A short walk east of Parque Juárez, the Centro Recreativo Xalapeño is one of the more handsome surviving nineteenth-century buildings in the city — a Belle Époque social club with cast-iron balconies and a long tiled hall. After decades as a private club it was acquired by the state in the 1990s and turned into a cultural centre.
Today it houses a programme of rotating art exhibitions, a small cinema with arthouse and documentary programming, a café, and frequent free concerts in the inner courtyard. Worth a look just for the building.