4- and 5-star hotels in Puebla

Puebla rewards walking: the Centro Histórico holds the courtyard mansions that justify the trip, and the Zócalo anchors it all within a few blocks. Angelópolis, the newer business and shopping district, only makes sense for work or if you prefer malls and parking. Cholula is the relaxed alternative, with its pyramid and student bars, half an hour from the Centro.

Most of these hotels sit in the Centro Histórico, where addresses on Calle 5 Sur, Avenida Reforma, 7 Oriente and 9 Oriente put you on foot from the Zócalo. Others cluster along the Atlixcayotl and Osa Mayor corridors in Angelópolis, and a few stand on the northern and western approaches such as Hermanos Serdán, Circuito Juan Pablo II and Prolongación Reforma. Couples and short-break travellers will get most from the centre; families and business guests have room to spread out in the outlying properties, where parking and larger buildings are the norm.

Getting there and around

The site's guidance is simply that the Centro Histórico is where the courtyard mansions are and that everything there is walkable, while Angelópolis suits work or those who prefer malls and parking. Cholula is described as the relaxed alternative, with the pyramid and student bars, half an hour from the Centro. No airport or Mexico City transfer times are given here, so plan those separately; once in the centre, walking covers the sights, and the outlying hotels are best reached by car.

When to go

Midweek, almost always: the Centro fills with weekend escapes from Mexico City. The rainy season, June to September, softens rates. The peaks come on Cinco de Mayo, the holiday that belongs to this city, at Holy Week and on long weekends, so book ahead for those. Chiles en nogada appear from July to September. The city sits at 2,135 metres, so nights cool off year-round, and the volcanoes show best early, before the haze climbs.