Historic Fortified Town of Campeche

Pirate raids shaped Campeche. The Spanish wrapped this Gulf-coast port in walls and bastions to fend off attacks from the sea, and the historic centre still sits within that ring of colonial fortifications today. A textbook example of a Spanish colonial harbour town in the Americas, Campeche was inscribed by UNESCO as World Heritage in 1999; pastel façades and quiet plazas now fill the space behind the ramparts.