Mazatlán's restored old town is a picturesque compendium of noble 19th-century buildings and pretty plazas. It's set back from Playa Olas Altas, a small cove beach where the waterfront road – with its old-fashioned bars and hotels – strongly evokes the 1950s. Though overlooked by the ugly radio masts of Cerro de la Nevería, this old quarter is delightful, with student life and numerous art galleries, cafes, restaurants and bars.
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.08 MILES
Surrounded by splendid 19th-century buildings, this gorgeous tree-lined plaza comes alive in the evening, when market stalls pop up, couples stroll hand…
8.38 MILES
North of the Zona Dorada and marinas, 'Witch Beach' was once serene but has seen a flood of high-rise development in recent years. Still, it's one of…
1.18 MILES
A popular half-day escape from the city, this peninsula (not an actual island) is just southeast of Old Mazatlán and boasts a beautiful, long sandy beach…
0.12 MILES
Named after a 19th-century soprano and constructed between 1869 and 1874, this 1366-seat theater just off Plaza Machado was a thriving center of local…
Museo Arqueológico de Mazatlán
0.18 MILES
This absorbing museum focuses on pre-Hispanic Sinaloan civilizations. Among obsidian tools and ceramics, standout exhibits include beautiful Aztatlán…
3.64 MILES
This tiny distillery is the only one of its kind, specializing in brewing up mango liquors, which can be sampled here in their pure form or as part of a…
1.47 MILES
At the Mazatlán peninsula’s southern end, a prominent rocky outcrop is the base for this lighthouse, which is 135m above sea level. Join the locals either…
0.35 MILES
Although not as famous nor as spectacular as Acapulco's cliff divers, local clavadistas cast their bodies from a couple of platforms at the eponymous…
Nearby Mazatlán attractions
0.08 MILES
Surrounded by splendid 19th-century buildings, this gorgeous tree-lined plaza comes alive in the evening, when market stalls pop up, couples stroll hand…
0.12 MILES
Named after a 19th-century soprano and constructed between 1869 and 1874, this 1366-seat theater just off Plaza Machado was a thriving center of local…
3. Museo Arqueológico de Mazatlán
0.18 MILES
This absorbing museum focuses on pre-Hispanic Sinaloan civilizations. Among obsidian tools and ceramics, standout exhibits include beautiful Aztatlán…
4. Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción
0.2 MILES
At the center of the old town is this striking 19th-century Romanesque and neo-Gothic melange of a cathedral with yellow twin towers. The dramatic…
0.2 MILES
This is a small museum in a sprawling colonial courtyard complex, which makes a convincing case for the vitality and innovation of contemporary Mexican…
0.23 MILES
In Old Mazatlán, the crescent-shaped Playa Olas Altas is where tourism first flourished from the 1920s onwards, although the rocky beach is buffeted by…
0.35 MILES
Although not as famous nor as spectacular as Acapulco's cliff divers, local clavadistas cast their bodies from a couple of platforms at the eponymous…
0.72 MILES
Flanked by a broad malecón (beach promenade) popular with joggers and strollers, the golden sands of Playa Norte begin just north of Old Mazatlán. Fishing…