Calle Zamora is the spine of colonial Coro — a narrow street that runs west from the Plaza Bolívar through the densest concentration of intact colonial houses anywhere in Venezuela. The walk is short, perhaps 400 metres, but the buildings are remarkable: thick walls of bahareque (mud and cane), recessed wooden doors studded with hand-forged iron, deep eaves that throw shade into the street.
Many of the houses are still private and unrestored; many show the cracking and patching of a century of earthquakes and neglect, but the streetscape is unbroken. Half a dozen of the most important — the Casa de las Ventanas de Hierro, the Casa del Tesoro, the Balcón de los Arcaya — are open as small museums. Best walked early or late, when the wide eaves throw clean shadows and the heat is manageable.