Guadalajara: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 49 - 49 Ibis Guadalajara
 This Ibis Hotel is located 10 minutes’ drive from the centre of Guadalajara, and offers modern, air-conditioned rooms with satellite TV. There is fr… MoreEUR 29 - 50 Infante
 The Hotel Infante is in the historic centre of Guadalajara, next to the Palace Gardens and the 15th-Century Infantado Palace. The family-run hotel off… MoreEUR 49 - 136 Tryp Guadalajara
 This Tryp is on the outskirts of Guadalajara, just off the E-90 motorway. It has free Wi-Fi, free fitness and business centres, and free early morning… MoreEUR 50 - 175 Hotel Torcal
 This hotel is located just outside Guadalajara, 10 minutes from Yebes high-speed train station, and has a free private car park.
The Torcal is situat… MoreEUR 41 - 120 Hotel Puerta Guadalajara
 The hotel is well-situated on the outskirts of Guadalajara, just 15 minutes from the AVE station and 30 minutes from the airport and the Juan Carlos I… MoreEUR 30 - 52 Hotel España
 The Hotel España is located in the historic centre of Guadalajara. The air-conditioned rooms have flat-screen TVs and balconies, and free Wi-Fi is av… MoreEUR 40 - 55 Hotel Pax Chi
 Located in Guadalajara, 45 minutes from Madrid, the international airport of Barajas and close to the Exhibition and conference centre Juan Carlos I.
… MoreEUR 60 - 99 AC Guadalajara
 Located in the historic centre of Guadalajara, this smart and modern hotel is near the Palacio del Infantado and has excellent transport connections w… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Guadalajara: Guide
Guadalajara is the capital city of the state of Jalisco in Mexico.
Understand
Guadalajara is divided into several districts.
Sector Juárez -- southwest central Guadalajara, with plenty of shops and 2 malls (Centro Magno and Plaza las Torres, encompassing the Minerva and Chapultepec commercial zones.
The new main bus station is in the suburb of Tonala. The old bus station just south of the centro is served by bus lines motoring to nearby pueblos like Tequila and Chapala.
The Centro (downtown) is mostly accessible by walking. For longer trips or to get in and out of the Centro, use the bus, subway, or a taxi.
If you know a bit of Spanish, try using this page . It has most of the bus routes.
There are tons of places, however if you go to Zapopan's center, you'll be in the place. There are more than twelve bars near each other.
, Nueva Galicia # 924 (Zona de las nueve esquinas ) (33) 3614 6230. Cozzy hostel walking distance from down town.
, Maestranza # 147 (on the corner of López Cotilla), (33) 3562 7520. An excellent youth hostel, about 120 pesos.
Holiday Inn Select, Av. Niños Heroes 3089, 33/3122-2020.
The town of Tequila, is great for tequila tasting experience. Drive or take a bus. The bus costs about $9-12USD round trip and about 1.5 hrs each way. It is beautiful countryside.
Also check out Lake Chapala
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Guadalajara". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.
Sector Hidalgo -- northwest central Guadalajara, a largely residential area encompassing the financial district and the country club.
Sector Libertad -- northeast central Guadalajara, a largely industrial zone. The southwest part of the sector is pretty close to the historic downtown, there is a traditional market (Mercado San Juan de Dios) and Plaza de los mariachis where you can find the traditional mexican music.
Sector Reforma -- southeast central Guadalajara, also a mostly industrial zone. Parque Agua Azul, a large park with many trees, an auditorium and a lake inside similar to Central Park, lies there. On Saturday mornings there's a street market, the Tianguis Cultural, where you can buy alternative apparel and articles for youngsters such as spiked belts, black trenchcoats, military uniforms, used books and trading cards for a fair price.
Centro Historico -- the historic downtown. Most of your time will probably be spent here. It is fill with colonial buildings. In some of them are wonderful paints from José Clemente Orozco.
Zapopan -- though the municipality encompasses all of western Guadalajara, locally it refers to northwest Guadalajara, with several shopping malls (Plaza Patria, Plaza Galerias, La Gran Plaza, among others), the Mercado del Mar (Sea Market) where you can eat fish and seafood for a reasonable price, as well as downtown Zapopan where you can find many bars and cantinas. Right south from the downtown there are rich neighborhoods, night clubs such as White Lotus and Bossé, restaurants, three private universities (Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Tec de Monterrey and Universidad del Valle de Atemajac - UNIVA) and several shopping malls (Plaza Pabellon, Plaza del Sol). Zapopan actually is the largest municipality in the State and also have several parks (Los Colomos, The Country Club) and a forest (La Primavera)
Tlaquepaque -- south and southeast Guadalajara, encompassing the airport and downtown Tlaquepaque, a place with many restaurants and shops where you can buy local pottery and craftmanships. A private university, the ITESO, lies on southern Guadalajara.
Tonalá -- eastern Guadalajara, where you can also buy craftmanships. Also lies there a huge park, the Parque Solidaridad.Get in
Libertador Miguel Hidalgo International Airport (GDL) is located south of the city along the Guadalajara-Chapala Highway. Along with Mexico's main domestic carriers - Mexicana, AeroMexico and Aviacsa - major U.S. airlines, including Alsaka Airlines, American Airlines, ATA, Continental, Delta and U.S Airways (previous under the America West name) serve Guadalajara. Discount airlines Aerocalifornia, Alma de Mexico, Avolar, Interjet and Volaris jet between Guadalajara and Mexican destinations.Get around
Bus
Dozens of bus routes provide transportation around the city. Most buses cost 4 pesos; there are also luxury buses costing 8 pesos. Look on the front window of the bus to see where it will go, and ask the driver if you're uncertain. You can also purchase a route map (the Guia Roji Red Vial Ciudad de Guadalajara). Riding the bus also provides a good chance to see different parts of the city and get your bearings.Taxi
Taxis are another option if you don't want to try to figure out the buses. City trips can be rather expensive, costing usually between $40 pesos for a short trip, up to $250 for longer trips, usually more expensive when going to a mall. As always, be sure to ask the fare before you get in. Cabs cost more at night or when they have to cross the outer ring. Fares for the airport are set. If arriving at the Guadalajara airport, a taxi monopoly provides the service - and it can be costly.Subway
A simple subway network can be useful if you happen to want to travel along its currently limited path. Fares are similar to a bus ride. The subway is very clean and pleasant to ride; you'll enjoy being away from the hot midday sun. The subway closes at 11pm.See
Cathedral
Plazas near the cathedral. Any of these offer a nice spot to walk thru or rest in for a few minutes. Most have plenty of food vendors nearby.
Plaza Guadalajara west of (in front of) the cathedral
Plaza de Armas south of the cathedral
Plaza de la Liberación east of (behind) the cathedral
Plaza de los Hombres Ilustres north of the cathedral
Museo Regional de Guadalajara' 60 Liceo. Pleasant museum to spend a few hours in, especially if you can read Spanish (though there are English versions on separate cards) and especially on a hot day when you need some time out of the sun.
Mercado Libertad, known by locals as San Juan de Dios, a very busy multi-storey enclosed market, with hundreds of vendors.
Instituto Cultutal Cabañas, east to Plaza de la Liberación, it is a cultural and art center where the fresco paintings of Jose Clemente Orozco are exhibited and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.Buy
Plaza Galerías, Guadalajara's biggest mall, located in the crossing of the Vallarta and Rafael Sanzio avenues. It houses Guadalajara's biggest multiplex cinema, with 20 THX projection rooms and 4 VIP rooms. Has multi-storey parking areas as well as more than 1 square kilometer of open parking space shared with a Wal-Mart and a Sam's Club. Served by the bus routes 25, 47 and 629.
Plaza del Sol, located near the crossing between the López Mateos and Mariano Otero avenues. Guadalajara's second biggest mall, it has a multi-storey car park and an open layout, with big, open spaces in the middle, surrounded by hallways. Served by the bus routes 357, 101, 24, 258, 626, 629, 645 and 701, as well as the Santa Anita busses that connect the nearby town of Santa Anita with the metropolitan area. The Torrena Tower, measuring 336.5 m, is under construction next to Plaza del Sol, also next to Plaza Torrena, a smaller, underground mall that can be recognized by its white concrete dome located in the crossing of the López Mateos and Mariano Otero avenues.
Plaza Patria, enclosed by the Patria, Ávila Camacho and Américas avenues. It's a two-story mall, not as big as Plaza del Sol or other malls, but with a sizeable assortment of stores, including fashion, electronics, convenience stores and a supermarket. Served by the bus routes 24, 25, 604, 622, 632, 634 and 701.
Centro Magno, located between Vallarta and López Cotilla avenues. It has a big, wide, closed space in the middle, surrounded mostly by restaurants, fashion, electronics and bazaar stores, with a cinema on the top floor. Served directly by the bus routes 629A and 629B, and by the nearby routes 626, 622, 24, 258 and 101.Eat
Birria, tortas ahogadas, and chilaquiles are some of the most traditional dishes in Guadalajara.Drink
Sleep
Many inexpensive hotels are available in the city center. If you plan to spend much time downtown, don't get a hotel farther away. It's much more convenient to be able to walk back than to need to find a bus back to e.g. the Minerva area.Budget
Centro
Expensive
Minerva-Chapultepec
Get out