar. The tour is in Spanish but the guide translates parts of it.
Visit the silversmith shops or workshops, pretty much all over the city. Look for the .925 or .950 stamp if you’re looking to buy, or just enjoy watching the sheer talent of the artisan workers.
Eat pozole at any number of pozolerias (Tia Calle was very inexpensive, if not very atmospheric).
Try the region’s pink rosa mole dish, made with rose petals and white chocolate. We enjoyed the dish at La Parroquia, which features balconies and a terrace overlooking the main zocalo. A perfect al fresco dinner spot.
Plenty of places offer chocolate and churros, but we liked Chu Cho, nestled in Plazuela de Bernal, for their wide variety of toppings (try the marzipan!).
Visit the Pozas Azules (blue swimming holes). You can take a full-day guided tour from one of the tour operators in town, or just walk to the main road and grab a combi heading out of town toward Acapulco (the stop is in front of the Coppell building). The combi costs 35 pesos, and entrance to the pools is 100 pesos.
Tour the Spratling Pre-Hispaña Museum. Spratling put Taxco on the map in 1929 and made sure its pre-Hispanic culture would be preserved. This museum features his private collection of artifacts. Worth a visit, and only 75 pesos per person.
For another beautiful view of the town, visit the Cristo Rey statue above the main plaza. It takes about 45 minutes to walk up there, or take a taxi for 80 pesos.
Eat as much ice cream as possible. We liked the Crema y Nata Heladeria, tucked into the bend right at Plaza Del Convento. Delicious!