Click this link to reach our Puebla flickr page. Click any photo to see a larger image.
We’ve heard friends in the U.S. and Mexico talk about the city of Puebla, a city a couple hours’ drive south of Mexico City and the capital of the state of Puebla. They told us stories 
about the city as the center of the Talavera pottery industry, the great food of the region, the historic battle fought in Puebla against the French on May 5, 1862 that is the basis for Cinco de Mayo celebrations, the city as a center of education and progressive social movements, the Great Pyramid – a Pre-Hispanic ruin in neighboring Cholula that is considered the largest pyramid in the world and modern Puebla’s position now as one of the leading manufacturing cities of Mexico with not only the largest VW plant located outside of Germany but now also home to a new (2016) Audi plant.
So we finally planned a short 4-night visit in 2018.
Getting to Puebla
We began our journey to Puebla via Interjet flight 2351 from Cozumel to Mexico City; the only non-stop flight between the two cities. Actual flight time on the comfortable new A320 aircraft 
was less than the scheduled 2½ hours. Upon arrival at Terminal 1 of the MEX airport, we claimed our bags and made the long walk to the other end of the terminal to the upper level ticket counter for the Estrella Roja (Red Star) Auropourter bus line. Once we finally arrived there, the process of buying the ticket and boarding our first class bus was easy. Luggage is checked at the ticket counter just the way an airline would do it. Just past the ticket counter there is a small waiting room that leads down to an exit to the bus depot area on the ground floor.
As we boarded the bus below Terminal 1 we were handed a small bag with a bottle of water and a muffin. We settled into our comfortable reclining seats (complete with audio jacks for the onboard audio and video entertainment) as the bus stopped to pick up a few additional passengers at Terminal 2 before heading out through the city and then on an interesting drive southeast of the city.
A friend who had made the same journey advised us to sit on the left side of the bus to get the best vantage of Popocatépetl, the active volcano that can be seen from the road just before reaching Puebla City. It was a fairly clear day and we spotted a steam cloud rising above the cone.
The total time From MEX Airport Terminal 1 to our arrival at the (Bus)Terminal Estrella Roja 4 Poniente in Puebla was 2½ hours. Once there terminal staff directed us through a very orderly transition from bus to a fixed price taxi for the short ride to our hotel, Hotel Boutique Casa Reyna. For a more detailed description of the hotel including restaurant reviews; click the above links.
By the time we got to the hotel, it was late afternoon and after a little time chilling out at the small but nice 3rd floor pool we decided to have dinner at the hotel.
While many travelers to Puebla follow the same path as we did, there is direct service into the Puebla (PBC) airport from Dallas on American Air; from Houston on United and from other cities in Mexico via Aeromexico and low-cost domestic carriers Viva Aerobus & Volaris.
Below are summaries of our daily activities for our stay in Puebla. Click on any of the day headers (ex: the Puebla Day 1 header below) for more detail on that day.
Puebla Day 1
Highlights of our first full day in Puebla was a visit to theUriarte Talavera factory,
a walk through the famous Parian Market and dinner at El Mural.
Puebla Day 2
Highlights of our second full day in Puebla was Carlos Riveros’ Mid-day Food Walk (and history lesson) including a great snacks, a protest march, a walk through the Catedral Basilica de Puebla and the first public library in the New World.
We also viewed art at Barrio del Artista, and ducked out of the rain into the Coffee Gallery Amparo, a cozy bar/café with live acoustic music.
Puebla Day 3
Highlights of Day 3 was a visit to the quaint town 
of Cholula, a fascinating exhibit: “Frida Kahlo: Through Nickolas Muray’s Lens” at the Art Gallery of the City Hall of Puebla, a last great dinner at the Hotel Boutique Casa Reyna and a less grand follow up visit to Coffee Gallery Amparo for drinks and dessert.
After breakfast the next morning we took one last very speedy ride in the hotel Audi to the Red Star bus terminal for our 2 hour ride back to MEX Terminal 2 and our flight on to Oaxaca. The day was cloudy and rainy but we enjoyed a relatively smooth flight, which ended with a long approach with lots of turns and cutbacks avoiding mountains and weather before landing in Oaxaca.