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We spent two weeks in Puebla and two weeks in Querétaro in early 2025. Here are 20 random thoughts I have regarding the two cities in central Mexico.
- Non-touristy suburbs of Mexico City: Neither Puebla nor Querétaro is a suburb of Mexico City – they are both their own metropolitan areas – yet I feel that Mexico City still overshadows them. This is especially true of Puebla, being the closer of the two cities. Both towns are in the same geographical plain, both primarily rely on Mexico City’s airport for connections, and neither is a tourist destination on its own. Yet for two cities that don’t get much recognition, both are pretty impressive in their own right: Puebla is the 4th largest metropolitan area in Mexico, and Querétaro is the 2nd wealthiest area in the entire country. Wow!
- Puebla and Querétaro both have non-stop flights to the U.S. A side note about both Puebla and Querétaro is that they have non-stop flights to the U.S. I didn’t expect that for several reasons, although now that I know both towns, it ultimately makes sense. Of course, the irony is that we arrived and departed through Mexico City International Airport (AICM). The main problem is that Querétaro and Puebla are only connected to the U.S. by a couple of flights per day, and they are expensive. And it is so easy to get to Mexico City by bus!
- Querétaro could easily be mistaken for a Texas city: We visited parts of Querétaro that could easily be mistaken for cities in Texas. They had fancy single-family homes, many American restaurant chains, well-paved wide streets, fancy cars, and even a H-E-B grocery store! The weather and geography are similar, too. If an American family wanted to live abroad and have a lower cost of living, yet wants an American standard of living, the northern suburb of Juriquilla in Querétaro should be at the top of their list.
- Un Mundo Extraño: We found this restaurant in Querétaro that had a theme based on The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice. Talk about a weird world! Although I am not a movie buff – especially fictional movies like these two – I could see fans of either movie truly enjoying the atmosphere. Sadly, the menu was only okay – we had enchiladas – so we only ate there once.
- Do Not Slam the Car Doors: We use Uber a lot when traveling. One Uber ride in Querétaro stood out to us. As soon as we got in the car, the driver berated me about how all foreigners – us included – slam car doors. I didn’t think we slammed the car doors at all. Nonetheless, the driver went on and on about all foreigners doing this, and he didn’t understand why. I tried to explain to him that we wanted to ensure the car door was shut, but he didn’t want to hear any of it. By the end of the ride, he was much nicer, although there were some tense moments at the beginning.
- Walmart is everywhere: In the U.S., it’s easy to notice how prevalent Walmart is. In many smaller towns, the local Walmart is the grocery store, department store, food court, and hangout destination all in one. But it wasn’t until we started traveling that I realized how prevalent Walmart is in Mexico, Chile, and Central America. To start, Walmart and Walmart Express are very common throughout Mexico. We also found out that Walmart owns another grocery chain in Mexico called Bodega Aurrerá. At the cash registers, Walmart notes that Mexican locations are part of “Walmart México y Centroamérica,” implying there are locations in other Central American countries. Additionally, Walmart owns Lider in Chile, which is another grocery chain. We wondered why the Lider logo looked identical to the Walmart logo, and we discovered that Walmart purchased Lider. Walmart is truly everywhere!
- Ubers are good to go in Querétaro and Puebla: In many parts of Latin America, Ubers are “legal” but not exactly condoned by local authorities (we had a very hairy experience in Santiago de Chile using Uber). In fact, in most Latin American cities we’ve visited, the drivers ask that one of us sit in the front seat, so it’s not readily apparent that it’s an Uber. However, in Querétaro and Puebla, we used Uber without any issues – and we sat in the back seat.
- Gemini told us to visit Puebla: We had no idea Puebla was on the map until Gemini – Google’s AI program – told us to visit Puebla. I spent a while talking to Gemini about what we like and don’t like in cities so I could discover places to visit. My main points were neighborhoods in Latin America that are highly walkable and modern. While Gemini recommended many places I already knew about, it also recommended Puebla, which was completely off my radar. Although I didn’t enjoy Puebla as much as I had hoped, I can see why Gemini recommended it to me. What other gems can I discover through AI?
- Angelópolis Mall is not welcoming: As I wrote in my blog post about our obsession with malls in Latin America, we’ve recently started basing our stays on where the fanciest malls are. That is why Gemini recommended the Angelópolis neighborhood in Puebla to us. However, Angelópolis Mall has several barriers to entry, namely a wide parking lot, a large gated fence, and a broad highway bordering it. Once inside, security was very tight. In fact, one of the security guards told us to stop taking photos, which was a first for us (we love taking photos!). The whole experience – inside and out – put a damper on my feelings for Angelópolis. I thought we would frequent Angelópolis Mall; instead, we barely visited.
- No HVAC in Puebla: Our Airbnb condo in Puebla was newly built and modern. However, it didn’t have any HVAC – no heating or air conditioning. This isn’t as shocking as it appears. Puebla is more than 6,000 feet above sea level, and it is common for higher-elevation cities in Latin America not to have HVAC. In fact, our own condo in Quito, Ecuador, doesn’t have HVAC, and we never once thought we needed it. The theory is that at high elevations, the climate is naturally self-regulating due to the warmth of being near the equator and the coolness of being at such a high altitude. However, our thought is that Puebla is a bit too hot to truly get away without HVAC, especially in the summer.
- Poor timing: One of my fondest memories about South America is discovering so many cool rock bands. I discovered the band Los Bunkers while we were in Chile, and it has become one of my favorite bands. In fact, Los Bunkers occupy several spots on my Spotify favorites playlist. But Los Bunkers are an older group and are primarily famous in Chile and southern South America. Thus, it was a complete surprise to discover that they had a concern scheduled in Puebla! We missed it by two weeks, which was so disappointing. Had the concert been while we were there, I would have definitely gone.
- San Miguel de Allende’s Historical Center: Puebla, Querétaro, and San Miguel de Allende – an hour by bus from Querétaro – all have historical centers. The three historical centers are relics from the Spanish colonial period and feature architecture and urban design that you would expect to see in a travel brochure. In fact, all three historical centers have won awards for being top tourist spots. Yet, having visited all three, my top pick would be San Miguel de Allende if you are into art, antiques, and architecture. We spent an afternoon in San Miguel de Allende, and it is extremely photogenic. But if you aren’t into art, antiques, and architecture, there isn’t much else to do.
- Puebla vs Panama City: On the other hand, Puebla’s historical center is full of life and has a lot of hustle and bustle. Puebla’s center is much larger, and the buildings are taller than those in San Miguel de Allende or Querétaro. Yet, Puebla’s historical center reminded me of Downtown Los Angeles. It shows its historical nature, but also has a rough, grungy feel to it. There is some aspect of urban renewal and some cool spots to eat and hang out, but other areas are pretty rough. In fact, if we’re talking about a bustling historical center that underwent renovation very well, I would point to Panama City’s Casco Viejo neighborhood as an excellent example. (However, Casco Viejo is also very expensive to live in, which means gentrification.)
- Sushi Roll: Kevin and I are not sushi eaters. In fact, we are the opposite: we ask for all our meats – including fish – cooked well done. Yet, because we are also gluten-free, it can sometimes be quite hard to eat out. I had been wanting to try sushi for a while because if we could start eating sushi, that would significantly add to our dining-out options. Sushi Roll – a Mexican sushi restaurant chain – offered two-for-one sushi nights Monday-Wednesday, so we decided to go for it and ate sushi in Puebla – a city not even close to an ocean. The sushi wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it either.
- Querétaro Train: Mexico is starting work on building a train from Mexico City to Querétaro. While I love riding trains, the truth is that I don’t see the need for this train line. It is so easy and cheap to take the bus between the two cities. I don’t know what advantages the train brings other than that it exists. Furthermore, based on the disastrous performance of the Tren Maya between Tulum, Cancún, and Mérida, I would rather have Mexico spend its money on other infrastructure projects than a tourist train that isn’t needed.
- Starbucks Coffee from Puebla: It was pretty cool to see Starbucks selling coffee grown in the very same town. It is one thing to buy coffee grown in specific places – Bali, Colombia, etc… – when you feel they are “exotic” and in a different part of the world. It’s another thing to buy coffee grown down the street (in a figurative sense).
- Plenty of Papaya: I ate more papaya in our two weeks in Querétaro than ever before in my life. We stayed at a hotel in Querétaro and got free breakfast. And the fruit selection was either papaya or cantaloupe. While cantaloupe is whatever, papaya is new and exciting, so I ate it every day for breakfast. Even better, papaya is very healthy for you!
- Cinépolis is in the United States! After seeing many Cinépolis movie theaters across Latin America, it was cool to see one in the U.S. too! And in the reverse, Sears’ popularity in Mexico continues to amaze me.
- American Brands We Found in Querétaro: Sears, Starbucks, Shake Shack, H-E-B, Carl’s Jr, Chili’s, Hooters, Olive Garden, Petco, Subway, McDonald’s,
Tim Horton’s, AT&T, etc… - For #20, I’m going to repeat it again: If you can work remotely for a U.S. company or for U.S. clients, and you can move outside of the U.S., you can live an extremely comfortable, U.S.-based lifestyle in Querétaro or even Puebla. San Miguel de Allende gets all the attention because it’s a tourist hub, but to actually live, Querétaro is where it’s at.
- Bonus: The word Querétaro was named the most beautiful word in Spanish back in 2011. And, indeed, I love saying Querétaro, and it is quite easy for me to pronounce. If you want to try, you pronounce it keh-REH-tah-roh.
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Very interesting and detailed information. I didn’t know that Querétaro was so Americanized (in other words). The only problem I would have with traveling, is elevations (can’t be in high elevations). Is Querétaro a Spanish & English-speaking city? I think it’s really convenient and comfortable to have all those well-known businesses & restaurants around. That makes it easier to live there. Interesting about the Uber…….having to sit in the front seat that it doesn’t look like an Uber. Question: is that “nervous time”? That would make me a little uncomfortable. I wonder if they’ll bring Waymo to these cities one day. Thank you for this blog. I read and comment on all of your blogs. They’re always very interesting to read, and have a ton of information, facts, and details.