Visitor Information -- The State Tourism Office (tel. 222/777-1519, -1520) is at Calle 5 Oriente 3, across from the cathedral. The office is open Monday through Saturday from 8am to 8pm, Sunday from 9am to 2pm. The city's tourism office is under the archway that runs along Palafox y Mendoza in front of the zócalo (Portal Hidalgo 14; tel. 222/404-5047). It's open Monday through Friday 9am to 8pm, with shorter hours on the weekends. The staff at the state office is much more helpful.

City Layout -- Puebla's streets are laid out on a Cartesian quadrant. Two main avenues serve as the x- and y-axes, but instead of separating the positive from the negative numbers, they separate odd from even. The role of x-axis is played by Avenida Reforma/Palafox. North of it are even-numbered streets; south of it are odd-numbered streets. The north-south axis (y-axis) is 5 de Mayo/16 de Septiembre. East of it are even-numbered streets, and west are odd-numbered. So if someone tells you that some place is at the intersection of calles 6 and 10, you know it's in the northeast quadrant. Street names also include a direction -- norte, sur, oriente, poniente (north, south, east, west). So if someone tells you that a church is on Calle 7 Oriente, then you know what part of town it's in: Oriente tells you that it's the eastern portion of an east-west street, and the odd number indicates that it's south of Palafox. Each main axis changes names after it passes the center point of the city. Don't count on taxi drivers to know where restaurants, hotels, or attractions are located; keep addresses handy.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.