Tlaquepaque Observations

In the twelve or so years of traveling to this area, Tlaquepaque has always been one of our favorites, however, our experience has been limited to day trips while staying out at the Lake. This trip has been unique in that we have had the luxury of walking the entire area in the evenings and into the nighttime hours from our location in the heart of centro.

There seems to be a noticeable lack of evening diners during the hours from 6pm to almost 10pm but the streets especially on Friday through Sunday nights are very vibrant and absolutely packed! The amazing thing (to us) was that Sunday night was the busiest of all.

It seems to be quite evident that even this area has felt the economic downturn as evidenced by the numerous vacant storefronts and the increased number of restaurants in buildings formerly occupied by stores or galleries.

If you haven't run across this website before, it is probably one of the best for information on Tlaquepaque:
http://tlaquepaque-centro.com/index.html

I just completed a Tlaquepaque slideshow that I again hope provides a decent viewing of what Tlaquepaque is like:

Tlaquepaque Slideshow: https://picasaweb.google.com/118146709599975173363/TLAQUEPAQUEJALISCOMEXICO#slideshow/5548417010000903218

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Great photos ,muy bien hecho!Love those carved doors.
Chris

Wonderful Neil, thank you VERY much!

Earlier in this thread, I made mention of how busy things were at night in Tlaquepaque, especially Fridays through Sundays. I thought I had taken more night shots but apparently not. A somewhat limited slideshow of night photos follows: https://picasaweb.google.com/118146709599975173363/TLAQUEPAQUEJALMEXICONIGHTPHOTOS#slideshow/5698983986200557202

We were totally amazed by the number of families out and about on Sunday night but then learned from the people running the apartments that it was typically the busiest night of the week. However, you will see from the inside photos of the Parián that it wasn't what one would expect during the nighttime hours.

For anyone considering shopping in Tlaquepaque during Semana Santa, you may wish to rethink doing so. INFORMADOR: reports that they are estimating that the number of people visiting the centro historic district will rise from the typical 600/day to 2500/day during this period. I am sure the merchants and restaurants will welcome this influx but it could be a bit congested.

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://www.informador.com.mx/jalisco/2012/367451/6/tlaquepaque-espera-mas-de-dos-mil-visitantes-diarios.htm&usg=ALkJrhhBysyOVRgaNa0W74GLcBqSz2kiJA