Instituto Allende Tours
Dolores Hidalgo and Guanajuato 
Sat, Jul 25, departing at 9am
US$65

Querétaro

Trip preview Wed, Jul 29, 4pm Free Sat, Aug 1, departing at 9am Instituto Allende, 152-0226 Ancha de San Antonio 20 US$65

Spend the day in Querétaro
By Jaime Fernández 

Dolores Hidalgo and Guanajuato

Tomorrow’s day-long field trip is to Dolores Hidalgo and Guanajuato. Dolores Hidalgo is where Miguel Hidalgo uttered El Grito, his famous and historical cry for freedom. The tour visits this center of Talavera ceramics, including the town’s square with its unique flavored ice creams. 

Later the tour heads to Guanajuato, a charming capital city with great cultural tradition and home of the University of Guanajuato. Famed painter Diego Rivera’s home is on the bill along with an easy-going walking tour of the Plazas de la Paz and the main Jardín.

Guanajuato’s narrow streets wend their way between flower-bedecked plazas, and give way to unexpected balconies, bridges and red-tiled roofs that lie level with the street above. Few places appear more exotic.

Querétaro

On August 1, Instituto Allende Tours hosts a day-long field trip to Querétaro. The modern city is near a good-sized Otomi Indian settlement the Aztecs conquered and then fit into their empire.

With the expansion of national tourism, Querétaro has become an important Mexican destination due to the city’s recent rise in popularity. The city just missed out and was a runner-up to Shanghai, China, to host the 2010 World’s Fair.

The city also has a reputation for embracing the arts. Querétaro’s indigenous population has further enhanced the spirit of the region. The Spanish converted the settlement to Catholicism, bringing it into the New World. French influence also is apparent, with Maximilian having a personal chapel built in Querétaro, the very place where he was executed.

The tour stops at the famous Aqueduct, considered an ambitious engineering feat in the mid-nineteenth century, the Cementerio de los Hombres Illustres, the Plaza de Armas and Querétaro’s centerpiece, the Villa del Villar del Aquila Fountain.

Also on the schedule are Queretaro’s popular outdoor market, a walking tour through colonial streets, the house of La Marquesa (now a luxury hotel), a visit to the Hill of the Bells, the Benito Juárez Monument and the Chapel of Archduke Maximilian.

Cost for the trip is US$65. Bilingual guides lead the all-inclusive Instituto Allende tours. Reservations are a must and fees must be paid in advance. For more information, visit Ancha de San Antonio 20, or call 152-0226.

A free lecture at Instituto each Wednesday at 4pm previews upcoming trips.