Walls, Bastions and Old Town

About this place

A walled colonial city on the Gulf of Mexico, founded by the Spanish in 1540 on top of an old Maya town, then ringed with walls and forts against the pirates who raided it many times. It has been on UNESCO's list since 1999, and is one of the few cities in North America with most of its old walls still standing. Long stretches of the walls survive along with several «baluartes», massive square bastions, some now small museums of history, weapons and botanical gardens. You can walk on parts of the walls, and among the old gates are the Land Gate and the Sea Gate. Inside the walls is a tidy, quiet town of houses painted blue, yellow, pink and green, with straight, clean streets, the prettiest being pedestrian Calle 59 with its restaurants. In the evening, light-and-sound shows are held at the Land Gate. Campeche is less crowded than other Yucatán cities, and hot and humid, so explore in the morning or evening. Outside town on a hill, the San Miguel fort is now a museum of Maya civilisation.