San Luis Potosí's colonial centre rewards slow walking. Start at the Plaza de Armas, the main square anchored by the 18th-century Cathedral and the Governor's Palace — this is where civic life happens. A few blocks away, the Templo del Carmen has one of the most elaborate Churrigueresque facades in Mexico, a carved-stone spectacle that took decades to complete and faces the equally fine Teatro de la Paz across the Plaza del Carmen.
The city's museums are underrated. The Museo Nacional de la Máscara holds over 1,300 ceremonial masks from across Mexico and is one of the best collections of its kind in the country. The Museo Regional Potosino, set in a 16th-century Franciscan convent, covers the pre-Hispanic Huastec culture and the colonial mining era. The Centro de las Artes, installed in a former state prison, houses the Museo Leonora Carrington with works by the British-Mexican surrealist painter.
For practical market experience — craft shopping, local food, and the best Santa María rebozos — go to the Mercado Hidalgo. The Templo de San Francisco and Plaza de los Fundadores are worth the walk north from the main square. For an afternoon away from stone streets, Parque Tangamanga I is one of Mexico's largest urban parks, a few kilometres southwest of the centre. Railway enthusiasts should not miss the Museo del Ferrocarril, installed in the city's magnificent old station.