Merida featured in the New York Times!

By Freda Moon

Freda Moon has traveled Mexico from top to bottom, by car and by sailboat, and has been writing about the country for The New York Times since 2009.

Even as tourism to the Yucatán Peninsula skyrockets, many visitors never travel beyond the so-called Riviera Maya, the heavily developed and wildly crowded coastline between Cancún and Tulum. For travelers drawn to Mexican culture and history, Mérida — founded by the Spanish in the 1500s and constructed using the stones from Maya ruins — is an antidote to the coast’s wall-to-wall all-inclusive resorts. Beyond colonial architecture and centuries-old traditions, Mérida is a young, artsy place best experienced with a free-spirited sensibility. While not a late-night city, it is very safe and comes alive after dark, when there are a few hours of cooler evening air, music calling from seemingly every corner and a general sense that if you wander a few blocks in any direction, you’ll stumble upon something really special.

Recommendations

Key stops

• Linger among the locals in Mérida’s plazas and parks, from its lively central square, Plaza Grande, and the sprawling new Parque La Plancha to neighborhood focal points, like Parque de San Sebastián.

• Micaela Mar y Leña serves sophisticated Yucatecan dishes, nearly all wood-fired, in a celebratory, reservation-worthy 19th-century mansion.

• Take a day trip to Ria Celestún Biosphere Reserve and Celestún Beach for flocks of flamingos and other wildlife, followed by seafood and a swim.

Itinerary

Friday

Pola Gelato Shop

3 p.m. Cool off and check out the crowds

Mérida is one of Mexico’s steamiest cities. Icy treats are the answer. Pola Gelato Shop, in the Santa Lucía neighborhood of the historic city center (Centro), has regionally and seasonally inspired flavors like strawberry with x’catik (a local chile) and banana with hibiscus. Though the shop has a handful of tables, grab a cone (from 55 pesos, or about $3) and head down the block to Santa Lucía’s plaza. Drop into Ki’Xocolatl, now a small domestic chain, which is a go-to for edible gifts, along with cacao-based soaps. Get a chocolate frappé (64 pesos) and sit in one of Yucatán’s distinctive S-shaped sillas confidentes (or confidant chairs) for excellent people watching on the plaza (there are also free traditional dance performances with live music — held weekly since 1965 — here on Thursdays at 9 p.m.).

4 p.m. Search out souvenirs

Across the street on Calle 60, Caracol Púrpura is a series of galleries set around a courtyard cafe, where you’ll be greeted by chest-high ceramic catrinas (glamorously adorned skeleton figurines) and dizzyingly intricate Tree of Life sculptures, from the states of Oaxaca and Puebla. The collective specializes in folk art from around Mexico — an impressive overview of the country’s staggering cultural breadth — along with the works of contemporary Mexican artists. For elegant souvenirs that benefit local artisans, visit Taller Maya on Parque de Santa Ana, another popular plaza. The shop sells quality handmade crafts — including beautiful hammocks with Yucatán-style decorative tassels, natural-dye bedspreads and tortilla baskets woven from jipijapa palm fronds — labeled with the name of the craftsperson who made them and how long they took to produce.

Parque La Plancha

5:30 p.m. Tour a transformed train yard

From Santa Ana, walk east along Calle 47 to Mérida’s defunct, 1920s-era train station, which now houses the Yucatán University of the Arts and the new Parque La Plancha, a 50-acre urban park in the former train yards with an artificial lake, a wading pool, a High Line-esque raised walkway, themed playgrounds, a sprawling food court and a staggeringly large Mexican flag. The park is at its best in the early evening, when it’s a destination for families drawn to its interactive fountain, where children shriek and drench themselves in the spectacle of water, color and music. Other on-site attractions include a scattered collection of restored vintage rail cars and the small but worthwhile Museo de la Luz (admission, 100 pesos), which opened in November with exhibits (many interactive, many in English) focusing on the science and culture of light.

7 p.m. Celebrate the char

For a special-occasion dinner, backtrack to Calle 47 and Micaela Mar y Leña, where the dining room pulsates with celebratory energy. The wood-fired grill gets a workout nightly, turning out charred dishes that include beef ribs with mole, and octopus with sweet potato and pickled vegetables (each dish, 450 pesos). Vegetarian options like cauliflower with tahini and carrots (195 pesos) meet the flames, too. Reservations recommended. After dinner, stop into La Botillería, a bottle shop selling distinctive Mexican spirits — lesser-known mezcals, regional liquors and domestically produced gins not found abroad, including one infused with a bitter orange central to Yucatecan cuisine — that make great gifts. Do a tasting, then return to stock your suitcase.

Autogiro de la Ermita

9 p.m. Follow a night stroll with mezcal and worm salt

Stray from the city’s busiest tourist district and head southwest from the Plaza Grande, the main square, to Parque de San Sebastián, a plaza that is the lively heart of one of Mérida’s oldest Maya neighborhoods and often busy with Zumba classes, carnival games, marching band practice and religious processions. From there, walk back to the adjoining La Ermita neighborhood to find offbeat tattoo shops, closet-size galleries, vegetarian restaurants and street art. Stop into Autogiro de la Ermita, a new-school cantina with exposed stone walls, yellowing lucha libre posters, and sometimes a keyboardist playing tropical dance music or a D.J. spinning salsa. Mezcal is served the classic way, with orange slices, sal de gusano (salt with dried, ground agave worms and chiles) and a botana — a free pub snack — of whole roasted squash. Try the “sorpresa,” or bartender’s choice (140 pesos), if you’re feeling adventurous.

By the early 20th century, Mérida was one of the Americas’ richest cities because of its production of henequen, a plant-derived rope fiber. Several of the city’s grand mansions along Paseo de Montejo date from this heyday and have since opened to the public as museums (including Quinta Montes Molina and, most recently, Montejo 495 Casa Museo). Pop in, or simply gawk from the street. (Or even better, visit one of the region’s remaining, magnificently restored henequen haciendas on your way out of town.) Then for a casual lunch, stop at Ramiro Cocina a few blocks west of Paseo de Montejo, with affordable items scrawled on a chalkboard and patio seating beneath the shade of banana and palm trees. Look for the unusual and uncommonly delicious charred zucchini quesadilla with griddled cheese on an earthy, handmade corn tortilla.

Source and read full article here

50 Best Places to Travel in 2024 - Travel Lemming

Escape Cancun on the Maya Train to colorfully authentic Mexican towns in the Yucatan state. Discover beaches free of tourists and seaweed, ancient pyramids, and underground swimming holes the Mayans believed were gateways to the underworld.

Mexico‘s Yucatán state is a jewel, and 2024 will be the year it shines for the world. Located on the peninsula of the same name, Yucatán state has long been overshadowed by its more tourist-oriented neighbor, Quintana Roo. But that is all poised to change with the newly opened Maya Train.

The Maya Train will connect Cancun International Airport to Izamal. It’s nicknamed the “Yellow City” because of the canary hue of its Spanish colonial buildings. Along the way, travelers can hop off in Valladolid, another historic town. Valladolid serves as the gateway to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. 

The train is slated to continue to Mérida, the vibrant capital city of the Yucatán where history and modernity collide. Mérida is one of the safest cities in Mexico and is also home to a booming restaurant scene. 

Surrounding Mérida are thousands of cenotes. These lush, underground swimming holes look like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. The Mayans believed cenotes were gateways to the underworld. Others believe cenotes are the result of unique geological conditions created by the same meteorite that killed the dinosaurs.

For more traditional water sports, Yucatán’s massive white sand beaches, like Progresso, are never crowded. Their location on the Gulf of Mexico also shelters them from the massive influx of seaweed that annually piles up on the shores of Caribbean beach resorts.

Source

Merida’s New Creative Energy Makes It a Mexico Must-Visit (Vogue Travel)

Merida has undergone a renaissance over the past few years.

For a Mexican city whose reputation tends to concentrate on its gilded age of the early 20th century, some hundred years later, Mérida is experiencing a second coming. Between new hotels, restaurants, galleries, and museums, one way to describe the varied ventures in the city would be doing something new with something old: many of Mérida’s residents are drawing inspiration from the sense of history threaded both within the city, and throughout the lush Yucatán peninsula, in their pursuit of these bold new ventures. 

One need only stroll along the (in January, hot and humid) Paseo de Montejo⁠—named after the Spanish conquistador who founded the city in 1542—to get a taste of the city’s heyday, beginning in the final decades of the 19th century with its exporting of henequen, a native plant. By 1900, the use of this ‘green gold’ as a major industrial textile had brought prosperity to the city. Still today, Mérida’s tree-lined boulevards feature enormous, art nouveaumansions which vary from the romantically crumbling to the carefully preserved. 

Unlike Mexico City, in Mérida one has the benefits of city life while being able to quickly and easily plunge into nature: the Yucatán region boasts around 8,000 cenotes, or natural freshwater sinkholes that, whether well-trodden or tucked away, are usually open for a dip. What’s more, awe-inspiring ancient Mayan sites are never more than one or two hours away, including the unmissable Uxmal and Chichen Itza. (You’ll also find that the work of many of the present-day architects and artists of Mérida subtly holds a mirror up to the distinctive Puuc style of those Mayan sites.)

Over the course of my stay in Mérida, most of the people I met didn’t hesitate to tell me how liveable a city it is. You can cycle around town, cool down in cenotes all summer, and rent or buy unique heritage properties—plus, it’s officially Mexico’s safest city. (Even as a visitor, however, the city quickly unfolds as one of the country’s most unmissable destinations.) With the further development of the historical center forthcoming—thanks to the creation of a new park, La Plancha, in an old rail yard—the coming year promises even more innovation within this Yucatán gem.

Where to Stay

If there’s one facet of Mérida’s tourist offering that has felt a little lacking, it’s hotels—but a spate of new openings is set to change that. With the city’s unique offering of late 19th and early 20th century colonial mansions, the restoration of such homes is an opportunity for special stays that feel like stepping back in time. Casa Colon, which is only bookable via Instagram, is one such mansion, having been in the owner’s family for generations. Unlike the other homes available to rent, however, this Parque de las Américas-adjacent home combines original period details with an up-to-the-minute curation of design objects and artworks that reflect the owner’s esoteric tastes.

Black and white images by Mexican photographers, like Luis Barragan-collaborator Armando Salas Portugal, hang the walls, alongside portraits of the family through the generations; antique typewriters and radios belonging to Jorge’s grandparents can be spotted throughout the property, along with vintage furniture by the likes of Florence Knoll and Philippe Starck, or a colorful Henry Moore print. Outside, a lush garden with sweet-smelling fruit trees reveals a concrete-poured swimming pool nestled in the back: the water is from the naturally-occurring garden well, a feature of such homes due to the underground springs that the city is built on. Sleeping up to eight, it is possible to have each stay personalized to your needs (I ate fresh ceviche on the lawn on arrival).

A new entry on the scene, meanwhile, is Hotel Cigno. Housed in a mansion dating from the 19th century, and nestled on the quiet cobbled streets of the central La Ermita neighborhood, the property has been painstakingly restored and updated to offer the perfect marriage of original details—mosaic tiled floors and corniced ceilings as you enter—with a thoroughly modern sense of space. Across ten rooms, a restaurant, and two pools at multiple levels, architect Roger González has created a peaceful enclave of tall pale terracotta walls and blue-tinted tiles that reveals hidden details around every corner. (One such surprise is the architect’s tribute to his favorite neighborhood church, the sunshine-yellow la Ermita de Santa Isabel.)

One of the benefits of Mérida as a city is just how easily you can get out of it—and if you fancy a break from the hustle and bustle of the center, look to Chable Yucatán, an established resort just half an hour’s drive from the airport. Located in the middle of dense Mayan forest, Chable is regularly voted one of Mexico’s best hotels, and it only takes a short stay to realize why. Set across 750 acres of the Maya jungle, Chable was formerly a vast hacienda dating from the 18th century, and throughout the grounds, you’ll come across the original, time-worn gates from that time. 

But among all this vastness—with aviaries, orchards and a private cenote all best explored by the provided bicycles—the resort’s most impressive asset is a sense of genuine privacy. With an emphasis on personal casitas surrounded by lush greenery, as well as an in-house, world-class spa, Chable takes relaxation seriously. And rest assured that among all this breathtaking nature, the resort takes care to promote its protection and preservation: the hotel endeavours to promote the protection of endangered species local to the Yucatán and native plant restoration, as well as to reduce plastic use in every possible respect.

Where to Eat and Drink

In Mérida, it’s tempting to segue from breakfast to lunch to dinner without doing much else—partly thanks to the hot weather, but also enabled by the city’s buzzing dining landscape filled with endless choices. Apoala is arguably the restaurant that started it all: since it opened on Parque de Santa Lucia ten years ago, the square and the neighboring Calle 60 have blossomed with eateries and shops. But its prestigious reputation is well-earned: chef Sara Arnaud’s dedication to showing the best of Oaxacan cuisine still makes for a unique dining experience within Mérida. Whether eating fried zucchini blossoms, or beef short rib with pineapple sauce—maybe with a mescal-based Fortini cocktail, named after the Oaxacan mountain—the food and the people-watching at Apoala is hard to beat.

At the opposite end of the spectrum (in terms of newness, at least) is the recently-opened El Remate, a huge space at the tip of the city’s classic tree-lined boulevard, the Paseo de Montejo. A multi-purpose dining and drinking space opened by a New York City ex-pat, El Remate encompasses a downstairs main dining area, a more casual pizza restaurant, Neo, and, upstairs, El Gato, a bar with an unrivaled view all the way down the boulevard. (Having only been open for three weeks when I visited, the rooftop bar was buzzing with young groups of friends enjoying cocktails.) For dinner, groups can explore various Mexican mains, or opt to share the restaurant’s specialties from the grill, like traditional mustardy pescado zarandedo. 

At nearby Ramiro Cocina, a small, daytime-only restaurant, the choice between sitting in the sun-dappled garden or the stone-topped bar—where you can watch the chefs at work—can be a difficult one. But in either setting, the food itself will be just as good, featuring various kinds of mole, minguiche (a tomato soup with milky cheese), gooey pork or squash blossom quesadilla, or the signature bacalao to share (cod stew); perfect when paired with the house fresh fruit juices. The restaurant’s recipes are all inspired by the founder’s grandfather (and the restaurant’s namesake) who, at 95 years old, is still able to come into the kitchen from time to time and show the team how it’s done. 

If you did want some non-Mexican cuisine over the course of your stay, Oliva Enoteca over by the Parque de Santa Ana is gaining regulars for its homemade gnocchi, classic pasta dishes, and lemony seafood risotto with fresh octopus. (As Apoala did with Calle 60 before it, Oliva is heralding the transformation of Calle 47 as a new zone of interest in Mérida). Other notable spots include Salón Gallosfor its wine bar, gallery, and cinema showing classic movies, while Pan & Køf.feé and smaller newcomer Soco come recommended for their freshly baked sourdough and pastries in the morning.

What to Do

Your cultural schedule in Mérida can be most easily split into two categories: that is, to either journey back in time, or pick up the current with the present day. When it comes to perfectly preserved homes of the gilded age, don’t miss out on the Quinta Montes Molina, the Paseo de Montejo mansion that has remained in the Montes Molina family since they bought it from a Cuban businessman in 1919. Being shown around the light-filled mansion is less like touring a museum than getting a glimpse into a lived-in family home, filled with objects from around the world through the generations. On the spacious grounds, a forthcoming restaurant and cultural center are nearing completion, with the aim of making Quinta as much a hub for contemporary artists as antiques obsessives. 

For shopping, highlights along Paseo de Montejo include Casa T’hō, which transforms into a cocktail bar with a pretty courtyard in the evenings. In interconnecting rooms, you’ll find work from different Mexican creative talent, including perfumery Xinú, uncovering botanical scents from across the Americas, and Mexico City-based designer Carla Fernandez, whose idiosyncratic accessories and loosely tailored separates are the result of her collaborations with artisans across indigenous and mestizo communities. At Taller Maya on the Parque de Santa Ana—across the way from taqueria food vendors and Santa Ana church—a floor-to-ceiling windowed space showcases clothing, accessories, and homeware handmade by Yucatán artisans. Established in 2002, the platform currently collaborates with more than 200 artisans and 40 communities in the peninsula: on each label, you’ll find written the artisan’s name, the name of their community, and the material and/or technique used. When I visited, a gigantic black and red chequered tufted rug couldn’t help but catch my eye—but it would have been a stretch for my hand baggage.

Original article appeared in Vouge Travel here

Merida selected in the top 25 best cities in the world by Travel + Leisure Co.

Merida was selected in the top 25 best cities in the world https://www.travelandleisure.com/worlds-best/the-best-cities-in-the-world-2022 as voted by Travel + Leisure Co. readers..beloved for their mix of culture, food, and friendliness.

When Travel + Leisure readers throw their collective weight behind an opinion, it tends to create a ripple effect — especially when it comes to the results of the World's Best Awards. In declaring the best cities in the world, they consider hotels, Michelin-rated restaurants, rich cultural heritage, top attractions and, in recent years, COVID-19 protocols. The votes are then counted, numbers crunched, and we arrive at a score for each city — and, ultimately, the ranking of the best 25 across the globe. Once the WBA lists are revealed, hundreds of thousands of people sift through the findings. Travelers plan trips based on these destinations, interest in the lesser-known winners increases, and cities around the world feel the impact.

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Readers rated citieson their sights and landmarks, culture, cuisine, friendliness, shopping, and overall value.

T+L readers also showed renewed appreciation for a few 2020 winners that had been absent last year, including Mérida, Mexico, a hub in the Yucatán that a T+L reader praised as "one of the best cities to visit for music, dance, and cuisine."

Merida is 3.5hrs from Cancun

Mexico is safe in Merida, which is the safest city on the American continent second to Quebec, Canada. Nicely done Mexico!

See houses for sale in Merida here

Mexican city Merida in the Yucatan is the second safest city on the American continent, second to Quebec, Canada. Nicely done Mexico!

Actually..Merida is the #2 safest city in both Americas! This is based on ranking out of 334 cities. See the ranking here

You might hear about tourist buses being “attacked” in Mexico for money and electronics, this is happens in mountain or jungle areas in some parts of Mexico. However, the Yucatan, especially Merida is the safest place in Mexico! And 2nd top safe place in North and South America.

Despite all the grim news about Mexico's drug-related violence, the Yucatán Peninsula remains relatively safe for those not engaged in illegal activities.

Most of the killings you hear about happen between rival drug gangs, so tourists are rarely caught up in the disputes – especially in the Yucatán, which keeps a safe distance from the turf wars occurring elsewhere. The security situation varies drastically across the country, and that drug cartels are most active in the northern border region and along the Pacific coast.

Note, major US cities such as New York and Chicago have higher murder rates than the entire state of Yucatán.

Merida featured in Forbes Magazine: The colonial city was once home to the greatest concentration of wealth in the world and now is seeing a renaissance

See houses for sale in Merida here

Mérida has one of the largest centro histórico districts in the Americas (surpassed only by Mexico City and Havana, Cuba) and Merida was named the American Capital of Culture, highlighting the Yucatán capital's abundant riches.

It was the sisal barons of the 19th century who hired Parisian architects to build the opulent villas along Paseo de Montejo, a wannabe Champs-Elysées. Yet Mérida, the inland capital of Mexico's beach-famous Yucatán, is not an Important City and herein lies its charm. It is not packed with visitors. You never feel you are trudging the well-worn path of someone else's Grand Tour. The white horse-drawn carriages gaudily decorated with lurid fake flowers bear more Mexican families than foreigners as they clip-clop along.

The opportunity to buy into this fading glamour has been taken up quietly by mostly American and Canadian artists, chefs, and bohemian sophisticates. For this reason, Mérida is a destination to live in rather than visit, even if that's just for a few days. It is behind these closed doors that the secret life of the city takes place.

See the full Forbes article, A Guide To Merida, Mexico: 10 Reasons To Visit Now, here

Here are top reasons why Merida is a great investment to own a house and to live!

See houses for sale in Merida here

Merida has become one of the favorite cities to live and buy a house for both foreign and Mexican residents.

Here’s why:

• Merida is the safest city in Mexico and Latin America.

• Merida is rated one of the very best cities to retire in Mexico.

• Merida is one of the best places to live.

  • Merida offers colonial charm, excellent healthcare services, beaches only 40 minutes from Centro and the cost of living is extremely attractive.

  • The affordability of living in the city allows more people to acquire luxurious properties in areas with high surplus value, something that could be impossible to do in other cities.

  • Architecture and cultural activities are some of the things that have helped Merida to become one of the best cities to live in Mexico.

  • The streets of Mérida are bursting with the colorful facades of Spanish colonial architecture. Mérida has one of the largest centro históricodistricts in the Americas (surpassed only by Mexico City and Havana, Cuba). Colonial homes line the city streets to this day, in various states of disrepair and renovation; the historical center of Mérida is currently undergoing a minor renaissance as more and more people are moving into the old buildings and reviving their former glory.

  • Merida is also steeped in Mayan history. Centrally located on the Yucatan Peninsula, UNESCO World Heritage sites like the ancient cities of Uxmal and Chichen Itza are an easy day trip, or visit local Fundación de Artistas, a nonprofit featuring art exhibits in a 19th-century home; Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, a modern cultural museum.

  • Merida was voted the top small city in the world in 2019 by Conde Nast (see here) .

• Merida has steady growth.

  • Thanks to the privileged location, climate and quality of life, Merida and the State of Yucatan are registering steady growth in real estate investment.

    • local economy - In the first quarter of 2019 alone, jobs grew by 105%

    • tourism in Mérida has grown by 41%, positioning the city as one of the most visited cities in Mexico

    • The real estate boom in Merida is the result of growth projections. That is why we are not surprised when foreigners who acquire properties in Merida fall in love with the city.

• Merida has foreign investment - the presence of expats living in the city. It is increasingly common for people from the United States, Canada and Europe to decide to stay in Merida.

• Merida earned the title of American Capital of Culture - The proximity to the beach, archaeological sites, cenotes, traditions and culture have caught the eye of people all over the world.

• Yucatan won the 2019 Excelencias Award in Madrid, for the actions taken to make Yucatan one of the most innovative and attractive places in Mexico.

• The restaurant scene.

• The weather!

While Yucatan real estate is still affordable, the prices continue to go up. This is definitely the time to consider a real estate purchase in the Yucatan!