Escalinatas de los Héroes

The Escalinatas de los Héroes (Heroes' Steps) are a long monumental stairway in the centre of Tlaxcala city, between Bulevar Mariano Sánchez and Avenida Vicente Guerrero. There are 250 steps, and at the top a lookout gives a panoramic view over the capital's rooftops. The stairway is a monument, a fountain, a promenade and an athletics track all at once.

It was built around 1960 to honour the heroes of Independence and was first called the Escalinata de la Independencia. Busts and statues of that period line the climb, among them Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos, Ignacio Allende and Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez. A later remodelling added small statues of figures from the Mexican Revolution, and the stairway took its present name. A stepped fountain runs down the central axis between rows of cypresses, and at the very top stands a monumental statue of Xicohténcatl Axayacatzin, the Tlaxcalan warrior who fought Cortés.

About 670 padlocks left by couples hang on the lookout's railings, most with names or a short message, a custom borrowed from the Pont des Arts in Paris. In June 2026, on the eve of the World Cup opening, the steps were decorated with football motifs. After dark, the top looks out over a carpet of city lights.