The Jardín Zenea is the main public garden of Querétaro's historic centre — a leafy square lined with benches, a bandstand in the middle, and the Church of San Francisco on the north side. It functions as the living room of the city: vendors sell elotes and paletas from carts, couples sit on the benches, elderly men play chess at stone tables, and on Sunday afternoons the municipal band plays concerts from the kiosk.
The adjoining Museo Regional de Querétaro is housed in the former Franciscan monastery next to the church — the oldest such foundation in Querétaro, dating to 1540. The regional museum has a decent collection of colonial-era religious art and artifacts and is worth an hour. The square itself is a good place to sit and get your bearings before walking out into the historic streets.