Introduction
Guadalajara is the second largest city of the Mexican republic. It is the capital of the state of Jalisco. It is a typical Mexican habitats of the country. According to the local history, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, in the 16th century, gave Guadalajara its charter as "a most loyal and noble city." With its wonderful sites, comfortable climate and the hospitable people this is a must visit place in Mexico.

What to do
While visiting Guadalajara, you would be engrossed in activities like sightseeing, shopping and witnessing some of the wonderful dance and music performances, etc., within the city. Moreover, you can also visit some of the nearby areas like Tlaquepaque that are famous for its picturesque sites and its local wonders.

City at a Glance

Latitude 19.46670 North Longitude 99.14990 West Population 1,650,042 Language Spanish Religion Predominantly Roman Catholic Telephone Codes 36

History
Just like most of the Mexican cities, Guadalajara has also been attracting tourist for quite a long time. The history of the place is one of the reasons of its popularity and attractions. However, during the early 1820s, after the war of independence some of the Mexican cities were badly devastated. But Guadalajara during that time had a clear escape from the ruins. This helped them to keep their developments intact. However, the historic army of Padre Hidalgo'met their end at the battle of Calderón Bridge just near the main city area. Be it the war of independence, great flood or any other calamity, Guadalajara had a wonderful escape from all of these keeping its beauty and importance intact in its history. With this little destruction it became easy for the inhabitants here to lead a peaceful life which always looks for perfection. The census of 1821 had counted nearly forty thousand inhabitants, a figure contemporary observers thought too low by at least one-sixth. Looking at the history of the city, it could be assumed that Guadalajara had a wonderful and quiet past where developments were a part of the peoples' lives.

Weather and Best Season to Visit
Guadalajara has a wonderful climate. Due to its comfortable location at an altitude of 5000 feet above sea level, Guadalajara has a cool and comfortable climate. This considerable altitude also makes the weather of the city remain pleasant throughout the year. The climate of this place is often described as the 'eternal spring'. So, if you are planning to visit the city, you can go for it any time of the year.

Attractions
You will get a number of sites to visit in Guadalajara. Most of the sites includes churches and monuments of early times. The Cathedral is a famous building beautifully built in the XVI century. The cathedral is also known for its important painters' squares in their interior. The sculpture donated by Carlos V in 1548 is also one of the prized possessions of the cathedral. Moreover, the Palace of Government also makes one of the tourist spots for its wonderful structure of baroque facade of the XVIII century. This is the place where slavery was abolished in Mexico under the leadership of priest Don Miguel Hidalgo. Apart from these massive and wonderful structures, there are still more to see in Guadalajara. Theatre Degollado is one of the places you must not miss a visit to. The theatre was built in the middle XIX century and makes a favourite hunt of the locals here. The Square of the liberation is also one of the places where you can definitely have some idea about the aesthetic sense of its past habitants. Here the entire place is like a collection of several historical buildings. Museums of Guadalajara also makes a place of must visit. The Regional museum here contains several artistic works of the XVIII century and XIX.

Places Nearby
There are some wonderful and picturesque places near Guadalajara which you can include in your day or weekend itinerary. Tlaquepaque is one of them to mention here. Tlaquepaque just outside Guadalajara, used to be the place where the upper crust of the city built there summer cottages to get rid of the then busy congestion of the city. But today, Tlaquepaque looks like an extension of the main city area. Though not so crowded like before, the beauty of the place is still intact making it a must visit for the tourists there. Most of the early summer homes are functioning as shops to sell variety of crafts from throughout Mexico. Some of the cottages are also converted into good restaurants which serve delicious local and international preparations.

Important Festivals and Exhibitions
Guadalajara is famous for its Mariachi. It is a typical music form of Guadalajara or Mexico in general. It is supposedly the sum of a cultural revolution expressed through a group of musicians, dressed in popular clothing enclosing the essence of Mexico and its people. Today, you can see the performances of the Mariachi's in the local restaurants where they perform traditionally wearing charro outfits with wide brimmed hats. They play some variety of instruments including the violins, guitars, basses, vihuelas and trumpets etc.

After Hours
Now, if you are tired of sightseeing make yourself relax in a local restaurants at the famous squares in the city. Here apart from the delicious food you can also enjoy some melodious Mariachi music. To loosen up more, treat yourself with a margarita. Moreover, you can also opt for some lazy walks on the city pavements that would give a sneak preview of the city life there.

Shopping
In case you feel like shopping in Guadalajara you can go for it in the local markets of the city. But apart from the usual shopping items it is highly recommended to visit the nearby Tlaquepaque for its wonderful handicraft industry. You can get some of the unique pieces of furniture, colonial antiques, wooden figures, paper maché, work in glass etc.

WHERE TO STAY
There are a good numbers of hotels and other accommodation options, which you can go for. The prices are reasonable and the choices are in plenty to choose an option that best match your budget. Some of them are:

Presidente Inter-Continental
Crowne Plaza
Holiday Inn Select Guadalajara,
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Centro Historico,
G T stars
Camino Real
Hyatt Regency
Quinta Real
Carlton Guadalajara
Continental Plaza Guadalajara

WHERE TO EAT

V,M Maximino's
Lerdo de Tejada 2043. (3) 615 3424.
French and International.
Offers a delicious international menu and good service.
Av. Luís Pérez Verdía 38. (3) 615 2300.
Mexican.
Offers a traditional Mexican menu at Jalisco style.
V,M Guadalajara Grill.
Ave. López Mateos Sur 3771.
offers International and Mexican food, moderately priced.
V,M Los Itacates
Av. Chapultepec Norte 110 (3) 825 1106.
offers traditional Mexican food.

Travel Information
Air Travel Resources
Guadalajara is well connected with the rest of the major airports. The airport is just 30 km from the downtown of Guadalajara.

Land and Water
Guadalajara has a good network of roads that connect the city with rest of the major places of Mexico. You can also take a long drive all the way to Mexico city while visiting some of the wonderful sites that falls on the way.

Local Transport
For local transport you can easily opt for any of the many road transport options available as the fares are reasonably tagged and the service is good.

Travel Resources
Travellers can get more information on Guadalajara from the local tour agents in the town. And if you are wondering about credit cards, never mind as they accept MasterCard and Visa cards in most of the cases.