Weekend in Queretaro

The guidebook I bought featured three cities: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Queretaro (in that order). I had already planned to study Spanish in Guanjuato (where I could also attend the Cervantino performing arts festival) and had arranged a weekend trip to San Miguel de Allende, so with one weekend to spare I thought, why not check out Queretaro. The guidebook did not say a lot about it and my research found little else other than to say you could do a lot in 2 days, it had great churches, a cool centro historico and a few historic sites worth visiting. What the guide book didn’t reveal is what a truly lovely city it is, how affordable it is, and how amazing the people are.

I have to admit the trip didn’t start off well. The bus driver was apparently new and couldn’t find the bus station. Seriously, we arrived 40 minutes late which was a bit of a problem since I had booked an Urban photography tour with a local photographer and he was waiting for me at the bus station. Luckily for me, he is an incredibly nice guy. He waited for me and still gave me my two hours of the photo tour and then, made sure I found my Airbnb and hung out long enough to have a beer.

Julien Tredici is a local photographer who offers a two hour long photo tour in Queretaro. He works as a photographer in the city, primarily making a living as a wedding photographer, but spending as much time as he can on his true love (and calling): urban photography. He took me to a local market (not a tourist place) and taught me so much! I had to mention him and share some photos because it was truly one of my favourite travel adventures of all times. Sharing some of the photos in the gallery below.

Later that evening I wandered down to the historic centre of town. What a beautiful spot. Winding alleys with shops selling traditional clothing, crafts and foods, beautiful gardens, winding alleys with cobblestone streets, stunning churches, brightly painted buildings, street vendors and, bonus, another performing arts festival. The Festival International de Artes Escenicas is, if my Spanish is correct, in it’s fourth year. I only saw a couple of performances but they were world class. Definitely something I would check out again.