What's up guys, we're here in Mérida, Mexico,
and in this video we're going to show you the best things to do in and around the city.
So it's a super colorful, really historical place, lots of culture,
and there's really cool cenotes, and ruins, and beaches around here. So enjoy this video!
We are Zac and Ine. Full-time digital nomads from the United States and Belgium.
We met while studying abroad in 2018 and have been traveling the world together ever since.
We're here to inspire your next adventure, whether it's hiking in the Canadian Rockies,
a road trip through the US, or backpacking across Africa. On our channel you'll find
unfiltered videos of hiking guides and the best things to do in destinations around the world.
Mérida is located in the northwest of the beautiful Yucatan State. It's the state capital
and widely known as the safest city in Mexico. But what attracts most visitors is its thriving
food and cultural scene, with an interesting mix of Mayan and colonial culture. Mérida is
encircled by ancient temples, sacred cenotes, and colorful streets with colonial mansions.
spend at least a few days to experience this fascinating culture and to visit
its nearby attractions. We'll now highlight our top 8 things you should do in Mérida.
At number eight we have the Paseo de Montejo. Home to some of the most beautiful and iconic buildings
of the city, the Paseo de Montejo is a great place for an afternoon stroll. Largely inspired by the
French boulevard, this avenue is lined with trees, roundabouts, and historical monuments.
What's really interesting are the impressive mansions and colonial architecture. You'll
find here some mansions have been converted to a museum and can be visited for a fee.
Trying the local Yucatecan cuisine is an absolute must when in Mérida. Food is a big part of the
city's culture, bringing together Mayan, Spanish, and Lebanese influences. In the center, you can
find many great restaurants that serve traditional dishes. Chiles, cheese, corn, tortillas, eggs,
and beans are all staples of the Yucatan cuisine. Try "huevos monteleños" for breakfast,
a delicious "marquesita" for dessert, or "sopa de lima" for lunch.
So this is a very traditional Yucatan dish and
it's called "sopa de lima" and it has some tortilla chips in a soup
as well as like shredded turkey and a few veggies and it's something you should definitely try.
The small town of Izamal is about 70 kilometers or 43 miles away from Mérida,
making for a great day trip. There's a collectivo on the corner of Calle 50 and 63, which takes
you from the center of Mérida to the heart of Izamal in less than one and a half hours. Most
of the buildings in the downtown area are painted yellow, giving the city a distinct bright feeling.
Walking around the yellow downtown is fairly quick so make sure to stop by the pyramid
"Kinich Kak Moo" as well. When we visited it was free to enter the ruins.
So apart from the beautiful yellow houses in Izamal, you can also come to this temple. It's
right in the center actually and it's dedicated to one of the Mayan sun gods, and so you can imagine
that it really fits the theme well because of all the yellow houses in the color of the sun.
Mérida can get very hot during the day so one of the great ways to cool off
is to visit a nearby cenote. There are tons of beautiful cenotes around the city.
Some are easily reachable by bus and others are more hidden, requiring a rental car to
get there. Do your research before you visit as some can get very crowded. Among the most
popular ones are the cenotes of Santa Barbara and Cuzuma, which are connected by a horse cart.
However, we chose a couple more quiet ones to refresh ourselves away from the crowds.
The fourth best thing to do in Mérida is to explore the historic center. With many colorful
homes, beautiful architecture, churches, and cute parks, this part of the city never bores.
The streets are clean, well-maintained, and filled with restaurants, shops, and entertainment.
The best way to learn about the city is to go on a free walking tour. Tours run daily at 10
AM from Parque de Santa Lucia and they run for two hours. You'll see some of the most iconic
spots around town such as Plaza Grande and the cathedral. Click the link in the description to
find out more info about the tour and see what our local tour guide Gabriel had to say about Mérida.
I'm from a small village that is called Yaxkukul, it's like 25 minutes from here.
Every day I just take my bus and I go here and I'm making,
sharing the history here in Yucatan. "Why should people come to Mérida?"
Because well the weather is good, the safest city, and you're gonna enjoy so much the
food here and uh, you know, so you're gonna get a relaxed time and spiritual time too.
Located along the coast, Celestún is another great day trip destination. It's about 100 kilometers or
62 miles from Mérida. It takes around two hours to get there by bus. Here, you'll find the Ria
Celestun Biosphere Reserve, which is home to flamingos, crocodiles, and many other birds.
As many as 35,000 flamingos live here from November to February. To see them up close,
it's best to take a boat tour. We really enjoyed seeing all the birds and mangroves.
But besides the flamingos, Celestún also had a gorgeous beach for relaxing and swimming.
Hello everyone! Uh we just found this creature lying here in the sand.
We don't know yet what happened exactly. It's ripped
in pieces back in those deep dark sea. Thank you guys and see you soon.
The thing we loved most about the city of Mérida was its evening entertainment.
There's always something going on every night of the week. The city's streets and plazas come to
life with cultural performances, concerts, and dances that are free and open to the public.
Our favorite performance was a demonstration of the ancient Mayan ball game called
"Pok to Pok". Played for centuries by the Mayans, this game is truly historical. In fact,
you can find a ball court at most of the larger Mayan ruin sites.
At number one we have one of the best archaeological sites in all of Mexico:
the Uxmal Ruins. Located 85 kilometers or 53 miles to the south of Mérida, Uxmal is an important
Mayan city and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's lesser-known than the world famous Chichen Itzá,
but also less crowded, less touristy, and just as impressive in our opinion.
It was once one of the largest cities in the Yucatan Peninsula
and at its height was home to approximately 20,000 Mayan people. The main pyramid is particularly
striking, but you can also find palaces, a center court, and other structures with great detail.
Find a link to an Uxmal guided tour from Mérida in the description below.
so we're here now at the Pok to Pok stadium, which was a classic Mayan game.
And we were lucky enough to see a demonstration of it in Mérida, the night show.
But basically you have these rings behind us and the players would hit the ball with
their hips to try to get it through. So it was very difficult game but it was pretty unique.
Since we were in Mérida for only 7 days, we didn't have time to do everything the city and
its surroundings had to offer. There are other incredible things to do that we didn't mention,
such as the Mayan World Museum, Progreso beach,
the Dzibilchaltún Ruins, and biking around the city of Mérida on Sunday morning. And that's
it for our video on the things you should do in Mérida. We hope you enjoyed it and make
sure to like this video if you found it helpful, subscribe to our channel for more Mexico videos,
and download our free giveaway in the description below. Catch you on the next adventure!