Colonial Towns of the Americas

We are going to Nicaragua soon and there we'll see some colonial towns, so I'm recalling the colonial cities that we already visited on previous trips.

Museo del Oro Zenu, Cartagena, Colombia

Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
This is a gorgeous city to visit. I had been in Guatemala before and really enjoyed it but I didn't have high expectations about Antigua. I mean, I read good things about it but I didn't know that it was so nice.
We flew to Guatemala City and then we took a local bus to Antigua. It's not far (no safety issues to point out, locals were really nice, I asked them to take a pic of us while in the bus and everything went well).

Unfortunately we were visiting during semana santa. It was crowded and it was really hard to move around. We had to head back to Guatemala City before we expected. During the semana santa celebrations many roads are closed and it gets very hard to leave, specially by public transportation.

We had enough time to walk around, appreciate the architecture and scenic views, visit some churchs and find an alternative place to have lunch (that was not cool, instead of local food in the #1 restaurant in Antigua, we ended up having paninis and a soup with a view over the ruins of Casa Santo Domingo).

There is a good market to buy local handicrafts, Mercado de Artesanias. It's a cooperativa where several sellers join the same area and everything has a price tag, it's fixed price. We bought a beautiful wood mask for less than $5.

Potosi

We had such a great time while backpacking around Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. I recall the very cold mornings and late evenings in Potosi. And of course the charming old streets and the views over the mountains. 

In our hotel they recommended us a guided tour through the mines. Those are among the most dangerous mines in the world and there are small children working there. We couldn't go to a place where children labor is an attraction. We skipped that and we still had many things to see in Potosi.

Cusco 

I can't say enough about it. This is a must go in Peru. We went to Cusco before and after going to Machu Picchu. We bought our entrance tickets for it at the Direccion Regional de Cultura (DRC) office in Cusco.

The colonial architecture is very well preserved. Getting lost in Cusco's streets is a visual delight. It seems that time stood still there.

Cartagena, Colombia

It's such a bright, colorful and vibrant city. The old town is very well preserved. And the areas around like Getsemani are improving fast, driven by the increasing influx of visitors. 

I highly recommend the Oro Zenu museum. And the street juice stalls. There are many fruits unknown outside South America.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

A stopover was enough to get Old San Juan's essence. It's quite similar to other caribbean colonial cities across the Americas,  it shares some similarities with Cartagena. The bright light also pairs with the colonial colorful architecture and spreads a vibrant atmosphere.

New Orleans, USA

It's one of my favorite cities to visit in the US. It's completely different from other american places. The mix of cultures and styles makes it very unique. And the Mississipi adds some extra glamour.

If you are looking for tips check this old post.

San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

While in Mexico we backpacked across the south and we saw many gorgeous places. Mexico is among my top destinations. It's very diverse and interesting. We saw Mayan ruins, colonial cities, paradisiac beaches, indigenous people... The real Mexico is an amazing place to travel (I regret to inform that Cancun and other overdeveloped cities with massive resort tourism are not the real deal). 

Oaxaca and San Cristobal de Las Casas are among my most - liked. 

In San Cristobal de Las Casas we had coffee in a very interesting Zapatista cooperativa.

There are plenty of colonial details everywhere. The city is full of life and in good condition.