We had a few days to fill in before we started our next housesitting assignment in Mexico City, so we decided to head to Puebla via Tula.

Tula is an industrial city that smells of sulphur and has a film of smog covering it. Why would we visit here?

We went to Tula to see some ancient archaeological ruins that were recommended to us by Beto in San Miguel. To make the most of our time in the ruins of Tula we hired a guia (guide) to explain the history to us.

After lunch in Tula we drove on to Puebla, a couple of hours away.

There weren’t many options for camping in Puebla so we rented an apartment for a few nights through Airbnb. It was nice to have a bit more space, a break from van life, and to get some washing done.

Our airbnb hosts had left a list of recommended places to visit in Puebla. We decided to head to #1 on the list – The Amparo Museum. There are some days you feel like exploring museums and some days you don’t. This was a day that we didn’t. Luckily the museum has an amazing rooftop coffeeshop and garden. We headed upstairs to chill out and enjoy view of the cathedral domes, and feel slightly cultured as we were in a museum – sort of?

On Sunday Callejon de los Sapos, translated to Frog Alley is a treasure trove of antique dealers at this street market. Not one to pass on a market, Jeanette was keen to have a look.

Not far from where we were staying is the Los Fuertes Park, a large hillside park with museums, two forts and coffeeshops. From the top of the park you are rewarded with a great view over he city. It is nice to go here and watch the sun set. There is also a cablecar at the park, but it wasn’t operating when we were there.

A recently discovered underground tunnel – Puente de Bubas was great to visit and escape the heat up the day. At the end of the tunnel tour we came up into the neighbourhood of Xanenetla. It is also called the Cuidad Mural, as there are a lot of murals painted over the houses and facades. They make you smile as you walk past.

Our airbnb hosts recommended we try the roof top restaurant at Hotel El Sueno for dinner. We went a little early to watch the sun set over the buildings of Puebla, and had the restaurant to ourselves.

The centro historico part of Puebla is worth visiting, lots of interesting buildings and museums. However once you venture out this area, the rest of Puebla has a run down unloved feel about it.

While we enjoyed our time in Puebla, especially seeing the Zocalo all lit up with the stunning Christmas decorations, we feel it wasn’t as nice as some of the other Mexican cities we have visited and probably wouldn’t return.