The Centro Histórico is a compact grid of colonial streets centred on the Plaza Mayor, and almost everything of historical significance in Mérida is within it. The street numbering system — odd numbers for east-west streets, even for north-south — sounds confusing until you have used it once, after which it is more logical than any named system. The blocks are short and the distances manageable; from the Plaza Mayor to Parque Santa Lucía on Calle 60 is a ten-minute walk, and the Paseo de Montejo begins only four blocks north.
The architectural consistency is striking: the centre has been protected from modernisation and the majority of buildings are one or two storeys, with thick-walled colonial construction and interior courtyards that provide shade and privacy simultaneously. Many of the finest houses along Calle 60 and Calle 62 have been converted to boutique hotels, restaurants, and galleries. The Centro rewards slow walking — there are carved doorways, small chapels, neighbourhood fondas, and hammock workshops that you only find if you are looking for them rather than following a route between major sights.