Plaza del Sol - Where the Island Says Hello

A stop on Cozumel: San Miguel and the Island, a free self-guided tour.

This square, officially Benito Juarez Park and known to everyone as Plaza del Sol, is where Cozumel meets its visitors. The ferries from Playa del Carmen tie up a short walk north, and the town of San Miguel spreads out behind you in a grid of numbered streets.

The clock tower is the plaza's oldest landmark. Residents built it in 1910, working on weekends, to mark a hundred years since Mexico's war of independence began. It was inaugurated on September 15 of that year, but the clockwork itself arrived a year late.

The park's name carries a story islanders still like to tell. In 1861 the Lincoln administration looked into buying Cozumel as a place to resettle freed African Americans, and the government of Benito Juarez turned the idea down. On Sunday evenings the plaza fills with families, music and dancing.

Before you set out, note your ship or ferry time and look at the map: the loop ahead is long.

Getting here: From the ferry pier, walk south along the waterfront to the plaza. From the cruise piers south of town, take a taxi to the downtown plaza.

Did you know?: The tower's original clockwork, installed in 1911, is no longer in the tower: it is kept at the Museo de la Isla, a short walk up the waterfront.

Photo op: Stand at the waterfront side of the plaza and frame the clock tower against the sky, with the plaza's trees and the town behind it.

More on Wikipedia: Cozumel · Benito Juarez · San Miguel de Cozumel · Cozumel Channel

Plaza del Sol - Where the Island Says Hello

Stops on this tour