Puerto Vallarta Old Town will give you the authentic experience of a colonial beach town in Mexico, its history, and culture. While this is not the oldest part of the city, it is the district that has most faithfully retained its original character, and can be compared with Old Town San Diego. The compact area of Viejo Vallarta is full of cobblestone and brick streets shaded by stately trees and is free of the more garish commercial tourist establishments and souvenir shops. The primary reason for this is that tourists flock to the popular Malecon, often missing out on what a gem this district is.

Some of the best Puerto Vallarta Old Town dining will be found here along Basilio Badillo Street, famously called Restaurant Row. Here you can find everything from traditional informal canteens to gourmet restaurants serving everything from local seafood and traditional Mexican specialties to fine international cuisine. Plenty of bars are available for your after dinner drinks (try the Jalisco tequila) before you head off to enjoy the city’s lively nightlife.

Viejo Vallarta is well worth a visit, and you will find that there are many Puerto Vallarta Old Town hotels here to choose from. This is a center for the ex patriot community, which includes many people from the United States. Therefore, you will find all the necessities you need if you’ve taken advantage of one the vacation rentals in the area. This is the famed Gringo Gulch that started to become popular with Americans in the 1950s and after the filming of Night of the Iguana. Snowbirds from the north rent out their villas in the summer, and some of the permanent transplants have turned their lovely homes into bed and breakfast inns. The intimate Casa Sin Tiempo is one of the historic villas in the district that today is one of the most exclusive small luxury hotels in the city.

Puerto Vallarta Map

Other Puerto Vallarta Old Town hotels include a number of all inclusive properties and three-star budget hotels. Some of the resorts on the beaches of Puerto Vallarta Old Town are adults-only properties catering to the gay and lesbian community. Even though many beach properties call themselves resorts, it is a good thing to do your research, because most are decent three-star hotels with a swimming pool and not much else that you normally might expect of a beach resort. If you want to be near the action, there are good Puerto Vallarta Old Town hotels right along Basilio Badillo Street, including the Posada de Roger, a modest but clean and comfortable hotel with excellent service. Typical of the area, this hotel is built around a central courtyard, so you are close to the action but still have a quiet place to retreat to.

Things to do in Viejo Vallarta include shopping. Art enthusiasts can book guided Art Walk tours, which occur once a week and visit as many as fifteen art galleries offering contemporary and traditional paintings, handwoven fabrics, and other handcrafts. Sightseeing tours will probably take you to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral, a beautiful structure built from 1929 to 1941. One of the area’s most celebrated events is the colorful December Festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe with twelve days of music and entertainment beginning the first of the month. This is one of the most important religious holidays in Mexico, and is especially important in Viejo Vallarta as the city was founded at the same time (in 1851) when the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to a Mexican peasant.