Church of San Francisco

This church is one of my favorite ones around the Centro Histórico. It is inviting for its size and once inside you want to sit and take it all in. You end up in a spiritual mood saying prayers even though you walked in with the purpose of taking pictures and admiring the architecture.

A must-stop while walking along this avenue, this stunning architectural building impresses from the outside. Inside, you're greeted by soaring ceilings and a peaceful, relaxing ambiance.

One of the great jewels of Madero street. From the outside it gives you a face but once you enter you'll find plenty of surprises. The site has been used as a Franciscan convent for about 500 years. Half a century!!! How about that?

Beautiful church of the Franciscan order very close to the Zocalo in Centro Historico. Take time to go inside and appreciate the tranquility that comes with a few moments’ respite inside a house of worship.

This church was built in the early 1700s after the previous two sunk into the soft soil of Mexico. It's not uncommon to see many buildings leaning or sinking all throughout Mexico City. The history of this church goes back to 1629. Free to enter and explore. It is located at the west end of Madero St in the historic center of Mexico city.

What a beautiful place to worship! It takes a lot to maintain these sanctuaries and I really appreciate all the people working there to make it beautiful for everyone to visit. Blessed 😇

Beautiful church of Franciscan order, with the amazing façade executed in elaborate sculptural architectural ornamental style known as Churrigueresque or ultra baroque. Church now, formerly a huge convent taking up several city blocks, the Templo y Convento de San Francisco de la Ciudad de México was one of the earliest churches in Mexico City, put up briefly after the conquest by Cortes. Apparently, it takes up the area where the last Aztec emperor Montezuma had his zoo, arguable a first zoo in the entire world. Even though the church has undergone several partial and complete reconstructions, there is still much to see and admire.

Interesting alter piece polished up to about 10-15’ and then dull gold from there up. Very good facade in stone

A visit here was an accident and a wonderful one at that. We were walking back from Zocalo to our hotel when we saw this spot and decided to check it out. It's a spectacular church and has been around from 1542! Check out the pictures.

We had been sightseeing in the downtown area since yesterday, when we came across this magnificent church on the main pedestrian boulevard. We were a little confused at first because there were two entrances to the church. The first entrance serves more like a plaza, and we envisioned the area as where they used to park their horses back in the day. It is a large open space with a couple of nice gardens, as well as, stores. The actual church entrance was prominent. When we arrived Sunday afternoon there were only a handful of people inside, a few of them were reading the Bible. The main chaple section was really quite grand, and it looked like there was a lot of plated gold. This church was really a great experience for us. I am not clear about their hours and it seemed like they stay open most of the day.

In the midst of the crowded Madero street, it's easy to miss the entrance of San Francisco unless you were looking for it - but you should look for it because this church is one of the most important churches in Mexico! Iglesia de San Francisco (Church of St. Francis) was first established by the twelve Franciscans who were sent by Spain as Mexico's first missionary, making this church one of Mexico's earliest churches. In its heyday, San Francisco used to be the largest monastery compound that spanned for many blocks! Unfortunately much of San Francisco was demolished. Today, not only the front facade was completely covered by nearby buildings, the church today is what was a side chapel in the once-enormous church complex. Nonetheless, you can still witness a glimpse of the church's past glory from the simple grandeur of its scale and the elaborate decoration of the golden altar! While the church has significantly downsized physically, its historic significance remains. As you explore Centro Historico, make sure you mark this on your map for this important milestone of the Mexican faith! --- tl;dr version: 1) One of Mexico's earliest churches and used to be the grandest 2) Though significantly downsized, still a beautiful impression 3) Recommend as a stop in a Centro Historico trip

This church may look too ordinary and local from the outside to attract tourists, and it may not appear on the must-visit list of traveling books. But to me, it's one of the most beautiful churches in the city. The giant paintings on the roof and walls are incredibly beautiful and original, close enough for you to enjoy every details. I found those paintings much more interesting than those smaller pieces in the Bellas Arte Museum right across the corner.