The Museo Regional de Nayarit is Tepic's best travel argument. Housed in the centre of town, it focuses on the archaeology and history of the state, with a strong collection of western Mexican shaft-tomb ceramics.
Those ceramics are what make the museum memorable. Many show people dancing, playing ball, carrying children, or going about ordinary life, which gives them a directness you do not always find in more formal religious art. If you only do one thing in Tepic, make it this.