Where locals go

Where residents actually spend the day

The market and its edges. Locals do their eating where the food is cheap and fast, not on the pretty terraces. Look for the market area and the fondas around it for breakfast and midday comida corrida, the set lunch that costs a fraction of a restaurant plate.

Mezcal, the local way. Zacatecas is a mezcal state and drinking it is a genuine local habit, not just a tourist prop. Beyond the couple of bars on the main drag, residents drink at smaller cantinas and mezcalerías tucked into the side streets, where the pours are honest and nobody is performing for a camera.

Weekend on La Bufa. On a day off, families head up to Cerro de la Bufa for air, the view and space to let kids run, then come back down for a late lunch. It doubles as a tourist sight, but the weekend crowd up there is mostly local.

Plaza life. Evenings, people simply sit out on the plazas and along Avenida Hidalgo with a coffee, an ice cream or a paleta. That slow evening drift is the real local pastime here.

What a local would tell you

Order the regional stuff and drink mezcal neat, not in cocktails. Ask whoever pours you one where they buy theirs, and you’ll get pointed to a better, quieter bar than the one you’re standing in.