Guadalajara

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Introduction

Typical Guadalajara night

© All Rights Reserved tommydavis

Guadalajara is the capital ofthe state of Jalisco, in the western Pacific area of Mexico. The city itself has over 1,5 million inhabitants, the metropolitan area well over 4 million, in both cases making it the second most populous city in the country. It sits at an elevation of about 1600 metres above sea level, giving the city some relief of the heat that usually exists in lower areas. It's Mexican's equivalent of sillicon valley and also is the high tech capital of the country, given it's electronics industry and software industry respectively.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• The Hospicio Cabañas - a Unesco World Heritage Site
• The Historical Centre with dozens of colonial heritage buildings

Events and Festivals

• Guadalajara International Film Festival - the most important one in Mexico.
• Guadalajara International Book Fair - from November 28th till December 6th 2009.

Weather

Because of its elevation, Guadalajara has mild climate though the warmest months still see average daytime temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (late March - early June). During the rest of the year temperatures during the day are a pleasant 25 to 28 degrees Celsius. Nights average around 8 degrees Celsius between November and March, while from April onwards nights become warmer and from June to September it's mostly around 16 degrees Celsius. Actually, this mainly has to do with the fact that June to September is also the wettest time of year with around 10 to 15 days of rain, as opposed to the period of October to April when months can go by without a single drop of rain.

Getting There

By Plane

Guadalajara International Airport (GDL) functions as the main gateway of the city. It has quite a few flights to other Mexican cities and to cities mainly in the rest of North America. These include Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Fresno, Las Vegas, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, New York and Phoenix.
Domestic destinations are Mexico City, Cancun, Tijuana, Monterrey, San José del Cabo, Mexicali, Hermosillo, La Paz, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juarez, Mazatlan, Mérida, Puerto Vallarta, Veracruz, Oaxaca, among a few other places.
To add, there are also flights to and from Panama City.

By Train

By Car

Guadalajara is 535 kilometres northwest of Mexico City and 344 kilometres east of Puerto Vallarta. Highways 15, 15D, 23, 54, 54D, 80, 80D and 90 all converge here, combining temporarily to form the Periférico, a ring road around the city. Puerto Vallarta is about 3,5 hours away along the toll roads, Mexico City about 5,5 hours.
You can rent cars at the international airport or downtown agencies from most of the main international companies like Dollar, Hertz, Alamo, Thrifty and Budget.

By Bus

Regular buses travel to many regional destinations within the state of Jalisco, as well as places further away, including frequent ones to Mexico City.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of Guadalajara

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post