Plaza San Jacinto is the colonial heart of San Angel, a cobblestoned square surrounded by 17th and 18th-century buildings that feels more like a town plaza in provincial Mexico than anything in a city of 22 million. It’s beautiful, it’s historic, and on Saturdays it becomes the center of the Bazar Sabado craft market, which transforms the plaza and surrounding streets into one of Mexico City’s best artisan shopping experiences.
The Plaza
The square is modest in size but rich in character. Colonial-era buildings line its edges, their stone facades softened by age and the vines and flowers that grow from every available surface. The paving is cobblestone, the trees are mature, and the general atmosphere is one of cultivated, unhurried beauty. It’s the kind of place where you sit on a bench and think about how nice it would be to live in one of those old houses, before remembering what they probably cost and returning to reality.
At the center of the plaza stands a monument, and around the edges you’ll find a mix of restaurants, galleries, and the mansion that houses the Bazar Sabado. The Casa del Risco, a museum of decorative arts on one side of the plaza, is worth a quick visit for its famous fountain made entirely of broken ceramics and porcelain — a 17th-century Mexican forerunner to mosaic art that’s both bizarre and beautiful.
The Bazar Sabado Connection
On Saturdays, the plaza is inseparable from the Bazar Sabado market. The indoor market operates inside the colonial mansion on the plaza’s edge, while outdoor vendors fill the surrounding streets and the plaza itself. The combination of the Saturday market and the colonial setting creates an atmosphere that’s festive, commercial, and genuinely enjoyable.
Even the outdoor vendors, whose quality varies more than the indoor market, benefit from the setting. Buying a hand-painted ceramic piece while standing on 400-year-old cobblestones, surrounded by colonial architecture, with the sound of a marimba band drifting from somewhere nearby, is a different experience than buying the same piece in a mall.
If you’re visiting on a Saturday, arrive before 11 AM to see the plaza before the crowds peak. By early afternoon, it gets busy enough that navigating between vendors requires patience.
Non-Saturday Visits
The plaza is worth visiting on non-market days too. Without the Bazar Sabado crowds, you can better appreciate the architecture, sit in the restaurants without waiting for a table, and walk the surrounding streets at a pace that lets you notice details. The colonial buildings, the Casa del Risco, and the overall atmosphere of San Angel are there seven days a week.
The restaurants around the plaza range from traditional Mexican to contemporary, with several excellent options for a long lunch. Prices are higher than the city average — San Angel is a wealthy neighborhood — but the quality and setting justify the premium.
Historical Notes
San Angel was a separate town until the mid-20th century, when Mexico City’s expansion absorbed it. The neighborhood’s colonial architecture survives because it was built solidly, maintained by wealthy residents, and ultimately protected by heritage designations. Plaza San Jacinto is the best-preserved piece of that colonial heritage, and walking it gives you a sense of what a prosperous Mexican town looked like three centuries ago.
The name San Jacinto refers to the Dominican friar Saint Hyacinth, and the surrounding area has deep connections to the Dominican order, which established a presence here during the colonial period. The nearby Ex-Convent of El Carmen, run by the Carmelite order, adds another layer of religious history to the neighborhood.
Getting There
Plaza San Jacinto is in the center of San Angel, reachable by Metrobus (La Bombilla stop) or taxi from central Mexico City. From Roma or Condesa, expect a 20 to 30-minute ride depending on traffic. The plaza is walkable from other San Angel attractions — the Diego Rivera Studio Museum, the Ex-Convent of El Carmen, and the Calle Lira area are all within 10 minutes on foot.
For a full San Angel experience, combine the plaza with the Bazar Sabado (Saturday), a museum visit, and lunch at one of the surrounding restaurants. It’s one of the most pleasant half-days you can spend in Mexico City, particularly if you’re looking for a break from the intensity of the central neighborhoods.