Why choose Guadalajara?
Guadalajara is a city of folklore, colors and contrasts where the modern blends in with history, culture and colonial architecture, a place whose mariachis, tequila and traditional hospitality are its best emblems. An optimum location, great connectivity, fine weather and a vast infrastructure led by the Convention Center make it the perfect location for any type of event.
For its economic and cultural importance, Guadalajara is one of the three most important cities of Mexico. It is also renowned for being the world capital of Tequila, Mariachi and Charreria.
Guadalajara “The Pearl of the West” (“la Perla Tapatía”), Capital of Jalisco and Mexico’s 2nd largest city and is one of the largest urban centers in North America. The city has deep colonial roots which are evident everywhere around the city. The city center is laid out like a cross, which consists of the Guadalajara cathedral and 4 surrounding plazas.
It is joined to other downtowns as Tonala, Zapopan, Tlaquepaque and Tlajomulco, they form a big city with attractions for everyone. At the heart of the city neoclassical architecture buildings can be found in the beautiful houses and avenues like La Paz and Vallarta. The Chapultepec Avenue offers to visitors a walk through the beauty of the city and its urban culture, in which you can see photographic exhibitions between sources, bars, restaurants, cafes and bookstores.
Guadalajara preserves many historic buildings considered true architectonic jewels, including the Government Palace and the Hospicio Cabañas in which you can see murals by José Clemente Orozco too; Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the Degollado Theater.
Guadalajara offers a wide range of cultural activities and entertainment; it has large parks, magnificent buildings and historic sites, malls, upscale movie theaters and nightclubs for everyone. Every year it is host of national and international events as the International Book Fair, the International Film Festival, October Fest and the May Cultural Festival, among many others. Due to its proximity to the town of Tequila, Jalisco, it is possible to make a roundtrip tour on the same day by the “Tequila Express” train. During this tour some tequila distilleries are crossed, the distillation process of tequila is shown and the best tequila in the world is tastes.
Only for one hour away from Guadalajara is located the archaeological remains of a ceremonial center founded around 300 B.C. by the ancient tribes of the region, it is named “Guachimontones”. This archaeological site is part of the Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial buildings of Tequila, which are listed on the record of World Heritage of UNESCO since 2006.
Guadalajara has a wide variety of restaurants from gourmet to the traditional diner, where serving Mexican, French, Italian, Brazilian, Indian, Arabic, Lebanese, Greek, Argentina and many more foods, all with excellent quality that pleases the most demanding palate. Some typical delights of Gadalajara’s dishes are the famous “tortas ahogadas”, “menudo”, “birria”, meat in its juice and dessert the “jericallas”.
Official Language:
Spanish.
Population:
1, 495 182 inhabitants (INEGI, 2010)
Climate:
Average of 66 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperate, with rainfall from June to September.
If you plan to travel in the spring must bring light clothing, jeans, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, sunglasses, light sweater for the evenings. For summer shorts, tank tops, sandals, light clothes, umbrella. In winter boots, scarf, warm clothing, long pants, closed shoes.
Currency:
Mexican peso.
Electricity:
110 volts.
Location:
Western Mexico.
5118 feet above sea level.
1.055 square miles in area.
Area code:
33
Geographic coordinates:
20°40′35′′N 103°20′32′′W
Time zone:
CST (UTC−6)
Summer (DST) CDT (UTC−5)
Visas:
The National Institute of Immigration offers support for issuing visas quickly for those who wish to enter the country.
Transportation:
Taxi. There are 16,000 taxis in the Metropolitan Area, of which 5,000 are exclusively for tourist services.
Macrobús. It has 27 boarding stations, from Huentitán until Miravalle.
Light Rail Train System (LRT). The system currently has two lines: line 1, running from north to south, with 19 stations, and line 2, running from downtown to the east, with 10 stations.
Celebrations and Traditions
Fundación de Guadalajara. February 14th
The International Film Festival. marzo
May Cultural Festival. Mayo.
Dance of the Tastoanes. July 25th.
Dance of the Tastoanes Nextipac, Zapopan. July 25th to 27th
International Contemporary Dance Show in Guadalajara. July to August.
Day of the dead. November 1st and 2nd.
Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charrería. September.
Fiestas Patrias. September 16th
October 12th Pilgrimage of the virgin of Zapopan. October 12th
Expo Ganadera. October.
October Fest. Octubre.
Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. December 12th.
International Book Fair. December