The main square of Palenque town is a modest, pleasant space: shaded by large trees, ringed with benches, and animated in the evenings when families gather and vendors set up food stalls around the periphery. It is not the prettiest zócalo in Mexico — the town is functional rather than colonial — but it gives a sense of everyday life in the region.
At one end stands the town church; at the other, the municipal government buildings. At the southeast corner a stone mural depicts the history of the Maya and the region in bold, colourful relief. In the evenings especially, the square comes alive with the sounds of cumbia and norteño music drifting from the restaurants and a general pleasant bustle. It is a good place to get your bearings when you arrive, and to sit in the evening with a cold drink after a day at the ruins.