Book Affordable Bus Tickets to Taxco

Taxco de Alarcón, to give its full name, owes its character to silver. The Spanish mined the metal here from the 1500s, and a second boom in the 18th century funded the magnificent Templo de Santa Prisca, built by the silver magnate José de la Borda and finished in 1758. Its rose-colored facade and gilded interior dominate the Plaza Borda at the town's heart. In the 20th century an American, William Spratling, revived Taxco as a silversmithing center, training local artisans and establishing the design tradition that still draws shoppers from across the world to its markets and workshops.

What makes Taxco unforgettable is its setting and its uniformity. Town regulations keep buildings white with red roofs, so the whole settlement reads as a single cascade of color down the green mountainside. The streets are steep, winding and cobbled, best explored on foot, with cable-car rides and rooftop terraces offering sweeping panoramas. Beyond shopping for silver, visitors climb to the Cristo Monumental statue, ride the teleférico to the Montetaxco viewpoint, and time their visit for festivals like the Semana Santa processions or the Jornadas Alarconianas. The high-altitude mountain air keeps temperatures pleasant year-round.