Saltillo

Saltillo is a the capital of Coahuila state, in Mexico.

Culture and History

Saltillo is a beautiful small colonial city in Northern Mexico. It is a traditional city with a colorful history. A city that was an important point on the 19th century Camino Real, yet a city with a diverse modern manufacturing economy. Interior designers know Saltillo for its famous thick, lightly glazed, earthen ceramic floor tiles, and the brightly colored shawls known as serapes are part of the city's colorful tradition. Today, Saltillo is a government center, a college town, and a manufacturing city with big factories outside the city limits producing chemicals, metals, auto parts, and trucks.

Travel to Saltillo - Visa Requirements

Plane, car, or bus are your basic options.

Flights and airtickets to Saltillo

Saltillo's International Airport (IATA|SLW) is located on the north side of the city, about 10 minutes from downtown. It is served by a regional carriers to Monterrey and Mexico City. There is one daily flight from the U.S.: a Continental Express flight from Houston, however, convenient flight schedules are available to nearby Monterrey.

By car

Saltillo is one hour west of Monterrey via Mexico Highway 40.

Buses to Saltillo

Many bus lines serve Saltillo, including Omnibus de Mexico, Transportes del Norte, Turistar, and Futura (Estrella de Blanco). Trans-border buses to the U.S. are also available from Saltillo.

Tours and Getting around Saltillo

Downtown Saltillo is best explored using the TranVia trolley system. For 20 pesos, you can get on and off 4 times. TranVia does not operate on Mondays.

Saltillo tourist attractions and sightseeing

• Palacio de Gobierno (Coahuila State House), attractive colonial era state house featuring bright open courtyards and a series of murals depicting Coahuila history, painetd by Salvador Tarazona.
• Cathedral of Saltillo, stunning cathedral built in the mid 18th century, spectacular churrigueresque facade, 6-inch thick doors of carved mahogany and cedar featuring St. Paul and St. Peter, stunning silver-plated altar.
• Museo del Desierto (Museum of the Desert), large, modern museum organized as a series of pavilions, each exploring a particular aspect of desert life. The focus is on the enormous Chihuahua desert, and the museum's centerpiece is an enormous T-Rex skeleton, excavated in the nearby desert. Great for kids!
• Museo del Aves (Museum of Birds), large, modern museum showcasing more than 2,000 stuffed and mounted birds, representing nearly every species found in Mexico.
• Parque Alameda Zaragoza, tranquil city park featuring towering cedars and long walkways through an immaculately landscaped garden. Playgrounds for kids, benches for strolling lovers on a Sunday afternoon.
• Vito Alessio Cultural Center, relatively small museum, located a block from the cathedral at the corner of Hidalgo and Aldama. Not a lot to see, but admission is free and it is the site of a fascinating series of murals depicting the history of Coahuila, and life of Vito Alessio, a revolution-era general born in the local area.

Saltillo city tours

• Saraperos de Saltillo, are the local Mexican League baseball team. Between March and August, catch a game at the new Parque Francisco Madero. [1]

Learn

Work

Saltillo souvenirs and shopping

Saltillo Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Some unique regional dishes that are specialties of Saltillo include:

• Pan de pulque - a delightfully sweet airy bread that owes its texture to the use of fermented agave juice in its batter. Widely available throughout the city, you can also grab a loaf to go from the shops across the street from the bus station.

Budget

Mid-range

• Bahía Barcelona, Blvd. Los Fundadores Km. 17 Arteaga, 844 483 9000. Spanish restaurant.
• El Mesón Principal, Blvd Venustiano Carranza y Ave. Egipto, 844 415 0015. Traditional Northern Mexico cooking, as the racks of kid goat slow-roasting over hot coals prove beyond any doubt.
• Hong Kong Restaurant, Blvd. Venustiano Carranza No. 3801, 844 415 5313. Chinese.
• Nikkori, Blvd. Venustiano Carranza 2665-7, 844 416 7997. Japanese cuisine.
• Terrazo Romana, Purcell across from Alameda Zaragoza, 844 414 9743. Wood-fired pizza is the star of this casual restaurant.

Splurge

• El Tapanco, Calle Allende Sur 225, 844 414 4339. Outstanding restaurant with courtyard setting, intimate dining rooms, and traditional Mexican cooking. Their tortilla soup is one of the best in Mexico.

Saltillo nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

• Boss, Blvd. Venustiano Carranza 2665-7.
• Carlos’n Charlie’s, Blvd. Venustiano Carranza No. 3070, 844 416 4842.
• Faisanes, Carretera Los González between Blvd. Colosio y Moctezuma, 844 439 8008.
• Joy Bar, Blvd. Cuahutémoc, Col. Los Pinos, 844 485 0251. Discotech.
• El Olmo Disco Bar, Blvd. Valdés Sánchez, Col. Jardines del Valle, 844 415 6838.

Saltillo cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Budget

Mid-range

• Holiday Inn Eurotel, Blvd. Venustiano Carranza 4100, (844)-415-1000. Pleasant moderate hotel on outskirts of Saltillo. Off-street parking makes it a good bet for motorists. TranVia trolley stop.

Splurge

• Quinta Real Saltillo, Blvd. Sarmiento Fracc. Real De Peña 1385, Tel: 844 438 84 50. New luxury hotel about 10 minutes north of downtown.

Contact

• Art.net & Cibercafé, Xicotencatl 182 Sur - Centro, 52 8 412 0652, [2]. Around 25 pesos per hour for internet use. 10am-3am.

Stay safe

Cope

Get out

• Bosques de Monterreal is a mountain recreation lodge with horseback riding, golf, tennis, ATV tours, and even downhill alpine skiing on an artificial surface! [3]

This page was last edited by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Mark Stevens and Evan Prodromou, Wikitravel user(s) Texugo and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license