The Paseo de Montejo neighbourhood extends north from the junction with Calle 47 (where the boulevard begins) through to the northern suburbs. It is a different city from the colonial centre: wider streets, larger plots, Beaux-Arts and French Renaissance buildings where the henequen barons built their palaces. The pace is slower and there is more shade. Several of the mansions have been converted to restaurants, galleries, and offices; others remain private residences.
The boulevard itself closes to cars on Sunday mornings and becomes the city's most pleasant walking and cycling space. Food stalls set up, vendors sell local crafts and antiques, and the scale of the avenue — nearly two kilometres of tree-lined boulevard — becomes properly appreciable without traffic. The neighbourhood also has the highest concentration of good mid-range and upscale restaurants in Mérida, particularly on and around the Paseo and its intersecting streets to the north.