Colima's main square — officially Jardin Libertad, but everyone just calls it the Plaza Principal — is the heart of the city. Shaded portales run along three sides, a wrought-iron bandstand sits in the middle, and the cathedral and Palacio de Gobierno close the fourth side. The trees keep the square cool even at noon.
It is the obvious place to start a visit, to break for an iced coffee, or to come back to in the evening. On weekends and during festival weeks the bandstand hosts free concerts, and food stalls set up along the surrounding streets. The mural inside the Palacio de Gobierno — a sweeping depiction of Mexican history by the Colima painter Jorge Chavez Carrillo — is worth a five-minute detour.