San Luis Potosí is a colonial city of about a million people in central Mexico, capital of the state of the same name. Founded in the late 1500s as a silver and gold mining settlement at 1,877 metres elevation, it was one of the wealthiest cities in New Spain and its centre shows it: grand plazas, baroque churches of real ambition, and wide pedestrian streets lined with 18th-century buildings.
The city has a serious historical pedigree. President Benito Juárez made it the national capital twice during the French intervention, and Francisco Madero wrote the Plan de San Luis here — the call to arms that launched the Revolution of 1910 — while imprisoned by the dictator Porfirio Díaz. The Mexican national anthem was first completed here in 1854.
The Plaza de Armas is the centre of the colonial zone, flanked by the cathedral and the Government Palace. The Templo del Carmen, a few blocks away, has one of the most elaborate Churrigueresque facades in Mexico. The Mercado Hidalgo sells the city's famous handcraft: the Santa María rebozo, a shawl woven so fine it can pass through a wedding ring. The city is also known for its enchiladas potosinas (a local red chile and cheese variety) and for queso de tuna, a candy made from the prickly pear cactus.