Where locals go

Where residents actually go

Guanajuato is a student and working city, so real life happens a short walk off the Jardin de la Union, not on it.

• Mercado Hidalgo, upstairs and at the edges. Tourists photograph the ironwork; locals eat at the fondas for enchiladas mineras, tacos and cheap comida corrida. The stalls away from the main entrance are where students eat on a budget.

• Plaza San Fernando and Plaza Baratillo. Smaller plazas where people actually sit with a coffee or a beer without the plaza-restaurant markup of the Jardin. San Fernando has casual spots ringing it and a mellow evening crowd.

• Around the university. The streets climbing past the university stairway are lined with cheap student food, torterias, juice stands and taco counters. Follow the students at lunch.

• Pozole and antojitos on a Thursday. Midweek pozole is a local ritual; ask where the neighborhood spot is rather than eating it on the tourist strip.

• Presa de la Olla. On a day off, families head up to this reservoir and park at the top of the city to walk, sit by the water and eat at the loncherias, well away from the center’s crush.

The friend’s tip

Drink your first coffee or beer on the Jardin for the atmosphere, then eat everything else one or two plazas over where the prices drop and the food gets better.