The Centro Historico fell apart after the resort strip went up north of the city in the 1970s. Wealthy families left, the colonial mansions were carved into tenements, and by the 1990s the old town was something most tourists were told to avoid. The turnaround started in the 2000s — buildings repainted in pastel pinks and yellows, sidewalk cafes back around the Plazuela Machado, a film festival, a literary festival. The grid is small enough to walk in a couple of hours.
Streets to wander: Constitución, Sixto Osuna, Heriberto Frias, and Carnaval. The neighbourhood between the cathedral and Olas Altas is where the restoration has gone deepest. Foreign retirees, mostly Canadian and American, have bought into the area and run a third of the better restaurants and bars.