Things to do

Worth your time

Jardín Borda. The one thing that still lives up to the old reputation. An 18th-century pleasure garden of terraces, pools and shaded walks, once used by Emperor Maximilian as a summer retreat. Calm, green, and the clearest surviving piece of the “eternal spring” idea. Allow an hour or so.

The cathedral and its complex. One of Mexico’s earliest, a fortress-like 16th-century monastery with plain, heavy stone and faded murals inside. Quick to see, genuinely old, worth the walk from the plaza.

Palacio de Cortés. The blunt stone palace built for the conquistador, dominating the center. Its main draw historically was the Diego Rivera mural of Morelos history on the upper loggia. Check whether the building and mural are open before you count on it — it has seen closures and restoration. If open, it is the best history stop in town.

A balneario. The real reason many people come to Morelos. Spring-fed water parks and swimming resorts dot the area around the city — some historic and pretty, some pure family water-park. On a hot day this is more the point of the region than any monument.

Middling

• Robert Brady Museum — a collector’s house packed with folk art and antiques. Charming if that is your thing, skippable if not.
• Salto de San Antón — a waterfall in a ravine near the center, ringed by plant nurseries. Pleasant, small, and only worth it if you are close.

Oversold

The idea of Cuernavaca as a leisurely multi-day colonial city break is the thing that is oversold. The center is small, the sprawl is not charming, and the “city of eternal spring” branding sells a town that mostly no longer exists at street level. See the garden, the cathedral and maybe a balneario, and you have done the city justice.