Templo Expiatorio

The Templo Expiatorio del Santísimo Sacramento is the most surprising building in Guadalajara's skyline, a pointed, pale-stone Gothic church that looks as if it was lifted from medieval Europe and set down among the city's colonial plazas. The tourism board describes it as the largest neo-Gothic church in Mexico. The idea began in the late nineteenth century, when local Catholics proposed a temple dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament and Archbishop Pedro Loza y Pardavé helped organise a competition for the design. The Italian architect Adamo Boari won it, and building started in 1897. The interior columns were finished by about 1911, work stopped during the Mexican Revolution, and it resumed in 1927 under the Mexican architect Ignacio Díaz Morales. The church opened for worship in 1931 and the building was only completed in 1972, so it is a project that took most of a century. The facade is divided into three sections, each with a mosaic made in the Vatican's mosaic workshop, and the central panel shows the Lamb of God. Above the doors, the carved stonework is as detailed as anything in a European cathedral.

What to look for. Start outside, in the esplanade in front of the church, where you can take in the whole facade and the tower at once. The tower clock is fitted with a German carillon, which the tourism board says plays 25 pieces, and at set hours figurines of the twelve apostles appear on the tower balcony.

Locals gather to watch, so it is worth timing part of your visit to a quarter to the hour. Inside, the vaulted ceiling, the French stained-glass windows and the slim columns create a bright, vertical space that feels very different from the dark, gilded interiors of Mexico's colonial churches. The hand-carved doors reward a closer look.

Practical notes. The tourism board gives daily hours of eight in the morning to eight in the evening, though a working church may close to visitors during services, so check on the day. Entry is free and donations are welcome. Mass is celebrated on Sundays and the building is busier then, while weekdays are calm and good for photographs.

Dress modestly, keep your voice down and avoid walking around during services. The church stands west of the historic centre, in the area around the Colonia Americana, so it fits naturally into a day that also takes in the Museo de las Artes and the cafés and galleries nearby. A taxi or ride service from the cathedral is short and inexpensive.

Who it suits. Architecture lovers, photographers, couples on an easy morning walk and anyone who wants a counterpoint to the baroque and neoclassical buildings in the centre. It is a good stop for families too, since the apostle figures give children something to wait for. The visit itself is brief, so most people combine it with a stroll through the surrounding streets, a coffee, or a walk along Avenida Chapultepec to the west, where restaurants and bars fill up in the evening.

If you are staying in Colonia Lafayette, the temple is within walking distance of several hotels.

Making a morning of it. Because the temple is compact, it works best as the first or last stop in a longer walk. Many visitors begin here, continue to the Museo de las Artes and then drift into the cafés of the Colonia Americana for lunch. If you enjoy photography, the facade is best in soft morning or late afternoon light, when the pale stone glows, and the esplanade gives you room to step back for a full view of the tower and rose windows.