Mexico
Where to stay in San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí is a city in Mexico, home to about 846,000 people.
- Best months
- July and September to March
- Nearest airport
- SLP13 km · Ponciano Arriaga International Airport
- Currency
- MXNpeso
- Time zone
- America/Mexico City
- Language
- Nahuatl, Spanish, Yucatec Maya
About
About San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí, commonly referred to as San Luis, or by its initials SLP (Otomi: Nmiñ'u), is the capital and the most populous city of the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. It is the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of San Luis Potosí.
San Luis Potosi's name is derived from the combination of its patron saint, Louis IX of France, and Potosi, in reference to the silver city of Bolivia, because of San Luis Potosi's own silver lode in nearby Cerro de San Pedro. It was founded in 1592 by Miguel Caldera and the conquistador Juan Onate, after the Spanish crown gave the indigenous peoples like the Otomi and Chichimeca the boot (after about 100 years). SLP briefly served as capital of the country under Benito Juarez during the French invasion in 1863.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in San Luis Potosí
See
- Catedral de San Luis Potosí
- Templo de la Nuestra Senora del Carmen
- Templo de San Francisco de Asis
- Museo Federico Silva
- Museo Nacional de Mascaras
- Museo Regional Potosino
- Museo del Ferrocarril "Jesús García Corona"
- Museo Laberinto
- Casa Museo de Manuel José Othón
- Museo Leonora Carrington
- Ignacio Zaragoza
- Calz de Guadalupe
Do
Stroll through the Centro Histórico while the sun is fading and you will be able to take amazing photos of the beautiful architecture. During holiday periods (Christmas and Easter) there are twilight light shows in Plaza de Armas and Plaza de los Fundadores. It is a festival atmosphere with lots of people mingling in the plazas and surrounding streets. Stall holders sell colourful balloons and Mexican street snacks like corn-on-the-cob with cheese, butter, salt and lime.
- Parque Tangamanga I
- Estadio Alfonso Lastras
- Cerro de la Pepsi
- trail to Cerro de la Pepsi
- Viewpoint of a circular hiking track
- Mexquitic de Carmona
- street food
- Cerro de San Pedro
- La Joya Honda Crater
- Tequila Corralejo / El Palacio de los Espíritus
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of San Luis Potosí to stay in
Inexpensive independent hotels are mostly downtown. For true budget travellers the area between the cathedral and the Train museum (museo del ferrocarril) has many cheap hotels. For example the basic Hotel Alameda is for M$300 (March 2022).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in San Luis Potosí
34 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Capital O Hotel Joyma Suites OYO Rooms | 3.6 km | |
| Capital O Hotel San Jose OYO Rooms | 0.4 km | |
| Capital O Mansión Los Arcos OYO Rooms | 12.1 km | |
| Casa Catalina | 0.7 km | |
| City Express Junior San Luis Potosi Carranza | 2.3 km | |
| City Express Junior San Luis Potosí Zona Industrial | 8.0 km | |
| City Express San Luis Potosi Zona Industrial | 5.4 km | |
| City Express San Luis Potosi Zona Universitaria | 4.2 km | |
| Comfort Inn San Luis Potosi | 1.8 km | |
| Courtyard by Marriott San Luis Potosi, Los Lagos | 15.5 km | |
| Fiesta Americana San Luis Potosi | 3.0 km | |
| Fiesta Inn San Luis Potosi Glorieta Juarez | 2.3 km | |
| Fiesta Inn San Luis Potosi Oriente | 6.0 km | |
| Hilton San Luis Potosi | 5.8 km | |
| Holiday Inn Express San Luis Potosi | 3.9 km | |
| Holiday Inn San Luis Potosi-Quijote | 5.1 km | |
| Hotel Panorama | 0.4 km | |
| Hotel Real de Minas San Luis Potosi | 2.3 km | |
| Hotel Real Plaza | 1.2 km | |
| Hotel San Francisco | 0.1 km | |
| Hotel Sand ́s San Luis | 2.6 km | |
| Ibis San Luis Potosi | 6.7 km | |
| La Posada Hotel y Suites | 2.9 km | |
| NH San Luis Potosí | 2.2 km | |
| One San Luis Potosi Glorieta Juarez | 2.3 km | |
| OYO Hotel Bugambilia OYO Rooms | 2.5 km | |
| OYO Posada Zaragoza OYO Rooms | 0.3 km | |
| Ramada Encore by Wyndham San Luis Potosi | 9.2 km | |
| Real Inn San Luis Potosi | 6.4 km | |
| Ruma San Luis Hotel Boutique | 0.3 km | |
| Santosí by Inmense | 0.7 km | |
| Staybridge Suites San Luis Potosi | 5.6 km | |
| The View Hotel by Covalia | 5.8 km | |
| Tryp by Wyndham San Luis Potosi | 6.6 km |
All 34 hotels in San Luis Potosí, with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit San Luis Potosí
The most comfortable months for a city stay in San Luis Potosí are July and September to March. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; September is the wettest, with about 76 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to San Luis Potosí: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ponciano Arriaga International Airport (SLP), about 13 km from the city centre in a straight line; Guanajuato International Airport (BJX, 139 km) and Aguascalientes International Airport (AGU, 147 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
San Luis Potosí has a small airport with a handful of routes. If you can't find a direct flight, consider flying to a nearby city and taking an intercity bus to San Luis Potosi. Nearby cities within several hours by bus include Querétaro, León, Aguascalientes, and possibly even Mexico City.
Getting around
You can get around a great portion of the city on foot. To go from A to B, Moovit covers the city. Most of the city bus lines are yellow, the other ones are blue (operated by Transporte Tangamanga). Buses must be flaged down at dedicated bus stops. Moovit don't always show the correct position of the bus stops. Have a look where other people wait for the bus or ask a local nearby. Only a few city bus lines go inside the centro historico, others go around it. The price is M$13.50 (March 2026) and is paid to the driver when entering the bus. The buses operate until 10pm. Uber covers the city.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
SLP · Ponciano Arriaga International Airport
BJX · Guanajuato International Airport
AGU · Aguascalientes International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in San Luis Potosí
Eat
San Luis Potosí has many good restaurants in the downtown area. Walk up Venustiano Carranza and you will find many of the city's top culinary gems. One of the entrees the city is uniquely known for is its enchiladas potosinas, which are enchiladas made with ancho peppers and corn dough. San Luis Potosí has some street-food, either bicycles, small carts, or even trucks. There is street food every day on the north-western spot of the Alameda park. In Google Maps one of the stalls is shown with its name Antojitos Mexicanos "Doña Mary". Offered are: • enchiladas potosinas • tacos rojos • chalupas • quesadillas • flautas • tostadas It's typical to order 5 pieces for M$50 altogether (April 2022).
Drink
Be sure to find La Calle San Francisco (near the church by the same name) in the city's downtown sector. There are some outstanding cafes and clubs in this area. Look for those with the rooftop locations. They have the charm of brick-covered alleys and spectacular starlit views in the evening. Some also feature live music.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
San Luis Potosí: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit San Luis Potosí?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in San Luis Potosí are July and September to March. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; September is the wettest, with about 76 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to San Luis Potosí?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ponciano Arriaga International Airport (SLP), about 13 km from the city centre in a straight line; Guanajuato International Airport (BJX, 139 km) and Aguascalientes International Airport (AGU, 147 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in San Luis Potosí?
peso (MXN).
Nearby
Destinations near San Luis Potosí
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.