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    Chapel of San Antonio de Padua at La Sauceda, Villa de Zaragoza, lit up at night with the town's name projected on its facade during the June fair, rides glowing behind, San Luis Potosí

    Photo by Historia de Villa de Zaragoza_Pagina Oficial, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Villa de Zaragoza

    Town Zaragoza, San Luis Potosí

    Town at the foot of the Sierra de Álvarez, east of San Luis Potosí, known for ixtle weaving, the old La Sauceda hacienda and a June fair.

    From San Luis Potosí: about 30 min by road (~35 km) How to get there ↓

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    Where to stay near Villa de Zaragoza

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    Tours to Villa de Zaragoza

    Day trips around Santa María del Río sometimes stop in Villa de Zaragoza; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.

    Tours from San Luis Potosi City Xilitla Surrealistic Garden and Huahuas Abyss Tour ★ 4.9 (251) · From US$72
    Find tours on Viator GetYourGuide

    How to get to Villa de Zaragoza

    • From San Luis Potosí: about 30 min by road (~35 km)
    • Nearest airport: San Luis Potosí (SLP), 57 min by car to Santa María del Río
    Rent a car at SLP Flights to SLP

    Route, map and directions ↓

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    Tours from San Luis Potosi City, near Villa de Zaragoza

    Xilitla Surrealistic Garden and Huahuas Abyss Tour ★ 4.9 (251) 12 h From US$72
    Rappelling beside Minas Viejas and Micos Waterfall ★ 5.0 (177) 9 h From US$88
    Ancestral Drinks: Mezcal and Pulque from the Heart of the Desert ★ 5.0 (48) 5 h From US$90
    Pedestrian Tour in San Luis Potosí Downtown Historic District ★ 5.0 (43) 2 h From US$25
    Breakfast & Market Tour in San Luis Potosí with English Guide ★ 5.0 (11) 5 h From US$83

    Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.

    About Villa de Zaragoza

    Villa de Zaragoza sits half an hour east of the city of San Luis Potosí, at roughly 1,970 metres, where the plain begins to climb toward the Sierra de Álvarez. It is the seat of Zaragoza municipality, home to around 11,000 people, in the middle of a shift from rural to urban life.

    Its old name was San José de la Carrera, from the passenger stagecoaches that used to come through. In 1882 Governor Pedro Diez Gutiérrez carved the municipality out of Villa de Pozos, made the town its seat and renamed it after General Ignacio Zaragoza. Earlier the land belonged to Chichimec peoples and then to Spanish landholders; the La Sauceda hacienda goes back to 1610 and still has a mezcal works and a small chapel to Saint Anthony.

    Zaragoza is best known for ixtle, the agave fibre woven here by hand into rope, sacks, rugs, bags and mesh, along with macramé hammocks and plant hangers. Typical food is barbacoa, carnitas, pork crackling and oven-baked gorditas, with melcocha taffy, cheese and prickly-pear syrup for something sweet, and pulque, aguamiel, colonche and mezcal to drink. Fluorite mining, farming and livestock keep the local economy going.

    The Sierra de Álvarez, protected as a forest reserve since 1981, is covered in desert scrub, prickly pear, yucca and maguey. Up there is a sinkhole called El Cárcamo de San Francisco, where a stream drops into a shaft about five metres wide and hundreds of metres deep.

    How to get to Villa de Zaragoza

    From the city of San Luis Potosí, head east on federal highway 70, the road to Ciudad Valles, and after about 23 km turn onto paved state road 22 (Santo Domingo-Zaragoza), which reaches the town 6 or 7 km later. The drive is 35 min and 33 km by road from the state capital, and 40 min and 37 km from Santa María del Río, the nearest Pueblo Mágico. We found no published bus timetable to Villa de Zaragoza; since it is so close to the capital, ask at the Terminal Terrestre Potosina or at the stops on the Rioverde road about suburban buses, or take a taxi.

    Directions to Villa de Zaragoza on Google Maps

    Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.

    Where to stay Hotels in Villa de Zaragoza Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Villa de Zaragoza. See prices →

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    From the nearest cities to Villa de Zaragoza

    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Before you go to Villa de Zaragoza: hours, prices and tips

    Best season
    Saint Joseph's day on 19 March; the regional fiesta of Saint Anthony of Padua from 4 to 13 June, with the Zaragoza regional fair (FEREZA) on 13 June and pilgrimages; the Virgin of Guadalupe from 3 to 12 December. Wikipedia (es), Villa de Zaragoza; CEFIM San Luis Potosí · checked Oct 2026

    Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.

    Visiting Villa de Zaragoza: what to see and do

    The church of San José in the town centre
    The La Sauceda hacienda (1610), with its mezcal works and the chapel of San Antonio de Padua
    Hand-woven ixtle crafts: bags, sacks, rope and rugs
    The Sierra de Álvarez, a protected forest zone since 1981
    El Cárcamo de San Francisco, a sinkhole in the sierra where a stream vanishes underground
    The Valle de los Fantasmas and the La Parroquia nature park

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in Villa de Zaragoza

    Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Villa de Zaragoza.

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    Tours & activities

    Day trips around Santa María del Río sometimes stop in Villa de Zaragoza; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.

    Viator GetYourGuide

    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at SLP (San Luis Potosí): about 57 min by road to Santa María del Río, then 26 km more to Villa de Zaragoza, on your own schedule.

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    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is San Luis Potosí (SLP), about 57 min by road from Santa María del Río, the base for Villa de Zaragoza.

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    Travel insurance

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    Mobile data

    Signal can drop away from Santa María del Río: download a map of the way to Villa de Zaragoza before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.

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    When to go to Villa de Zaragoza mild

    Villa de Zaragoza shares the climate of Santa María del Río, 26 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and November.

    See the month-by-month climate of Santa María del Río

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Santa María del Río

    Wrought-iron bandstand with its red dome on the main plaza, Santa María del Río, San Luis Potosí mild
    San Luis Potosí Santa María del Río

    Santa María del Río is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Villa de Zaragoza, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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    Near Villa de Zaragoza

    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.