Museo Fotográfico de Cuernavaca

Locals call it El Castillito, the little castle, and one look explains why: a small red-brick building with a pointed turret, arched windows and an iron fence, built in imitation of a French château. It stands at Agustín Güemes Celis 1 in central Cuernavaca and has housed the city's Photographic Museum since 1986.

It went up in the early 20th century, after the park and the Porfirio Díaz bridge were built, as the home of the man who looked after the garden. The builders used compressed brick, an advanced material for the time. The house was abandoned during the Revolution; in the 1930s Governor Vicente Estrada Cajigal turned it into a residence, and in 1986 it was handed to the city's advisory council, the Consejo Consultivo de la Ciudad de Cuernavaca. With help from the city council under mayor Juan Salgado Brito it was largely restored to its original form, and the museum opened on 18 October that year.

Inside are old photographs of the city and its people from different periods, along with some furniture of the time. It is a small museum you can see quickly, and a good way to picture Cuernavaca before it sprawled. The city has announced federally funded waterproofing, interior restoration and access improvements in recent years, so check that it is open before you go.