Gómez Palacio travel guide
Pancho Villa's hill, a desert Eiffel Tower and nine bridges to Torreón
An industrial city in Durango's Comarca Lagunera, joined to Torreón across the Nazas River, with a Pancho Villa statue on Cerro de la Pila and easy trips to Mapimí's mining ghost town. October to April avoids the fierce desert heat; one day covers the sights. Costs are moderate, and the stay length is stamped on arrival.
Gómez Palacio is Durango's half of the Comarca Lagunera, the irrigated cotton and dairy country of north-central Mexico, and it faces Torreón, Coahuila, across the dry bed of the Nazas River. Nine bridges tie the two cities and Lerdo next door into one metropolitan area of more than a million people. Visitors usually come on business, for a match or a concert in Torreón, or on the way to the canyon country around Mapimí.
The city's story is one of factories and revolution. A soap works opened here in 1892, followed by cotton-seed oil mills, textile plants and explosives factories, and today foreign-owned maquiladoras keep the boulevards busy. In 1913 Pancho Villa's Division of the North shelled Torreón from the hill above the centre, and his statue now stands on that same summit.
None of this makes for a classic tourist town, but a day here is time well spent. Climb Cerro de la Pila for the view, find the old cannon on the Silver Bridge, and join local families in the Plaza de Armas on a Sunday afternoon. The city's oddest landmark, a 58-metre copy of the Eiffel Tower in an industrial park, is pure selfie material.
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Revolution history and a hilltop view in town, desert canyons and wine country within a day's drive.
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Best time to visit Gómez Palacio
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Sunny days and cold desert nights in December and January; the most comfortable time to climb Cerro de la Pila or visit Mapimí.
Afternoon temperatures often pass 35 C, and the little rain the Laguna gets falls in summer storms; sightsee early and late.
Sunday afternoons are the time to see the Plaza de Armas at its liveliest, when families stroll among ice cream and roast corn vendors and street performers.
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Getting there
Francisco Sarabia airport in Torreón and the Lázaro Cárdenas bus station
Gómez Palacio has no airport; flights land at Francisco Sarabia International (TRC) east of Torreón, with routes from Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Tijuana and Dallas/Fort Worth. Take a taxi or Uber across Torreón and the Nazas bridge, about half an hour. Long-distance coaches use the Central de Autobuses on Calzada Lázaro Cárdenas in the Zacramento district. Grupo Senda and Estrella Blanca are the big operators, with frequent departures all over northern and central Mexico. The terminal works well for buses but is crowded and noisy, so avoid long layovers there. Drivers arrive on Federal Highway 40, which runs west to the city of Durango and east to Saltillo and Monterrey, or on Highway 49 from Chihuahua to the north.
- TRC to Gómez Palacio
- Taxi or Uber, around 30 minutes across Torreón
- Central de Autobuses
- Calzada Lázaro Cárdenas; Senda and Estrella Blanca
- Highway 40
- West to Durango city, east to Saltillo and Monterrey
- Highway 49
- North towards Chihuahua
- Coaches to many destinations also leave from Torreón's own terminal, so compare both before booking.
- Book an Uber from the bus station and skip the taxi queue at busy times.
Where to stay
Avenida Hidalgo by the cathedral, Valle del Nazas or across in Torreón
The Zona Centro on Avenida Hidalgo is the natural Gómez Palacio base, with Hotel Plaza Catedral facing the cathedral and the plaza and Cerro de la Pila on foot. Valle del Nazas is newer and better for families, and many business travellers sleep across the river in Torreón. Lerdo, the quieter garden town next door, suits anyone who wants shaded plazas over boulevards.
- Zona Centro, Avenida Hidalgo
- Walk to the cathedral, the plaza and Cerro de la Pila; streets quiet at night
- Valle del Nazas
- Restaurants and family places along González de la Vega; car or taxi needed
- Torreón
- Larger hotel choice near the airport; bridge traffic at rush hour
- Lerdo
- Calmer, leafy streets; furthest from the airport
- Ask for secure parking if you are driving; most mid-range hotels in the Laguna offer it.
Getting around
Taxi sitios near the zócalo, Uber and the Nazas river bridges
Gómez Palacio is spread out, and the city's own advice holds: use Uber or taxis beyond the centre. Taxis wait at sitios, fixed stands where you take the first car, with three within a few blocks of the Plaza de Armas. Uber covers the whole Laguna, and is the easiest way to cross into Torreón or to reach the Eiffel Tower replica in the Parque Industrial. Within the Zona Centro you can walk between the cathedral on Avenida Hidalgo, the plaza and the steps up Cerro de la Pila. Nine bridges cross the Nazas to Torreón; the oldest, the Silver Bridge at the end of Avenida Miguel Alemán, dates from 1932. City buses run along the main avenues but are aimed at commuters. A rental car from TRC is worth having for day trips to Mapimí or Parras.
- Taxi sitios
- Santiago Lavín and Avenida Francisco Madero, near the Plaza de Armas
- Uber
- Covers Gómez Palacio, Lerdo and Torreón
- On foot
- Cathedral, Plaza de Armas and Cerro de la Pila
- Rental car
- From TRC, for Mapimí and Parras
- Walk up Cerro de la Pila in the early morning or near sunset; the hill has little shade.
Know before you go
What makes Gómez Palacio worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Pancho Villa on Cerro de la Pila, the general's statue on the hill where he aimed his guns at Torreón in 1913, with both cities spread out below.
- The cannon on the Silver Bridge, older than the 1932 bridge itself and set where General Felipe Ángeles positioned his artillery.
- The Puente de Ojuela near Mapimí, a long wooden suspension bridge across a canyon at an abandoned silver mine.
Good to know
- The bus station is crowded and grimy; it is fine for a departure but a poor place to kill hours between connections.
- Sunday masses run almost hourly at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so visit quietly or on a weekday.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Gómez Palacio, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Gómez Palacio are being researched.
Villa's hilltop, the Silver Bridge cannon and an Eiffel Tower replica
Start Gómez Palacio early on the Cerro de la Pila above the Zona Centro, off Calle Aldama, climbing to the Pancho Villa statue before the sun is high; from the top, Torreón's towers stand just across the riverbed. Then walk down to Avenida Hidalgo and the Gothic-style Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe with its gilded altarpiece.
Midday. Have a long seafood lunch at Muelle 817 on Avenida Mina, then take a taxi to the end of Avenida Miguel Alemán to see the Silver Bridge of 1932 and the revolutionary-era cannon pointing across it toward Torreón.
Afternoon. If you are travelling with children, spend an hour or two at Acertijo, the Laguna's interactive science museum. Otherwise ride out to the Parque Industrial on Bulevar González de la Vega for the 58-metre Eiffel Tower replica, a gift to the city from the Collier de la Marliere family in 2007 and open around the clock.
Evening. Return to the Plaza de Armas as the shade lengthens, buy an elote from a cart, and finish with a drink, live music and a game of pool at Bar La Bola on Calle Allende, open until 2am.
Shrimp cocktails, gorditas and caldillo duranguense in the Laguna
Seafood is a passion in Gómez Palacio despite the distance from any coast. El Compita on Bulevar José Rebollo Acosta and Muelle 817 in the centre serve tall shrimp cocktails, shrimp-ceviche tostadas and fiery camarones a la diabla, and both close at 20:00, so eat seafood at lunch as locals do.
Gorditas are the everyday snack across the Laguna: thick corn or flour pockets split and stuffed with fillings such as shredded beef, chicharrón in sauce or beans with cheese, sold at small counters from breakfast onward. From the Durango side, look for caldillo duranguense, a hearty beef stew with green chile and tomato that is the state's signature dish, and discada, a mix of beef, pork, chorizo and bacon fried together on a plough disc.
For something casual, Picantes on Bulevar González de la Vega in Valle del Nazas serves tacos with good homemade salsas from early morning until midnight and has a play area for children. Nearby, Monster Burgers deals in oversized burgers with self-explanatory names. At breakfast, try chilaquiles with green stew, a speciality of the buffet at Hotel Plaza Catedral.
To drink, the wines of Parras de la Fuente, roughly two and a half hours east in Coahuila, appear on many restaurant lists, and the region's dairy herds mean milk-based sweets in every corner shop.
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How we research our Gómez Palacio travel guide
Gómez Palacio's sights, transport and Laguna food notes are checked against the official Gómez Palacio website and the city's Wikipedia record, with entry rules from Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Migración.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of Gómez PalacioInstituto Nacional de MigraciónUNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Gómez Palacio.
Getting there
By taxi or Uber; there is no airport bus. The ride crosses Torreón and a Nazas bridge and takes around half an hour.
Grupo Senda and Estrella Blanca are the main operators, with frequent routes across northern and central Mexico.
General
The Collier de la Marliere family built the 58-metre replica in 2007 as a gift to the city. It stands in the Parque Industrial and is free to visit at any hour.
Pancho Villa directed an artillery attack on Torreón from the hilltop. His statue now stands there, with views over both cities.
At the end of Avenida Miguel Alemán, on the oldest of the nine Nazas bridges, built in 1932. It marks General Felipe Ángeles's artillery position during the 1913 attack.
Torreón has more hotels and is closer to the airport; Gómez Palacio's Zona Centro is cheaper and puts Cerro de la Pila and the cathedral within walking distance.
Drive north to Mapimí, then up to the old Ojuela mine, where the suspension bridge spans the canyon. A rental car or a local tour is the practical way.
El Compita in San Isidro and Muelle 817 on Avenida Mina are local favourites for shrimp cocktails, ceviche tostadas and camarones a la diabla. Both close at 20:00.
Gómez Palacio is spread out, and the city's own advice holds: use Uber or taxis beyond the centre. Taxis wait at sitios, fixed stands where you take the first car, with three within a few blocks of the Plaza de Armas. Uber covers the whole Laguna, and is the easiest way to cross into Torreón or to reach the Eiffel Tower replica in the Parque Industrial.
Gómez Palacio is best known for:
- Pancho Villa on Cerro de la Pila, the general's statue on the hill where he aimed his guns at Torreón in 1913, with both cities spread out below
- The cannon on the Silver Bridge, older than the 1932 bridge itself and set where General Felipe Ángeles positioned his artillery
- The Puente de Ojuela near Mapimí, a long wooden suspension bridge across a canyon at an abandoned silver mine
Timing & weather
On Sunday afternoons, when families stroll under the shade trees and vendors sell ice cream and roast corn.
The best time to visit Gómez Palacio is Oct to Apr. Dry, sunny and mild by day, before the desert heat of May and June.
- Cool dry months: October - April (Sunny days and cold desert nights in December and January; the most comfortable time to climb Cerro de la Pila or visit Mapimí)
- Hot season: May - September (Afternoon temperatures often pass 35 C, and the little rain the Laguna gets falls in summer storms; sightsee early and late)
Families & accessibility
Acertijo, the interactive museum of the Laguna, has hands-on science exhibits, and Picantes in Valle del Nazas has a play area.
Visa & documents
Tourist stays in Mexico are visa-free for citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, the EU and many other countries. Immigration officers decide how many days you can stay (up to 180) and stamp your passport or issue a digital record. Holders of valid US, UK, Canadian or Schengen visas may also be exempt.
Health & safety
Most tourist areas are visited without problems, but violent crime linked to organised crime is high in some states. Governments advise against travel to parts of several states. Petty crime and scams occur in tourist areas.
