Jardín de la Unión

Jardín de la Unión occupies a compact triangular block in the heart of Guanajuato City's Zona Centro, its unusual shape earning it the local nickname the "cheese slice." Laid out as a formal plaza in the 1860s, the garden is planted with tightly trimmed Indian laurel trees that form a dense green canopy over cast-iron benches and a wrought-iron bandstand at its center, with cafes and restaurants lining the plaza's perimeter and spilling onto outdoor terraces. The neoclassical facade of Teatro Juárez rises along one edge, and the plaza functions as the informal town square and gathering point for the historic center, from which most of Guanajuato's major sights, including Callejón del Beso, the Basílica and the funicular to Monumento al Pípila, are within a short walk. In the evenings, mariachi bands and estudiantina troupes, the callejoneadas performers dressed in medieval-style costumes, gather in and around the plaza, singing and leading walking processions through the surrounding alleys for a fee. A visit can be as short as a coffee stop or stretch to an hour or more sitting at one of the cafe terraces watching the plaza's activity. There is no single best photo angle, though the view across the plaza toward Teatro Juárez's columned facade, especially with the bandstand in the foreground, is the most iconic. The plaza is busiest in the early evening through late night, when locals and visitors alike fill the cafes and the callejoneada groups begin their processions; weekday mornings are the quietest time to simply sit under the laurel trees.