San Bernardino de Siena Church, Xochimilco

San Bernardino de Siena church in Xochimilco, begun in 1535

The address is Av. Guadalupe I. Ramírez, Santa Crucita, Xochimilco, 16070, and the parish telephone is +52 (55) 5676 6470. What stands there today went up in stages across roughly 65 years: the monastery section was finished in 1538, the friars' living quarters and the main church in 1585, the cloister in 1604, and the monastery school opened its doors in 1609. Part of the main portal collapsed in 1552 and the rebuilt version was only completed in 1590, which is why the front does not read as one single moment of design.

The piece to walk in for is the main altarpiece, a 16th-century retablo in the Plateresque style. The Mexico City authorities state it has only one comparable survivor anywhere, at Huejotzingo in Puebla, which makes the retablo the reason to go inside rather than photograph the facade and move on. Stand far enough back to take in the whole frame, then look at the panels.

Earthquake damage in September 2017 was serious and the restoration works were concluded in 2020. Whether the cloister itself is open to visitors is not something the parish publishes, so ask inside rather than assume you can walk through it.

What is in the plaza and the Jardín Juárez

The green space beside the church is the Jardín Juárez, also called Jardín Morelos, and it occupies the church's former atrium at the northern edge of the central plaza. It holds a bandstand kiosk plus a run of monuments and sculptures, and the city lists it 0.07 km from the Plaza Central and 0.12 km from the Clock Tower. Benches, shade and a view of the church front make it the obvious place to sit for twenty minutes before or after the water.

Two more things sit within a couple of minutes on foot: the Capilla de la Tercera Orden, listed 0.05 km from the church, and the Torre del Reloj de Xochimilco at 0.16 km. Around the edges of the square you get arcaded walkways, small cafés, juice and ice-cream stands, and shops facing the garden, which fill up from late morning on Saturdays and Sundays. The kiosk and the open ground in front of the church are also where the borough stages civic acts, bands and school ceremonies, so a stage or a sound system in the middle of the garden is normal rather than a sign something unusual is on.

The city describes the Jardín Juárez as a usual meeting point and a starting place for trips to the boat landings, which is exactly how to use it. Get here first and the market, the church and the road out to the water all line up from one spot. The borough's historic centre counts 17 original barrios, each with its own history, and the history page on this site sets out how the town and the chinampas grew together.

Xochimilco church opening hours, Mass and festival weeks

No verifiable opening timetable or Mass schedule for San Bernardino de Siena is published by the parish, so treat the hours as unknown before you arrive, check the board at the door, and ring the parish number if your visit depends on getting inside. Assume a service can be under way at any point on a Sunday, and that the nave is in working parish use rather than kept as a museum.

The congregation uses this church every day, so a visitor arriving mid-service is a guest in the back rows. Manners during one come down to five things.

• If Mass has started, come in at the back and stay there; do not cross in front of the sanctuary or the altarpiece during the liturgy
• Phones on silent, no flash, and no camera work at all during communion
• Do not photograph people at prayer, and keep out of the aisle when anyone is moving towards the altar
• Cover shoulders, take hats off, and keep voices down even in an empty nave
• Look at the retablo from the central aisle after the service ends rather than edging round it mid-Mass

Fitting the town centre into a day on the water

Geography does most of the work here. The church, the plaza and the Jardín Juárez sit between the light rail terminal, the Mercado de Xochimilco and the nearest landing stages, so you pass through the centre on the way to the boats without planning a detour. Two landing stages are within walking distance: Belem is about ten minutes' walk from the Xochimilco light rail terminal, and Fernando Celada, the protected-zone launch with the shortest approach, is roughly the same ten minutes from either the Xochimilco or the Francisco Goitia station.

Give the church and the garden half an hour on the way in, early, while the nave is quiet and the square has not filled. Then walk to the water: the channels carry no lighting, boats are effectively working between about 8:00 and 17:00, and being aboard before 15:00 is the sensible order. Come back through the centre afterwards for a meal. The Mercado de Xochimilco is a five-minute walk from the churchyard on Av. Nuevo León, its two buildings hold roughly 450 vendors, the doors are open daily from 8:00 to 20:00, and comida corrida, the set-price midday meal, is what the stalls there do best. The market page has the layout and what to buy.

Arriving by bus from Metro Pino Suárez on Ruta 26, signed Izazaga-Xochimilco, drops you about two blocks from the historic centre, which puts the church first in your day whether you planned it that way or not. By car from the west, the borough's published route ends on the church's own street: Periférico Sur as far as the Glorieta de Vaqueritos, then Prolongación División del Norte, which feeds into Avenida Guadalupe I. Ramírez. Full details of both, including the light rail hours, are on the transport page.

Tours that start on foot in the town centre

Most canal days on offer begin at a landing stage and never touch the plaza. Two tours on this site handle the borough differently, and the choice between them comes down to walking the centre with a guide or having a vehicle for the whole day.

The food tour is the one that puts you on foot in the centre. The meeting place is Patio ciento 20, a small local restaurant set back from the street between Vicente Guerrero and Francisco I. Madero, a short walk from the churchyard; from there the morning runs through the Xochimilco markets and on to the pier by bicitaxi, so you cover the same ground as the church and the plaza before you see any water. The private tour works the other way round: a vehicle, a short list of stops and a 4-6 hour frame covering Coyoacán, the Frida Kahlo Museum and Xochimilco.

• Guacamole a Tasty Adventure Through Xochimilco Markets and Canals: a 3.5-hour walk-and-boat morning, from 1,900 pesos, rated 5.0 ★ (12 reviews). You get coffee or tea with sweet bread or a tamal, the ingredients for a taco placero and hibiscus flower water once you are aboard, a traditional chinampa with an axolotl sanctuary, and the bicitaxi hop from the markets down to the pier. Best for seeing the town on foot before the canal.
• Private City Tour in Frida Kahlo, Coyoacan, and Xochimilco: 4-6 hours in a private vehicle, from $195, rated 4.8 ★ (702 reviews). Entry to the Frida Kahlo Museum is covered, as is an air-conditioned vehicle, bottled water and a Mexican snack handed round during the boat ride; gratuities are left to you. Best for a small party that wants the day to itself and does not want to work out transfers.

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