Cholula

Cholula includes the smaller municipalities of San Andrés Cholula, San Pedro Cholula, and Santa Isobel Cholula.

Cholula is home to one of the main Mexican universities: the Universidad de las Américas de Puebla.

For a few years there was a nice tourist train from the Puebla town center into Cholula, but it unfortunately shut down in 2021.

• 🌍 Great Pyramid of Cholula Pirámide Tepanapa. The biggest draw for tourists to Cholula, apart from the nightlife, is the world's largest pyramid by volume and the world's largest monument, with a historic church at the top. Be aware that it doesn't look like much of a pyramid, but more like a hill, because most of it is covered with dirt and vegetation. Only parts of the foot of the pyramid have been excavated, showing the ancient stone structures. You can also take some very good photos from the top, of the volcano Popo and the town of Cholula. The little museum nearby is interesting and too often overlooked. 

• Cholula has more than 200 churches and the famous 365 chapels which hold parties almost daily.
• La Quinta Luna is a 17th-century house in the Santa María Xixitla neighborhood, and a historic monument. It was converted into a boutique hotel, affiliated with the Hoteles Boutique de México. It was the home of an indigenous noble by the name of Juan de León y Mendoza, built with adobe walls and very high ceilings. The hotel contains seven luxury rooms, a meeting room, a library, a lobby and a restaurant, surrounding a central courtyard which has a garden. The lobby and restaurant are located in what was the chapel. The library area contains about 3,000 books and its roof is crossed by beams which were rescued during renovations to the building. The decoration is based on paintings by Federico Silva and Gerardo Gomez Brito, various pieces done in local onyx and a number of antiques from various places in the world. The lobby occasionally hosts small concerts.
• Container City is a complex constructed from large shipping containers at the intersection of 12 Oeste and 2 Norte. 50 of these containers have been joined and painted with bright colors to create 4,500 m² of spaces used to house workshops, restaurants, galleries and other businesses. There are even a few homes made of the containers in the area.
• Parque Loro is a petting zoo containing more than 400 animals, including endangered species like monkeys, tigers, jaguars, pumas, reptiles and miniature horses. It has an auditorium with animal shows. It also has a playground, an area for pre-Hispanic dance and an area in which visitors can have their picture taken with an animal.

• The Festival of the Virgin of the Remedies, the patron of the city, occurs at the beginning of September.
• As a university city, Cholula has a tremendous number of nightclubs, bars, restaurants and coffee houses where Mexico's elite go to when not studying these places can fit any budget yet due to so much competition between the venues, prices are usually very low.

• Next to the pyramid there are train tracks that serve as an esplanade for a small handicraft market. There are also established shops to buy typical Mexican sweets and handicrafts.
• The largest market in the city is the Mercado Municipal. It has conserved its traditional look with women seated on the floor selling seeds, flowers, herbs, and more. On Wednesdays and Sundays, this market is augmented by street vendors, which is called a tianguis, because on these days, people from the communities surrounding the city come to buy and sell. The market specializes in locally produced products, especially flowers, fruit, vegetables and others. There are also food stands preparing local dishes.
• Another popular market with local food specialties is the Cosme del Razo, between Calle 3 Norte and Calle 5 Norte.
• Lupe Báez, #610, calle 8 Norte, San Andrés Cholula, lupebaezcholula@gmail.com. Vintage and second hand clothes, accessories, furniture, and other goods. (updated Mar 2017)

Some of the local specialties include Cholulteca soup, cecina with chili pepper strips and queso de canasta cheese, a type of edible larvae called cueclas, "tacos placeros," prepared with cecina, Bolivian coriander (pápalo), avocado, cheese and green chili pepper strips and "orejas de elefante" (elephant ears) which is an enormous tortilla with beans inside and salsa, tomatoes and cheese outside.

• Ice & Grill. A funky atmosphere is what sets this place as an interesting point of gathering, it works as a self-serve restaurant. One goes to a table with raw products and chooses. After that a chef weighs the food you chose and prepares it right in front of you. Usually one dish is enough for two people. 
• Jugos Conchita. The same menu as Las Quekas, but with a extremely large variety of freshly made juices, also very recognized by its 15 meat sandwich called "gula". 
• Ocho Treinta (in the opposite corner of San Andres Cholula´s zocalo). This eccentric restaurant offer eclectic food with a mix of a rich European taste and Mexican creativity. Nothing conventional. 
• Las Quekas. Inexpensive traditional food is served in this place. One can order hand made quesadillas, enchiladas, or a set meal. Even though service is usually extremely slow, prices and portions are incredible. One liter of freshly squeezed orange juice costs less than US$1, and some enchiladas are about US$2. Recommended order: 1 L of chocolate milk or orange juice and a quesadilla atomica. (updated May 2023)
• Zapata (In Cholula's Container City). Traditional Mexican tacos. The Jamaica, a taco of the Jamaica flower, is extremely rare because it tastes like meat. 

There is a locally produced hard apple cider called "Copa de Oro", a cold drink made of chocolate and water, whipped until foamy and served in wooden bowls with flowers painted on them, and "ponche," which in Cholula is a drink prepared with blue corn and milk.

• Hostal de San Pedro, 6 Norte 1203, Barrio de Jesus (About 4 blocks from the central square). Probably the only hostel in town. Very friendly and helpful staff, hot water, Wi-Fi. M$170. 

• Puebla
• Iztacchuatl-Popocateptl National Park
• Cuernavaca