Place to see: Casa de La Ciudad and the Biblioteca Andres Henestrosa, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico

About this place:

Admittedly, an urban development center and a library, each stocked with only Spanish resources, don’t seem to top the list of Oaxaca’s top stops. Yet, the pair—which occupy the two stories of a crisp and long-ago subdivided 19th century church building—are not what they seem. Each has spaces devoted to either art or architectural exhibitions, with recent offerings including a series of photographs of Oaxacan shrines to the Virgin in the downstairs library and an exhibit on themes in Mexican architecture in the upstairs urban center. One of the few permanent exhibits, and which demands no language skills, is a fascinating floor display of two sets of aerial photos of downtown Oaxaca, one dating from within the decade, the other approximately half-a-century ago. For Spanish-reading bibliophiles, the 40,000 book collection—which spans Cervantes to dictionaries on Modern Spanish slang—could also be entertaining. When you're all done, take a breather in one of the peaceful reading rooms off the broad main courtyard.