Mérida VIDEO TOUR NOW BELOW select 480p for the best picture Main Square and Cathedral 
When exploring the Yucatán, all roads lead to Mérida, its beautiful capital. Mérida is the ideal departure point for excursions to the main archaeological sites, cities and colonial towns.
The state capital is better known as the White City. Up until 500 years ago it was the ancient Maya city of T'ho or Ichcaanshiho, or “Face of Infinity”. Mérida was founded in the year 1542 by Francisco de Montejo, “El Mozo” (The younger), after he overcame various Mayan lords. The beautifully carved limestone buildings of his native Mérida, Spain, inspired de Montejo to baptize this city with the same name as the Spanish metropolis.
Since its foundation, Mérida has been a colonial city, with streets and squares in a symmetrical grid in the style of the old Castilian and Andalucian towns and the original layout can still be seen today. The land was shared out among the Spanish noblemen, and a large area was reserved in the centre for the town square - the Plaza Mayor. It kept this name until 1812 when it was changed to Independence Square (Plaza de la Independencia), although nowadays its known as the Main Square (Plaza Grande.) Every Sunday at 1pm this is where you will find the wonderful Traditional Dancing, well worth a visit (see Video below). In the west were two native neighbourhoods: Santiago (where my house is) and Santa Catarina. To the east San Cristobal was populated by Indians from the high plains, while blacks and mulattos occupied Santa Lucia to the north.In the centre, around the square, the main civil and religious buildings were erected: royal palaces which would house visiting governors and captains from Spain;
the Town Hall destined for government authorities, and the Great Church, later to be replaced by the Cathedral. Passing through the heart of the capital the visitor cannot fail to be impressed by the group of antique buildings which make up the historical centre. At the end of the 19th century the population of Mérida was growing fast and the most significant appearance at this time was that of the haciendas - large country houses and estates that were the result of a boom in the embryonic heneken (sisal) industry in the state. This led to economic development,which in turn spurred the restoration and construction of innumerable public buildings, temples and private houses that adorn the city's most beautiful avenues to this day. 
In the early 1910s, Mérida boasted more millionaires per 
capita than any other city in the world. Evidence of this can be seen in the many mansions in all parts of the city. The sisal industry later went into steep decline when nylon was invented.Among the many other attractions is the traditional Montejo Avenue (Paseo de Montejo) to the north of the town, an elegant wide thoroughfare and site of the magnificent Italian Renaissance architecture of the Cantón Palace. This splendid building is now the Museum of Anthropology and History.Also along this avenue the imposing Monument to the Nation has become yet another of Mérida's icons, telling the history of Yucatán and México in its sculptured stone.