Orizaba
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◈ Orizaba is in the Altas Montañas region, the “place of the joyful waters”. The lives of local people pass by between colonial buildings and large natural spaces.
The shore of the Río Orizaba offers a landscape of art and animal life. Its city center is home to Mexico’s only Iron Palace where these days you can stop and drink a beer. Travel skywards in a cable car and observe the beautiful face of the Pico de Orizaba.
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◆ Take a ride in the Orizaba cable car, the third longest in Mexico.
◆ Visit the zoo on the banks of the Río Orizaba.
◆ Refresh yourself with a “picardía orizabeña” (a drink made with coffee, liqueur, and condensed milk).
Drink a beer in the Beer Museum, located inside the Palacio de Hierro.
❖ Palacio de Hierro
The Iron Palace was designed by the French engineer Gustave Eiffel, the same man who designed the tower in Paris named after him. It is the only art nouveau castle built using metal that exists in the world.
It can be completely dismantled, in fact it was made in Belgium and then transported by boat to the Port of Veracruz. Take the opportunity and enjoy a beer in the Beer Museum, located inside this palace.
❖ Catedral de San Miguel
It is believed that three churches from different eras have existed on the spot where this cathedral now stands. It was built in a Baroque-Corinthian and neoclassical style by the Franciscans in 1642.
Inside you can admire a clock made in Paris by A. Borel, Napoleon III’s clockmaker, in 1864, as well as crystal candelabras, altarpieces and paintings by Miguel Cabrera. The Ex Convento de San Juan de la Cruz is a churrigueresque-style magnificent building, which belonged to the Barefoot Carmelites religious order, and was inaugurated on the 18th June, 1736.
❖ Museo de Arte del Estado
Antes albergó al Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, después se convirtió en hospital y luego en cárcel. Hoy es uno de los museos más importantes del estado. La construcción del siglo XVIII resguarda más de 700 piezas, que abarcan 100 años de historia del arte en México y Veracruz, entre ellas destacan 36 obras de Diego Rivera, así como de Miguel Cabrera y Alexander Von Humboldt.
Otros atractivos
❖ Palacio Municipal
❖ Capilla de la Santa Cruz del Llanito
❖ Sube al teleférico
El teleférico de Orizaba, con sus 917 metros de longitud, es el tercero más largo de México. Conecta a la Plaza Pichucalco con el Cerro del Borrego. Tiene la capacidad de transportar a más de 150 pasajeros por hora a una velocidad de 4.5 m/s, por lo que estar en lo más alto del Cerro del Borrego sólo toma cinco minutos.
Una vez arriba, verás a Orizaba desde el mirador, entrarás al museo que cuenta parte de la batalla histórica contra los franceses que ocurrió en este lugar, además del Museo Geográfico de Orizaba. Tienes dos horas para abordar el siguiente teleférico y regresar.
❖ Climb the Pico de Orizaba Volcano
This is Mexico’s highest volcano and the third highest in all of North America, surpassed only by Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska and Mount Logan in Canada. Anyone who wishes to explore it must be accompanied by a certified mountain guide with mountaineering equipment.
The traditional route is along the volcano’s western side, facing Puebla. From the top of its peak, you can spot other mountains such as Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl, La Malinche and Cofre de Perote.
❖ Cri-Cri Day
This cultural festivity is celebrated on October 6th with a diverse range of musical events in honor of Francisco Gabilondo Soler, better known as Cri-Cri, whose music and characters have fired children’s imaginations.
When: October 6th
❖ Expori Fair
Year after year, since 1987, this traditional fair has been held with gastronomic, commercial, and handicrafts areas, fairground rides, musical shows, and a colorful parade. This is considered to be the people of Orizaba’s celebration.
