"Queretaro es Mejor" Top 5 Page for this destination Querétaro by JessieLang

Querétaro is a beautiful colonial city, and very important in Mexico’s history, but few North Americans seem to know of it. (I didn’t either before I volunteered.) It is a big city—over 1,000,000 people—but the historic part is charming and doesn’t feel crowded. There are lots of tourists here, but they are from other places in Mexico. One young man in the Dept. of Tourism spoke English, but the people in the little information kiosks scattered around the plazas did not.

People here are very proud of their city and love living here. The motto is Querétaro es Mejór (Querétaro is Better) and they live up to it. It is one of the cleanest cities I’ve ever been in. Street sweepers in orange jackets are everywhere. There is no litter and no dog poop.

I look for open doors as I walk—many of the plain, windowless buildings along the street open into really beautiful courtyards. If they are offices instead of homes, it is usually possible to step in for a quick look. One building (now private) about a block from my hotel has a sign outside saying that it was the home of Mexico’s President in 1848, where he signed a treaty with the U.S.

Many of the buildings have beautiful architectural details--carved doors, wrought iron balconies, etc. (See travelogue.)

UTEC - Classroom building

The Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro (UTEC) is a 2-year technical college with 3000 students. It opened in 1994, and is one of 60 technical universities in the country. The campus buildings are attractive, and the landscaping is beautiful—colorful flowerbeds, trees, cactus, and tall ornamental grasses.

There are eight certification programs: industrial maintenance, marketing, manufacturing processes, business, automotive customer service, electronics, information technology, and environmental technology.

English proficiency is a graduation requirement for all students, and that is why I came here. I spent 2 weeks in a volunteer program so the students can interact with native English speakers.

• Pros:Beautiful colonial city with lovely plazas
• Cons:Sometimes hard to get information in English
• In a nutshell:I love this city!