Founded in 1543 atop the Mayan city of Zaci, Valladolid was laid out in the classical grid fashion seen in so many other colonial settlements. The Catedral de San Gervacio, erected in 1706, faces the city's main square, the Parque Francisco Canton Rosado.

Nearby, visitors can take in the Iglesia de San Bernadino, home to the famous Virgin of Guadalupe, and the Convento de Sisal, widely believed to be the oldest Christian structure in Yucatan.