Monument to the flag
Merida

Merida, a city of about 1 million people, is a wonderful mixture of colonial city and cosmopolitan destination. With Merida as your base, you can visit cathedrals and churches, Mayan ruins, museums, haciendas and cenotes. You'll also find movies, theaters, important hospitals, public and private schools, four universities, shopping malls with such stores as Sear's, and chain stores such as Sam's, Costco and WalMart as well as the Mexican chains of Liverpool, Comercial Mexicana/MEGA, Soriana and Sanborn's.

HISTORY
The Spaniard Francisco de Montejo founded Merida on January 6, 1542. When the Spaniards arrived, Merida was a large Mayan city known as T'ho, situated on what is now the Main Plaza. It was conquered by the Spaniards, who dismantled all the pyramids and used the huge stones as the foundation for the Cathedral of San Idelfonso (1556-1599), the oldest cathedral on the American continent.

The Cathedral, situated on the east side of the Plaza, is only one of Merida's many interesting sites. Directly across the Plaza is the Palacio Municipal (1735), Merida's Town Hall. On the south side is the Casa de Montejo (1542), the former home of the conqueror of Yucatan.The Cathedral