Jardín Borda

The Jardín Borda is a colonial house and walled garden on Avenida Morelos, across the street from Cuernavaca's cathedral. It was built in the first half of the 18th century by José de la Borda, the silver miner who grew rich in Taxco, as a country house. Borda died here in 1778; after his death the grounds were turned into a pleasure garden and a botanical collection of native and imported plants, and the lake and gardens were finished in 1783. A water system brought running water to the lake and fountains, which drop down terraces linked by ramps and staircases, in a formal style with French touches and a baroque centrepiece, the Fuente Magna. The little Guadalupe church next door dates from 1784.

In 1865 Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota chose the house as their summer residence, and it became an imperial palace with receptions and concerts on a stage by the lake. Later guests included Porfirio Díaz, Francisco I. Madero, who was given a banquet in the garden in June 1911, Emiliano Zapata and Diego Rivera. In the 20th century the property was a hotel and came close to being lost, until it was restored and reopened as a cultural centre run by the state's culture department.

Today the house holds exhibition rooms and a small museum with art and historical objects, and the garden hosts painting, sculpture and photography shows, dance, theatre and concerts, some of them at the open-air stage beside the lake. You can take a rowing boat out on the lake, where geese live. There is also a restaurant, a café, a bookshop and stalls with work by local craftspeople. It is an easy stop combined with the cathedral and the Palacio de Cortés, a short walk away.