Since the year 800 B.C. the Mayas flourished in
Campeche and developed cultures known as Chenes, Puuc, Río Bec and Peten.
In 1531, Francisco de Montejo founded the Villa
de Salamanca de Campeche, and in 1540 his son who was called "el
Mozo" (the youthful), founded the "Villa de San Francisco de
Campeche". During the colony the pirates assaulted the ports and the
cities by the sea. This situation forced Campeche's inhabitants to build forts,
bastions and walls around the city. Campeche is a city immersed in the
typically colonial atmosphere with towers, bastions and walls. The traveler can
enjoy all the city’s attractions on board of one of the old time vehicles
replicas named "El Guapo" (the handsome one) and the "Tranvía de
la Ciudad" (City's Tram).
The state of preservation and quality of its
architecture earned it the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Campeche is famous for its excellent gastronomy
based on fish and seafood, some of the famous dishes are: pompano in tin foil,
grouper in its own juice, pan decazón, squids in their own juice,breaded
shrimp, and Campechana style fish.
A short distance from Campeche are Sihoplaya and
Seybaplaya, white sandy beaches with shallow and transparent waters.
