Travel Guide Saltillo

Founded in 1577 as Villa de Santiago del Saltillo, the town lies at the intersection of Highway 10, the main east-west route north of Mexico, and Highway 57, the most important road in the United States to Mexico City. At the time it was breaking its ties with Mexico, the vast expanse known as Texas had Saltillo as its administrative capital. It is still today the capital of the state of Coahuila, bordering the U.S. border at Del Río-Acuña and Piedras Negras, "Eagle Pass". It is therefore located just on the other side of the mountains that dominate the skyscrapers of Monterrey. The contrast between the metropolis of more than 4.5 million inhabitants and this city of 900,000 souls is great. While Monterrey's architecture has the sharp edge of modernism, the city of Saltillo retains some colonial buildings, although the overall impression is that of a city without much interest. It is especially from here that the famous sarapes come from, multicoloured fabrics originally made of wool and which made the reputation of the city. At an altitude of 1,600 meters, Saltillo enjoys a pleasant climate all year round. In the spring, the nights are sometimes very cool, and sometimes snow falls in the winter.