NUEVE ESQUINAS

Continue south along Colón, the street that borders the west side of the Aranzazú church. Within a block you enter the colorful working-class Nueve Esquinas (“Nine Corners”) district. Spruced-up 19th-century townhouse facades and hole-in-the-wall local workshops—printers, machine shops, electrical repair—decorate the narrow lanes.

After three short blocks you come to the neighborhood-center Plaza Nueve Esquinas, bordered by a squad of birria restaurants (birrerias), so-named for the savory, traditional Guadalajaran meat (goat, pork, or beef) stew that they all serve. Make sure that you have an appetite when you arrive, because a bowl of birria here is an opportunity you won’t want to miss. Of the several popular restaurants, the best seems to be Birrias Nueve Esquinas on Colón, at the plaza front.

Continue south from the plaza, along Colón one block, passing a shady, intimate little plazuela on the left, at the corner of Nueva Galicia. One more long block brings you to busy Avenida La Paz, where intriguing antique shops occupy the corner of Colón and La Paz across the street. Items range from fine restored furniture to dusty bric-a-brac.