On our journey through Mexico, we drive to the next Mexican city in which the buildings from the colonial era are still well preserved and numerous. In a very small space the old town of Morelia has a concentrated load of colonial architecture to offer. Today’s mix of historic buildings and relaxed pace of life influences us directly.

Old Town of Morelia

The entire old town of Morelia is now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The appearance of the old town is correspondingly well-kept. Very impressive is among other things the baroque cathedral Las Monjas, in the center of the old town of Morelia. The interior of the cathedral is richly decorated, but not overloaded or oppressive. The high crossing dome is particularly impressive. The play of light in this dome is especially beautiful as it is flooded with daylight.

Many of the buildings in Morelia are open to the public. Therefore, we visit an old school, which is now a government building, the “Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Michoacán”. The visit is really fascinating, because we don’t really enter the building, but through the entrance we get into the courtyard of the rectangular building. The covered corridors of the rooms along the sides of the building are made with beautiful columns and arches. In addition, there are curved staircases leading to the second floor and sprawling murals.

Not far from this seat of government, a – for us at least – one-to-one copy of the former school building has been erected. It can also be visited. And we are thrilled by the lively hustle and bustle. The “Colegio Primitivo y Nacional de San Nicolás de Hidalgo” is effectively still used as a middle school. The curious looks of the students are probably of mutual nature, we probably look just as curious into the open classrooms!

Right next door is the “Biblioteca Pública Universitaria y Fondo Antiguo”, the old library which is still open to the public and used as a workroom. In the center of Morelia, one can feel transported back in time by all the historic buildings that are still used as a matter of course in everyday life. So, with our camper Ben we probably went through a small time portal back in time one or rather two centuries.

Templo de San Diego, Morelia

A little outside the historic city center we visit the church “Templo de San Diego, Morelia”. From the outside a very inconspicuous church, the inside almost hits us. Only almost, because despite all the pomp everything is kept in the same style and therefore, despite the overwhelming visual abundance, a coherent overall picture is formed. The rich decorations with lots of gold and plastic ornaments are very impressive to look at. Moreover, they are not the typical rather gloomy Catholic motifs of Jesus and his cross, but often floral motifs and flower patterns.

With the camper in Morelia

Morelia seems to be very camper-friendly. During off-peak hours, we can park two to three blocks outside the immediate historic center without any major problems and can walk to everything during the days we spend in Morelia. Also, we feel very safe in this area of the city, there are many cars parked in the streets besides us, so we certainly don’t stand out from the crowd of cars as the first choice for an incident.
During the day, the streets are very crowded and vacated parking spaces are reoccupied within minutes. At off-peak times, however, we can comfortably change locations. So, about halfway through our stay, we re-park to be closer to a working café so we can finish these blog posts without a long walk.
A little outside, about a half hour walk from the historic center, there is a parking lot that is recommended by many campers via an app. There are always police officers there for security and there are public toilets as well. This is certainly also a valid alternative to our free pitch in the alleys of Morelia.

All in all, Morelia is a very relaxed Mexican city. In addition to the historical sights, there are good infrastructures and many great restaurants and cafes. Visiting Morelia is a cozy story – we feel very comfortable in Morelia!