Templo de San Francisco

One of the oldest Christian foundations in the Americas, this church stands on the site of a vast Franciscan complex established shortly after the conquest. The present sanctuary preserves a richly carved Churrigueresque portal in reddish tezontle stone, its facade dense with saints and floral ornament. Over the centuries the friary shrank as surrounding blocks were sold and rebuilt, yet the surviving nave still conveys the scale of early evangelisation. It sits along the busy Madero pedestrian street, opposite the tiled House of Tiles.