San Francisco de Campeche, Colonial port city on Gulf of Mexico, Mexico.
San Francisco de Campeche is a large port city on the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico, situated within a hexagonal wall system with eight preserved bastions. The old town extends from the harbour to the central Plaza de la Independencia, surrounded by two-storey buildings along regular street layouts.
Spanish conquerors founded the settlement in 1540 on the ruins of the Maya city of Can Pech, using its earlier trade routes. Between 1686 and 1704 the defensive walls and eight bastions were built in response to repeated pirate raids from the Caribbean.
The paved streets within the old town show houses with pastel-coloured facades, while residents walk daily across the squares along the historic fortification walls. On market days vendors offer regional products, and in the evenings families gather on benches in front of the cathedral.
The old town is easy to explore on foot, with most walks between individual bastions taking less than 20 minutes. The main squares and public buildings lie within the fortification walls and are accessible through flat streets.
The completely preserved hexagonal wall system with all original entrance gates is rare among colonial port cities in Latin America. Several bastions now serve as thematic museums showing different aspects of the city's past.
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