Plaza de Armas and City Hall

The Plaza de Armas is Puerto Vallarta's main square, set between the Guadalupe church, City Hall and Los Arcos on the Malecón. It has a bandstand, good shade trees, planters and benches: the place to sit with an ice cream, watch downtown go by and look up at the crowned church tower.

In front of the bandstand stands a bronze statue of Ignacio L. Vallarta, the lawyer and governor of Jalisco from 1872 to 1876 in whose honor the village of Las Peñas was renamed Puerto Vallarta in 1918. It's the work of Guadalajara sculptor Miguel Miramontes Carmona, was donated by governor Juan Gil Preciado and was unveiled in 1964 in Aquiles Serdán Park before being moved to the square.

The square is the heart of the Independence Day (Fiestas Patrias) celebrations and hosts concerts, cultural performances and art exhibits throughout the year.

On the north side is City Hall (Presidencia Municipal), which its plaque says opened in July 1981. Inside, up the stairs, is the mural Puerto Vallarta by Manuel Lepe (1936–1984), the local naïf painter who captured mid-20th-century Vallarta; it shows the town's children at play in their surroundings. It's a working government building, so you can visit during office hours when it's open to the public.

Getting there: Right in the heart of downtown, across from Los Arcos on the Malecón. City Hall is on the north side of the square, and the church is on the inland side.

When to go: Late afternoon or evening, when the heat eases and the square fills up. For the mural, go on a weekday during office hours. In September for the Independence Day celebrations.

Cost: Free

Tips: City Hall is a working office building, so be respectful and ask at the entrance whether you can go up to see the mural. The trees give good shade, making it a nice break between the Malecón and the climb to the lookouts.

Accessibility: The square is flat and paved. The City Hall mural is upstairs, reached by stairs.