Museums and galleries in Zacatecas

Museums and galleries in Zacatecas

1. Eat

   La Leyenda

   This restaurant could more aptly be described as an art museum and gallery where you can share a meal and drinks. It's a place of culture, dreams, and nightmares. There's some beautiful pieces of Huichol art, devil masks, paper maché demons and dragons to name but a few of the kinds of works found here. It is an experience, with nearly every surface is a piece of art. The owner and collector is there most evenings and is very approachable. And he welcomes people to come and view the massive collection.

   Tue-Sun 09:30-21:30·M$100-300

2. See

   La Quemada

   Archeological ruins of mysterious origin. There is an on-site museum that provides a panoramic view of the ruins.

   09:00-17:00 daily·M$70

3. Do

   Mina El Edén

   This old silver mine in downtown Zacatecas closed in 1960 and was re-opened as a historical site and museum in the mid-1970s. The tourist facilities were extensively updated in the mid 2000s and today El Eden is Mexico's largest and most popular mine tour. You can go into some of the mine shafts where there are depictions of mining activities and an underground mining train. There's an on-site nightclub that's open on weekends and a big rocks and minerals museum featuring a collection donated by Juan Manuel Navarro. If there's ever a cave-in, don't count on Superman to come save you — the museum has a kryptonite display!

   10:00-18:00 daily·M$150 adults, M$80 under 11 years old, M$120 students, M$80 seniors

4. See

   Museo Rafael Coronel

   Ex Convento de San Francisco

   Set in a partially restored convent dating back to the 16th-17th centuries, this museum houses a large and diverse collection of masks drawn from several regions of Mexico and from other cultures around the world. Masks from different regions and eras are grouped together by themes and uses, including masks used in Carnival and in religious pageants, such as those commemorating the Reconquista. Particularly interesting is the alternate incorporation and subversion of pre-Hispanic symbols. The Diablo room is not to be missed. The museum is extensive and although most famous for its masks, it houses more than 16,000 other pieces of folk art (obviously not all on display). Portions of the convent grounds that could not be restored have been converted into a garden, with crumbling walls, standing arches and greenery. The museum was established by surrealist artist Rafael Coronel and does include some of the artist's works.

   M$30

5. See

   Museo Zacatecano

   Casa de Moneda

   A museum located across the street from San Augustín with exhibitions all about Zacatecas, notable residents and its long history. Of note is a large section of exhibits, crafts, and other artifacts belonging to the Huichol culture, whose members still maintain a pre-Columbian lifestyle in the mountains between Zacatecas and Nayarit.

   Wed-Mon 10:00-17:00·M$30

6. See

   Museum of Guadalupe

   Museo de Guadalupe

   Occupies the Franciscan monastery from which missionaries were sent out to Christianize the inhabitants of Texas, New Mexico, and California – it was the mother of the Spanish missions in the United States. Much of the old monastery is a museum of colonial religious art, paintings by Indians trained in the European tradition. The paintings are amazing, and the architecture of the cloisters, the church and the Capilla de Napoli is unforgettable.

   Tue-Sun 10:00-16:00·M$65

7. See

   Museum of Modern Art Manuel Felguerez

   Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguerez

   One of the best museums in Zacatecas. The large building, which once housed a Seminar and later a prison, now houses a large collection of Abstract paintings and Sculptures. The museum was restored in a minimalistic aesthetic, complementing the more than 100 works by Felguérez as well as works by more than 110 other artists from around the world. The room housing the murals that Felguérez made for the Mexican Pavilion at the Osaka World's Exhibition of 1970 is breathtaking and one of the highlights of the Museum's collection.

   Wed-Mon 10:00-17:00

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Zacatecas (CC BY-SA 4.0).