Plaza Zaragoza is the town's natural first stop. The square is formal and tidy, with palms, a bandstand, white paving, and arcaded buildings on all sides, but the colors keep it from feeling stiff.
This is where Tlacotalpan's UNESCO identity becomes visible in one glance: colonnades, red-tile roofs, Caribbean-style arches, and a compact river-town plan that is easy to read on foot.