Chapala is the administrative capital of the municipality and a more Mexican-in-character lakeside town than Ajijic, about 7 kilometres east along the shore road. The waterfront here has a pleasant malecon with weekend restaurants serving the Chapala specialty: charales, tiny lake fish eaten crispy, like chips, with lime and salsa. It is a local institution.
The Sunday market in Chapala is larger and more varied than Ajijic's, drawing vendors from surrounding villages. The town also has a good malecón with fishing boats, a small museum of local history, and the Braniff mansion — the lakeside villa of a 19th-century railway entrepreneur — which can be viewed from outside.