Seniors Visit Querétaro

Although I taught French for over 35 years, I truly love Spanish, Mexico and Mexicans. I have had the good fortune to travel to Europe over 30 times and to Mexico a dozen times. This senior enjoys exploring Mexico, its cities, its people, its history, its culture and its food.

I was reading the various news sources on my phone this morning and up came Querétaro.  That’s an area that I am not acquainted with. I’ve been close by, but never there. I learned lots by putting this blog together, enough that its on my own travel bucket list.

Querétaro is the fastest-growing city in Mexico, basing its economy to IT and data centers, logistics services, aircraft manufacturing and maintenance, call centers and manufacturing center for automotive and machinery industry, chemicals and food products.

 Seniors Find Large City In A Small State

Querétaro is a small state in north-central Mexico, however the city is huge with a population of nearly 2 million inhabitants. The historic center of its capital, Santiago de Querétaro, has fountain-filled squares and stone streets lined with bougainvillea.

Its wealth of Spanish colonial architecture includes churches such as the ochre San Francisco and the baroque Santa Rosa de Viterbo. One of the most distinct sites is called Los Arcos, an aqueduct with 74 pink stone arches.

Querétaro has an interesting ethnic and cultural heritage that has developed from the integration of pre-Hispanic and European customs.

UNESCO, that selects World Heritage Sites, notes that the old colonial town of Querétaro is unusual in having retained the geometric street plan of the Spanish conquerors side by side with the twisting alleys of the Indian quarters.

 Seniors Find The Safest City In Mexico

I learned recently that Querétaro has repeatedly been recognized as the metro area with the best quality of life and as the safest city in Mexico, a significant fact for seniors planning their travel to Mexico.

It is also the most dynamic in all of Latin America and is experiencing an ongoing social and economic revitalization. The city’s full name is “Santiago de Queretaro“, and although it’s spelled out fully on the doors of every taxi in the city, none of the locals use the full name in polite conversation.

The region of Querétaro has a rapidly growing vineyards agriculture and it hosts the famous wine producer from Spain called Freixene. The wine production in Querétaro is now the second largest in Mexico after the Baja California region.

Enjoy this hub of culture and all the city has to offer. -jeb