Some recommendations for guests of Casa Jessica

Welcome to Merida!

We first visited Merida in 2018 and instantly fell in love with the place! We adore its culture, food, history, and the warm hospitality of its people. Since then, we’ve returned several times and, in 2021, we even purchased our house here, with the dream of potentially relocating here full-time. In the meantime, we still make several visits annually and rent out the place on Airbnb when we’re not here. We hope you’re as enchanted by Merida as we are!

Here are some recommendations for things to do, but there are two big caveats:

1. - These are just places we’ve tried, but the reason we keep coming back is that there’s always something new to explore.
2. - Merida is a dynamic place. Places close, change hours, adjust due to weather or local holidays, and so on. Be flexible.

🗝️ Free Weekly Events

• The city and its various neighborhoods organize daily events that attract both locals and tourists, allowing them to immerse themselves in the region’s rich culture. Among my personal favorites are the Tuesday dancing and Sunday biking events, which are both interactive. The Thursday show is also highly recommended. 

• Monday – Vaquería Yucateca  9pm

• Palacio Municipal  Calle 62 X 61 y 63

• The “Vaquería” is reminiscent of the old “town festivals” of the seventeenth century, which were held in the cattle ranches where the feast of the ironing of the cattle was framed by dances and festivities called by the owner of the farm.
• This custom is recreated every Monday, with a program in which traditional dances are performed. Live music, by the “Jaranera” orchestra of the Mérida City Council creates a special festive atmosphere.
• Tuesday – Musical Remembrances  8:30pm

• Santiago Park  Calle 59 y 72

• It takes place in Santiago Park, a place where the notes of the “Jaranera” orchestra rock couples under the charm of songs.  Note:  This a fun event to watch but even more fun to join in and dance!
• Wednesday – Video Mapping  8pm

• Casa de Montejo  Calle 60 y 63

• The facade of the Montejo House is painted using a digital mapping, the elements that are sculpted in the building are explained in detail, which serves as the setting for a scenic dialogue between Francisco de Montejo and an indigenous leader.
• Thursday – Serenade in Santa Lucía  9pm

• Santa Lucia Park  Calle 60 y 55

• The Plaza Santa Lucia is the precise setting for the Serenade of Santa Lucia. A program created to offer a space of remembrance to Yucatecan composers.  (Note:  This is a very impressive dance and music show.  Arrive early to claim your seat or I also recommend booking a dinner reservation at Apoala and ask for an outside table to watch the show)
• Friday – Sacred Stones  8pm

• Esplanade of the Cathedral of San Idelfonso  Calle 60 y 61

• It is a videomapping show on the facade of the Cathedral of San Idelfonso. It combines several 3D and 2D animation techniques to deliver a historical reunion of the creation of the building, built with the stones of the ancient Mayan city of “Thó”.
• Saturday – “Pok ta Pok” (Mayan Ball Game)  8pm

• Esplanade of the Cathedral of San Idelfonso  Calle 60 y 61

• “Pok ta Pok”, is a Mayan representation of the cosmic cycles to ask for fertility and please the gods. In it, the two teams compete to pass a solid rubber ball through a narrow hoop located almost three meters high, and the players can only touch it with their forearms, knees and hips.
• Saturday – Mexican Night  8pm

• Remate dePaseo de Montejo  Calle 47 y 58

• The Mexican night, with exponents who every week enrich the traditional celebration, a celebration that calls for music, voices and traditional dances from other entities and regions of the country, singers, composers, dancers, actors and interpreters and numerous guests; the setting is the so-called “auction” or “start” of Paseo de Montejo.
• Sunday – Biciruta 8am-12pm

• Paseo de Montejo 

• It is an event held to promote sports and family life. Explore the most representative historical sites from the Paseo de Montejo to the Ermita de Santa Isabel (the route changes but is well marked), and it is an excellent opportunity to do physical activity and bike or walk the most beautiful streets of the city.  (Note: On Sunday mornings they close down the streets (Calle 60 and Paseo de Montejo) to cars and the town shows up to ride bikes up & down while artists show their art on the sidewalk (look out for Lobo, the painter of our piece in the front room).  It’s a good way to get a feel of the culture and personality of the town.  If you use our bikes at Casa Jessica, I recommend biking along Calle 63 towards Plaza Grande then north on Calle 60.  Otherwise head to Paseo de Montejo and there are several places to rent a bike.)

🗝️ Food and Dining

One of the most enjoyable aspects of visiting Merida is its culinary scene. We relish exploring new restaurants and revisiting our favorite spots.

Here are some restaurants we’ve had the pleasure of trying during our visits to Merida. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, as there are many more hidden gems waiting to be discovered, and new restaurants are constantly opening. If you stumble upon a hidden gem, don’t hesitate to share it with us!

Additionally, it’s essential to be aware that restaurant hours can vary depending on the season. Some places may close or adjust their hours. Feel free to add any recommendations to this list to help us and others plan their culinary adventures in Merida.

We’ve also discovered some interesting insights into restaurant hours in Merida, so it’s always a good idea to check before you visit. One amusing anecdote we encountered involved a restaurant that listed its opening time as 3:30 p.m. When we arrived at around 4 p.m., we were informed that the restaurant opens at 3:30 p.m. for employees to prepare and cook, but the food wouldn’t be ready until around 7 p.m.

We hope this list helps you plan your culinary journey in Merida!

• Amaro - Very nice food, cocktails, and atmosphere close to Plaza Grande.  Courtyard seating.  Nice vegetarian options on the menu and there’s been a musician playing the times we’ve had dinner there.
• Apoala in Santa Lucía parque - Mexican with many Oaxacan style dishes.  We’ve only gone on Thursday nights and sat outside to watch the show in the plaza.   
• Cafe Montejo - A breakfast, lunch, & dinner place near Casa Jessica.  Good sandwiches and egg dishes.  Cute courtyard. C59 y 72
• Carboni - Stared by immigrants from Italy, this Italian restaurant is great when that pasta craving hits. It’s now been sold to some locals and they have kept up the food and service quality.  Ask for recommendations as some times they have special ingredients in.  C64 y 55
• Chaya Maya by Santa Lucía parque - Not on the plaza but south across the street.  This place is popular with the tourists but it’s good!  It’s a very good place to get your introduction (or reintroduction) to Yucatán food.
• Crabster Seafood - We’ve only been to the location in Progresso but there is a place in Paseo 60.  We had a breakfast when we went and found the food and atmosphere very nice and a little more up scale.  This is a little further (1.2 m) from Casa Jessica than most of the others so you may decide to take an Uber.
• Cuerno De Toro - A microbrewery with good pub food & diverse beers.  During my visit in May 2022 I had a habanero beer and delicious fish tacos. They also have very good cocktails.  C64 y 56
• Dzalbay - This a fantastic place for live music.  Lots of different kinds but a leaning towards jazz and blues.  Sometime the fun names they give their cocktails are better than the drink itself but definitely worth a visit for the music.
• El Cardinal - We consider this the local pub for Casa Jessica as it is very close by.  We haven’t had a full meal there but the snacks are good, the beer is cold, and they usually have some kind of live music.  I recommend sitting out in the back patio.
• Hennessy’s - The pub food is good and the atmosphere is fun.  They’ve attempted some more adventurous dishes and I hear mixed reviews (some love it, some not so much), but it’s a fun pub atmosphere and a good place to see sports on TV.  It’s up on Paseo de Montejo so a bit of a hike from the house.
• La Bierhaus - A German restaurant and beer house in the downtown area.  If you are in the mood for German food then this your place.
• La Cubanita - This is a cocina economica that specializes in Cuban food.  I tried the Torta Cubana and it was a lot of sandwich for $80.  C51 y 62
• La Fogatta - This is the pizza place we use when the craving hits.  It’s only a short walk to pick it up and bring it make to Casa Jessica.  C59 y 64
• La Lupita - This gem is in the Santiago market.  Another cocina economica with a large following.  We go for the Torte Lechón  which is delicious.  They are popular and often sell out around noon so enjoy breakfast there before doing produce shopping in the market. C59y72
• La Prospe del Xtup - A Yucatán restaurant which is very close to Casa Jessica.  The food and drink are decent and it has a nice courtyard atmosphere. C66 y 59
• Matilda - A fancier restaurant between Casa Jessica and Plaza Grande.  Yucatán and Mexican dishes and wonderful cocktails.  I hear they are now serving breakfast.  Inside seating only. C63 y 64
• Museo de la Gastronomía Yucateca (MUGY) - A large restaurant with a small museum in the back.  It’s focus is Yucatán food and culture. If this is your first visit to Merida this is a good starting place.
• Pita - a small Mediterranean restaurant near Santa Lucía.  Their stuffed pita selection is pretty good.  C55 y 58
• Pola - Great ice cream and a gourmet selection.  Seriously, when my wife & I are in town we make this an almost daily stop.  Grab a cone and then enjoy it in nearby Parque Santa Lucía.  C55 y 62
• Taqueria “Raza Chiapas” - This is not much more than a food stall on the south side of Parque de San Sabastian but they make really good pastor.  My favorite is la torta especial.  My wife prefers have have them delivered via Rappi but i enjoy the walk through the less touristy parts of town and enjoying the messy torta in park in front of the quaint church. C77 y 70
• Teya - An upscale restaurant in Paseo 60.  Nice food and wine.  Also a mixologist that comes to your table.  Quite often there are bands playing in the large shared courtyard.
• Escargot - Close by cafe for breakfast and lunch. (C68 59y57)
• Taqueria Tetiz - Good fish, shrimp, & ceviche tortas/tacos.  In Santiago market.
• Taqueria Tetiz - Good fish, shrimp, & ceviche tortas/tacos.  In Santiago market.
• Micaela Mar & Lena - Our favorite ‘fancy’ restaurant.  Excellent food, atmosphere, and cocktails.  Make a reservation!  On Calle 47
• Pizza Olvia - We tried this for the first time July 2025.  Very good gourmet pizzas.  There seems to be a couple of branches around town but we went to the one just off Calle 47
• Sandunga - Nice food with an Oaxaca focus.  We’ve been there several times, including when they were newly opened, and have enjoyed the food and atmosphere.  Calle 47

🗝️ Things To Do 

This section is challenging to write because I don’t want to make assumptions about knowing all the best places in Merida. The reason we keep returning is that we keep discovering new places. So, consider this a starting point for your adventures. 

• Walking around: One of the best things about Casa Jessica is the location and easy walking distance (or inexpensive Uber ride) to some cool locations!  Here are just a few recommendations:

1. Parque Santiago - Our local square with a great market for fresh vegetables and fruit
2. Plaza Grande - The city’s living room with free museums and events
3. Church with Mayan stones - I geek about this site; a place where in 2025 you can see a church built late 1500s with stones from the Mayan pyramids.  Look north on Calle 59 por 60 y 58
4. Parque Santa Ana - An active park with lots of restaurants 
5. Mercado Lucas De Galvez - The main market for the town and a sensory overload!
6. Calle 47 - The fairly new “restaurant row”.  Lots of great places and Micaela Mar & Leña is one of our favorites 
7. Parque La Plancha - A newer park with lots of trails, play areas and a food court
8. Paseo de Montejo - An historic main boulevard, known for its elegant, tree-lined design inspired by French boulevards like the Champs-Élysées.  Lined with nice bars, restaurants, and old mansions

• Walking Tour:  For a more curated guided tour there are several tours around town.  We haven’t tried any of the bus tours but we have enjoyed the following:
• guruwalks.com - We use this service often when we travel. It is a pay what you will tour - the guides work for tips.  We’ve had great experiences in many places including Merida.  https://www.guruwalk.com/p918-merida/
• Fernando - We actually met Fernando through Guruwalks and have hired him to take us on a private tour - a photo taking tour of town.  He is great!  https://fernandin.com
• Mayan Ruins: There are several places to visit in the area. The main site is Chichén Itzá, which is a few hours away. There are also several smaller and closer sites. I like Uxmal, which is just over an hour away. You can find a tour driver to take you or rent a car and make a day of it by visiting the Museo Choco and Cenote Peba.
• Centote - There are hundreds (or more) cenotes around the Merida area.  These are magical places and worth a visit.  Some are included in tours to hacienda’s (see below) but the ones we visited (not including the scuba diving caves) are:
• Santa Barbara - Three different cenotes with a horse drawn cart to take you to the mouth of each.  Look up entry fee.
• Peba - One I discovered by chance after taking visitors on trip to Uxmal.  It’s a side of the road (well, dirt road) and on our last visit it was 100 pesos per person.  It’s a small but fun site that you share with many bird that nest there.
• Haciendas - These are the old henequén plantations from the late 1800’s that made Merida a very rich place . . . for a few people.  They are worth a visit for insight into the region’s history.  There are many around the outskirts of Merida in various conditions from fancy renovated hotels to ruins that the jungle is slowly swallowing.  The place we tend to take guests is Hacienda Sotuta de Peon.  It’s a bit on the pricey side but it offers a tour around grounds, a demonstration of how the rope was made, and a visit to a centote.  They offer a package with transportation (expensive) but we find it cheaper to rent a car for the day
• Beach - There are a few beaches close to Merida but the one we go to most of the time is Progreso.  We’ve tried different ways of getting there including a tour driver (not worth it), Uber (easy but pricey), and bus (easy and on 60 pesos round trip).  The bus station to Progreso is located on Calle 62 por c65 y c67.  The bus only goes to Progreso so don’t worry about the wrong bus.  Once in Progreso, the bus station is a short walk from the beach and you will find multiple vendors offering shaded seating with drink service.  Two tips: (1) You should be able to find a chair just for ordering a few drinks.  Negotiate if they try and push a fee or high minimum order.  (2) Do a Google search for cruise ship visits into Progreso and avoid those days if possible - enough said :)

🗝️ Getting Around 

Our main modes of transportation around town are walking and Uber.  A funny story during our first visit to Merida and we were staying in the south part of town in San Sebastián.  Our first morning our family made the 1 mile walk to Plaza Grande - it was July and, despite the short distance, we were hot, sweaty, and a bit grumpy.  Based on the experience (and the looks my family were giving me) I decided to open to open the Uber app.  Two surprises . . . Uber was active in Merida (this was 2018) and the ride home cost 27 pesos . . . 27 pesos!!  About a dollar & fifty cents to save me from the almost certainty painful revenge from my family if I made them walk home!  I still prefer walking as I can take in the sights but Uber is there and a nice option.

Bus - We’ve tried the bus to Progreso, Izamal, and Champeche.  It’s very convenient and reasonably priced.  

Rental cars - For times when we have longer or more remote trips planned we have rented cars.  We’ve done it a couple of times where we have flown into Cancun and driven to Merida (via Valladolid, Chichén Itzá, and Izamal).  It’s an easy drive but there is a high fee for dropping the car off in a different location than the rental.  The two companies we’ve used in Merida for day trips are:

• Fiesta Car Rental - Based near the Slow Food Market.  Very friendly and convenient when we’ve used them.  Also they were able to get us a 7 seater car.  https://fiestacarrental.com/fiesta-locations/
• Hertz - Based in Hotel Fiesta Americana just off Paseo Montejo.  We got a very good price here but had to be very direct that we did not want to pay for insurance (as it is covered by our credit card) and we would not pay an administration fee to cover paperwork if there was an accident (it seemed like another name for insurance).

🗝️ Other Stuff 

Here’s some miscellaneous items for visitors.

• The Slow Food Market on Saturday morning is an interesting experience with an International flair
• For runners, when we here in July 2025 the coffee shop called Estamina hosted group runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings 6:30 meet-up 
• My favorite place in town to shop for guayaberas is a mini market on Calle 65 y 60
• The Merida English Library is both a library and a social center for expats.  The host several events including home & garden tours, art galley tours, wine tastings, painting parties, etc Calle 53 por 68 y 70
• We’ve used Hola language session to take Spanish lessons.  We’ve put our teen in a class that combines 2 hours of classroom with 2 hours of hands-on in the city with ordering lunch or going shopping.  Next door to the Merida English Library.