If you are exploring Chichen Itza or any of the cenotes in that area, Valladolid is a great stopping place to get some dinner on your way back to your hotel. It has a picturesque city square with great views, a little shopping, and fantastic food.
Valladolid is an older colonial city in the eastern part of Yucatán, Mexico, conveniently located near popular tourist destinations like Chichen Itza, Ek’ Balam, Sacred Cenote, Cenote Ik Kil, Cenote Zaci, Cenote Xcoloc, and other locations. Known as the “Sultana of the East,” Valladolid is an increasingly popular spot as it blends Maya heritage with Spanish colonial architecture and serves as a cultural and geographical bridge between Mérida and Cancún.
Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1543, Valladolid was established atop the pre-Hispanic settlement of Zací. It became an important colonial hub linking the Yucatán Peninsula’s interior with the coast. The city witnessed key uprisings, notably during the Caste War of Yucatán, when Maya resistance against colonial rule reshaped the region’s demographics and culture.
As you can no doubt discern, the Iglesia de San Servacio is the focal point of the area. The beautiful Catholic church with 2 bell towers was founded in 1545 and rebuilt in the 1700s. If you need help finding this spot, just plug in C. 41, Centro, 97780 Valladolid to find the exact spot.
If you have time to explore, you can find traditional Yucatecan cuisine. There are local markets selling crafts, textiles, and regional dishes like lomitos de Valladolid and longaniza. We had some of the best food of any of our trips to Mexico at a restaurant in the northeast corner of Parque Principal Francisco Canton Rosado.
After eating a good meal, we enjoyed the square mostly to ourselves for a beautiful walk with lots of photography. Keep scrolling for the rest of my images–I have more than just the church-I promise.
While we didn’t stay for the sunset, the low sun created some beautiful golden light and I am a sucker for making some sunstars.
You can see the park was pretty empty, but it was beautiful and had plenty of area to relax all you want.
I am guessing it gets busier on weekends because there were a lot of empty little food carts that would have been fun.
The perfect chairs to sit an enjoy a conversation.
