Paseo de Montejo

When henequen - the agave fiber the world's ropes were made of - turned Yucatan's hacienda owners into millionaires around 1900, they built themselves a Champs-Elysees. The Paseo de Montejo runs arrow-straight and tree-lined through northern Merida, flanked by the palaces of the "green gold" aristocracy: French-mansarded, Italianate and eclectic mansions in pistachio, cream and rose, fronted by wrought iron and flamboyan shade. The twin Camara houses - one of them now the Montejo 495 house museum, kept in period furnishing - and the Palacio Canton, a white wedding cake housing the regional anthropology museum, anchor the parade, while others have become banks and cafes. The boulevard ends at the Monumento a la Patria, a monumental 1950s ring of carved Maya-deco stone by Romulo Rozo. Modern Merida treats the Paseo as its living room: marquesita and coconut carts at the glorietas, remembrance festivals and Noche Blanca spilling down it, and the Sunday Biciruta closing the lanes so the whole city can cycle its mansion mile at breakfast pace.

History

In the last decades of the 19th century the henequen boom made Yucatán rich, but Mérida had no avenues, only a few gathering places such as La Alameda. The idea of a boulevard arose under the governor Guillermo Palomino, and in January 1888, backed by farmers, industrialists and merchants, it took shape as the Paseo de Montejo, named after the city's founder (Wikipedia, Paseo de Montejo).

What to look for

• The mansions - henequen-boom palaces in pastel eclecticism.
• Palacio Canton - the anthropology museum's white showpiece.
• Monumento a la Patria - Rozo's carved stone epic at the head.
• The Sunday Biciruta - the boulevard given to bicycles.

When to go

November to March for walkable heat; Sunday mornings for the cycling closure and Santa Ana breakfast markets. Evenings string the terraces with the paseo crowd.

Good to know

It is a long, hot, straight walk by day - carriage, bike or an evening stroll suit the climate better. Many mansions are viewable outside only. Traffic roars on weekdays; the romance is strongest early and late.

Nearby

Santa Ana's church and market at the southern end, the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya to the north and the plaza grande fifteen minutes into the centro.

Key facts