• Mexico Guide

  • Introduction to Mexico
  • Weather
  • Things not to miss
  • Getting around
  • Entry requirements
  • Money
  • Public holidays

• Explore Mexico

  • Baja California and the Pacific Northwest
  • The north
  • The Bajío
  • Northern Jalisco and Michoacán
  • Mexico City
  • Acapulco and the Pacific beaches
  • Veracruz
  • Oaxaca
  • Chiapas and Tabasco
  • The Yucatán

• Cities

  • Acapulco
    
  • Cancún
    
  • Guadalajara
    
  • Mexico City
    
  • Monterrey
    
  • Oaxaca
    

Mexico Guide

Northern Jalisco and Michoacán

Morelia

• Accommodation
• Eating

The state capital, MORELIA, is in many ways unrepresentative of Michoacán. It looks Spanish and, despite a large indigenous population, it feels Spanish – with its broad streets lined with seventeenth-century mansions and outdoor cafés sheltered by arcaded plazas, you might easily be in Salamanca or Valladolid. Indeed, the city's name was Valladolid until 1828, when it was changed to honour local-born Independence hero José María Morelos.