EAST AND SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN

Guadalajara visitors flock to the southeast-side towns of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá to buy the renowned handicrafts that these towns’ many hundreds of family factories produce. Although Tlaquepaque and Tonalá are each headquarters of their respective sprawling municipio (township or municipality), the core village centers, arguably Mexico’s most important handicrafts sources, are the main attractions.

About five miles (eight kilometers) southeast of downtown, Tlaquepaque (“tlah-kay-PAH-kay”) town, although completely surrounded by the Guadalajara metropolis, is nevertheless separate, with its own church, town hall, accommodations, many good restaurants, and locally owned shops and businesses close by the old village jardín (garden).

Although replete with village charm, Tlaquepaque is not sleepy. Visitors swarm in, by day to stroll and shop, and by night to savor the delicious snacks and delight in the bright mariachi entertainment for which Tlaquepaque is famous.

On the other hand, Tonalá, another five miles farther east, at Guadalajara’s country edge, retains a measure of its drowsy rural past. Nevertheless, an initial glance inside a few of its multitude of handicrafts shops reveals Tonalá’s mission. Behind the street-side adobe and brick walls, thousands of Tonalá people are hard at work. Their labor and know-how are the source of Tonalá’s celebrated ceramics and its renowned papier-mâché and brass, in human, animal, and floral designs.

MUSEO REGIONAL DE LA CERÁMICA DE TLAQUEPAQUE: As you stroll the main Tlaquepaque shopping street, Independencia, be sure to make this museum one of your first stops. (read more)

AVENIDA INDEPENDENCIA: Be sure to visit some of these showplace shops, such as the ingeniously quirky Sergio Bustamante or Agustín Parra, for unabashedly monumental new baroque. (read more)

TLAQUEPAQUE FACTORY SHOPS: Los Cirios features candles as art, and Vidrios Soplados is a good place to learn about the wonders of glassblowing. (read more)

STATUE OF CIHUALPILLI: In Tonalá’s town plaza, see the remarkable bronze statue of the queen who resisted the Spanish invasion in 1530. (read more)

MUSEO REGIONAL TONALLÁN: This museum is a community effort to illuminate the history and practice of Tonalá crafts, with craftsmaking exhibitions and dramatic and musical productions. (read more)

TONALÁ FACTORY SHOPS: Follow at least part of this tour, stopping in the factory shops that welcome visitors—such as Galería Bernabe and Artesanías Erandi for fine ceramics and the Vidrios Jimon glass factory. (read more)