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Oh, Merida – what a pleasant surprise this city was to me! Even before visiting Merida, I already knew that the Yucatan Peninsula was one of our most favorite places to visit. But this charming town reinforced even more my opinion that the Yucatan is one of the best places in the world to explore with kids.
Merida is more than just a city. Merida is a feeling of joy, of community, of old charm, of friendship, of peace. It is the only place we visited in Mexico that feels more like a community, than a tourist destination. Also, it’s one of the few places where I could actually imagine living and I am surprised that not a lot of people visit it.
Without further ado, these are the reasons why I think Merida is the hidden gem of Yucatan Peninsula.
1. BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE and PLAZAS
Being a colonial city, Merida features beautiful cathedrals and houses turned museums, as well as large plazas where people gather for social events. From the colonial houses, to the pretty streets and lush vegetation in the plazas, Merida is so pleasant to the eye! In fact, one of my favorite things to do in Merida was just wandering down the streets.
2. THE RESTORED COLONIAL HOUSES THAT YOU CAN RENT OUT
In the past few years, Merida has seen a boost in the restoration of the old, colonial houses. Many of these houses are rented out to tourists for a fragment of what you would pay at a luxurious hotel. The house we rented for about $200/night had 3 bedrooms, 4 baths, interior pool, kitchen, dining room and two living rooms. Our master bathroom had a massive bathtub, a regular shower and an outside, garden shower. Our kids kept thinking it was a hotel and they couldn’t understand why we were the only people in the building. It really felt like a house out of a dream!
3.THE RICH HISTORY
Merida has a rich Maya history that predates the arrival of the Spanish by hundreds of years. The city was built on the ancient ruins of the Maya city T’ho, one of the oldest, continually occupied cities in the Americas. The limestones from the ruins were reused to build new churches and colonial house and sadly, by the end of the 16th century, much of the Maya culture was destroyed.
However, nowadays Merida has the largest indigenous population in a city in Mexico: 60% of the people are Mayan. There are many museums and cultural events that celebrate and honor both the Mayan and the Spanish heritage.
As such, one of the reasons that makes Merida the hidden gem of Yucatan peninsula is the ease of learning about its history and culture. Just wandering around the streets and attending the free cultural events organized every night in the historical center is enough to help you grasp the history of this amazing town.
4. THE MUSEUMS
We only visited one museum with our kids – ”The natural history museum”, which was perfect for their ages and it’s right by one of the greatest children’s parks in Merida (”El Centenario”).
”El Gran Museo del Mundo Maya” is another great museum to visit with kids. In fact, there is a plethora of museums all over Merida. They are nice to visit not only to learn about the history of Merida, but also to have a break from the heat. Most of the museums have a minimal entrance fee or are totally free.
5. THE MARKETS
Local markets, like Mercado Lucas de Galvez or Mercado Santiago, burst with exotic fruits and vegetables. There’s nothing like staring at those ”mountains” of vibrant colors, while taking in the sweet, aromatic smells. It’s an experience in itself! And the prices couldn’t be beat. For about $20, we bought enough fruit and veggies to last us for a whole week.
Also, there are market with food stalls, like Mercado de Santa Ana, where locals gather to eat lunch. There, you will find local foods, like ”cochinita pibil”, ”salbutes”, ”papadzules” etc that you need to try!
Tip: bring pesos, these markets don’t accept payment with cards.
6. THE CHILDREN’S PARKS
Not only are the parks in Merida fun to play at during the day, but they also come alive in the evenings, with food stalls and kids’ rides. They are the places were people from the community gather together to socialize, once the heat dies down a bit in the evenings.
We visited and played at the ”Parque zoologico del Centenario” for hours. Between climbing all the structures, doing arts and crafts at the EducaZoo and riding the little train, my kids were entertained all morning long. The little train is 1 peso per person (around 5 US cents). Yeap, you read that right!
There are also animals in this zoo park, but we didn’t walk around to see them, as it was getting very hot out. However, based on multiple reviews, it seems that the animals are well cared for here.
The park is FREE to enter.
7. THE FREE CULTURAL EVENTS
Merida offers FREE cultural events every night in the main square, Plaza Grande. In the four nights we were there, we were lucky to watch talented people sing, dance, reenact history in a theater play and project a movie about the history of the sacred stones used to build the San Ildefonso Cathedral. This was THE BEST video mapping I’ve ever seen, projected on the facade on the cathedral in such a way that it blended with the architecture. This is worldschooling at its best and another reason I think Merida is the hidden gem on the Yucatan.
To top this, after the events, all the locals (and tourists) would hang out in the plazas, while the kids ran around and played together. In spite of the language barrier, our kids happily played with many local kids. There was this feeling of community that I haven’t experienced in any other places we’ve travelled to.
8. THE RESTAURANTS and the FOOD
We did not have one bad meal in Merida. From cochinita pibil, to tortas and tacos, to papadzules, salbutes and queso relleno, the food in Merida was fantastic! Our favorite restaurants were:
1. El Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca – not only were the drinks and food delicious here, but the whole vibe of this restaurant was phenomenal. From the lush vegetation in the interior patio, to the soft, traditional music and the small museum behind the restaurant, where you could see some local women make handmade tortillas, this restaurant was perfection. Sadly, we discovered it the day before leaving, so we only had the change to dine there once.
2. Cafe Chuc – don’t be fooled by the look of this restaurant! It looks like a cafe or a fast food place from the outside, but the food and the service here were outstanding. On top of that, our waiter was the most courteous person we’ve ever met in the service industry.
3. La Chaya Maya – another restaurant that serves traditional Yucatecan food. The food was very good too, but because the restaurant is slightly closer to the center, the prices were a bit higher than the previously mentioned restaurants.
9. THE PEOPLE
Perhaps, my most favorite thing about Merida is the people. I’ve never seen so many serene people in my life! We did not encounter ONE person who wasn’t kind, respectful and smiley in our 5 day stay in Merida. From the volunteers on the streets who advised people what to visit in the city, to the ladies at the EducaZoo inside the ”Parque del Centenario”, who colored and chatted with my kids, in spite of the language barrier; from the waiter at the restaurant who was happy to advise us where ELSE to go eat when we didn’t have cash to pay at the restaurant he was working at, to the local people who were so interested in talking to us when our kids were playing with their kids – Merida felt like the most peaceful, most serene place on Earth. My mom and I were seriously in awe of how ”at peace” everybody felt and acted in Merida!
10. MERIDA IS EASY TO NAVIGATE BY CAR
It took us one day to figure out the basic layout of the city. Merida has a system of one-way streets that grid the city. You can figure out the direction by looking for the arrows located on the street name plaques at the corner of the buildings. It also helps tremendously that streets in Merida don’t have names, but rather numbers. The even number streets run North-South, while the uneven ones run East-West. Remember the numbers at your intersection and you will always be able to find your way back home, even without GPS.
11. LOCATION
Due to its location, you could spend weeks in Merida and not run out of things to do. Within one hour of the city, you can find beaches, cenotes, archeological sites (Mayan ruins), magical towns and restored, historical haciendas. With only 5 days in Merida, we barely managed to scratch the surface, but we do plan on returning soon and spending a few weeks exploring more of its surrounding.
For a 7 day itinerary with kids, read my post ”7 days in Merida with kids – best kid-friendly activities”
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