San Luis Potosi

Sutton

This is the ideal place for dancing to the electronic rhythms of House and Disco. It has a pleasant atmosphere and is ideal for people visiting alone or in company with its flashing lights, special effects and a DJ who enjoys getting people up on their feet.

Carretera Central km 420 (inside Holiday Inn) Zona Centro. Phone 01 (444) 834 4100. www.hislp.com.mx

Barezzito

One of the most popular bars in the city, Barezzito provides a friendly and light atmosphere that is quite upbeat and is ideal for trying anything from a cocktail to a beer. It is quite big and includes a sushi bar and at some point in the evening you will be treated to music from a live rock band.

Libramiento Sur (Sierra Leona), San Luis Potosí

Brixton

This British style pub also stages concerts by national and international groups playing in a wide variety of styles from Indie to Rock, Pop, Jazz Fusion and Trip-Hop. The atmosphere is very chic with modern decoration and soft lighting and at the bar you can order from a variety of drinks including beers, cocktails, rum, tequila and brandy.

El Almacén

A restaurant designed for lovers of succulent cuts of meat prepared in the Argentinean style and delicious Italian pastas. This particular warehouse was built with bricks taken from mansions in Mexico City dating from the Porfiriato (the period covering the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz) and offers a cozy atmosphere for a romantic supper or business lunch. At night you can listen to live jazz while enjoying a few glasses of wine.

Vista Hermosa No. 116 Col. Jardín. San Luis Potosí, SLP. Phone: (444) 151 60 09

La Casa de la Flores

At this mansion you can savor Mexican dishes. It is decorated in an elegant style with the characteristic color of the Mexican provinces and modern paintings are hung on its walls. The restaurant also has a pleasant garden. The menu includes such specialties as chile ancho relleno, the traditional cecina huasteca, pork loin stuffed with zucchini flower, chiles en nogada and fillet of red snapper.

Arista 1205, Col. Tequisquiapan, San Luis Potosí. Phone: (444) 812 43 33. www.mexcon.net/lacasadelasflores.htm

Callejón de San Franciso

A café-restaurant offering excellently seasoned Mexican cuisine. It has a terrace for outdoor dining or having a drink on warm afternoons that offers a view of the Iglesia de San Francisco. It is located in the Historic Center and is an agreeable spot with accessible prices.

Callejón de Lozada 1, San Luis Potosí 78000, México Phone: (444) 812-4508

Holiday Inn San Luís Potosí Quijote

This five star hotel has 180 standard rooms, 8 junior suites, 17 executive suites, two master suites and a presidential suite and offers all the services you would expect from a hotel of this category. It has been certified with the Model Stars and Diamonds and the Model “H” for the quality of its food and hygiene standards. The restaurant-bar specializes in charcoal-grilled Brazilian cuts of meat and salads. The cafeteria offers a breakfast buffet and a la carte international dishes. The lobby is ideal for relaxing to the sound of live or recorded music and there are two nightclubs. The executive floor and rooms are equipped with the latest technology and make this the ideal place for business travelers.

Carretera México Km. 420 Zona Industrial C.P. 78090. Phones: 01 (444) 834-4100, 01-800-4800-500.    www.hislp.com.mx/espanol/index.htm

Westin

The presidential suite on the ground floor of this hotel offers the comfortable atmosphere of home with its drawing room-dining room, fireplace and balcony overlooking the central patio. It has 78 rooms and 44 suites of different classes with a Jacuzzi, swimming pool and special events room designed for weddings with capacity for 600 guests. The decoration of the hotel is elegant and cozy and the building is located in a quite area that makes it ideal for that second honeymoon.

Av. Real de Lomas 1000, Lomas IV Sección, San Luís Potosí. Phone: 01 800 90 223 00. www.westinslp.com.mx/test

Hotel Mansión Los Arcos

This three-star hotel is close to the business district and offers a very relaxed atmosphere. It has 63 double rooms equipped with television, telephone and ventilation as well as a pool, a restaurant offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, whether buffet or a la carte, and an events room that can be used for parties or business conferences. It also has a garden and a play area for children.

Av. Benito Juárez 5001, Col. Cuartel de los Aguilares, Villa de Pozos, S.L.P. Phone: (444) 824 05 30.   www.hotelmansionlosarcos.com/qs.html

Plaza de Armas and Jardín Hidalgo

The zócalo, or main square, of the city is one of its principal attractions. This singular square is filled with leafy trees and features a bandstand made from pink quarried stone. It is surrounded by elegant buildings of quarried stone and this material gives them a lighter, less serious touch as well as a more provincial feel than buildings featuring typical classical architecture.

On the eastern side of the square is the splendid cathedral, construction of which began in 1701 on the site where the city’s first church, built from adobe, originally stood. The current statues substituted the old stone apostles and are copies of the originals at the San Juan de Letrán Basilica in Rome. The façade is executed in quarried stone in a baroque style as are the towers. The interior, which is comprised of three naves, was decorated by the Italians Claudio Molina and Giuseppe Compiani and was later restored by decorator Francisco Ramírez.

In addition to the paintings and sculptures, which are definitely worth a visit, the church houses a pipe organ.
The Palacio Municipal is an enormous two floor mansion built from quarried stone and which has a facade adorned with arches supported from the mezzanine. The interior patio has a staircase with Pompey-style mosaics and a stained glass window with the city’s coat of arms on the landing. The city council meeting room contains paintings by the Italian artist Erulo Eroli which depict scenes from the Old Testament and Greek mythology.

Construction of the Palacio de Gobierno, on the western side of the square, was begun in 1789 by the engineer Miguel Costanzó and was completed in 1816, although it later underwent renovation. It has been the home of such illustrious political figures as Benito Juárez, Santa Ana and Agustín de Iturbide. The building’s elegant façade is in the neoclassical style, using grey quarried Stone, and there are four columns in the center. The Sala Hidalgo is filled with sculptures and portraits in oils of such political figures as Miguel Hidalgo, Vicente Guerrero, Guadalupe Victoria and José María Morelos, all of whom were heroes of the independence movement.

Plaza de los Fundadores

This square was the birthplace of the current city of San Luís Potosí. It was here that miners from the Cerro de San Pedro came in search of the water they couldn’t find near the mines and where they found springs providing this vital liquid. After removing the indigenous people inhabiting the area, who probably ended up on the banks of a river, dividing up the land and planning the streets, the first mayor of the city inaugurated this square in 1593 as San Luis Minas del Mexquitic. From that moment on the name would be changed on numerous occasions before settling on the current one, which has not changed since 1942.

Real de Catorce

It is easy to see why the original name of this town– Real de Minas de Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción de Guadalupe de los Álamos de Catorce– was abbreviated. In the second half of the 19th century one of the most important silver deposits in the country was discovered here and like every place that represents a dream come true a town was built here to provide homes for workers –with money, of course, and good taste. But the dream ended when the silver ran out and the inhabitants had to move, although some people insisted on staying to keep this populated and colorful ghost town on the move … even until today. Real de Catorce was included in the Magical Towns program organized by the Ministry for Tourism.

Huasteca Potosina

This heavenly region is only for those who enjoy nature to the maximum and can appreciate the landscapes. It is to be found in the Sierra Madre Oriental and is characterized by its caverns, rivers, waterfalls, natural wells and exuberant vegetation.

Tamasopo

This town is located in the southeast of the state of San Luís Potosí, in the Huasteca region. The turquoise waters of its wells and diaphanous waterfalls have enticed thousands of tourists to enter and see its no less impressive vegetation. The Puente de Dios, for example, is a natural bridge created by erosion caused by water running down the hill. On each side of the bridge there are wells, one has blue waters while the other is other crystal clear and allows you to see the rocky bottom. Within the rock forming the bridge there is a cavern which lights up when the sun’s rays enter through a crack, allowing you to see the stalactites. You will also find the Tamul waterfall, which is famous for being the highest in the region, near this town. This is one of the most visited places in the state and you will have no problems finding tourism services such as hotels, spas and camping areas.

Las Pozas de Xilitla

If there was ever anyone who dreamed of an eccentric building, closer to paradise or the world of fancy than reality, and had the means to make it come true it was Edward James. This millionaire English artist, a patron of other Surrealist artists, came to Mexico and found asylum in Xilitla in 1947. He first set up a coffee plantation here which was followed by the cultivation of orchids, then the keeping of exotic animals such as ocelots, guacamayas and deer. After the failure of his first business he decided to build his own surrealist garden that cost him a fortune in materials and the contracting of artisans and laborers. It is recommended you take the highway, which cuts through the jungle, to reach this site located five or six hours from the state capital. Once there you will marvel at this ineffable work covering 20 hectares and including 36 sculptures embedded in the leafy jungle. The experience may seem like a dream or a videogame of psychedelically influenced adventures depending on your point of view.