4 Surprising Tourist Attractions Set in Former Mexican Prisons

Prisons are, for the most part, not much of a tourism draw.

But in Mexico, several former correctional facilities have been reborn as interesting cultural attractions — and travelers looking for bragging rights about unique experiences might do well to consider a visit. 

Mexico’s newest prison-turned-attraction is located about 60 miles off the coast of San Blas in Mexico’s chic Riviera Nayarit. As of this summer, visitors can now hop a boat to the Marias Islands, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Here, a prison that closed in 2019 on Maria Madre island has been recast as an education center focused on biodiversity and conservation. 

Visitors to the Marias Islands can partake in a variety of outdoor activities, including birdwatching, diving and snorkeling. It’s often possible to spot rare species including the Tres Marias Amazon, an endemic parrot that only lives here, as well as blue-footed boobies, broad-billed hummingbirds and migrating hook-billed kits and blue-winged teals. Divers and snorkelers, meanwhile, can check out life in the waters that surround the islands — including colorful coral reefs, mollusks, 10 different types of rays and more than 21 species of sharks. Surfers can also take advantage of excellent conditions on Hammerhead Beach on Maria Cleofas Island, and what the tourism office calls some of Latin America’s longest waves at San Juanito Island.

While the Marias Islands prison is now a hub for nature education and conservation, other reimagined facilities have been reborn as artistic centers. In San Luis Potosi, the capital of the eponymous state, the Centro de las Artes de San Luis Potosi (San Luis Potosi Center of Arts) is set in a former penitentiary built between 1884 and 1904. After serving as a correctional facility until the 1990s, the venue, which is graced with attractive neoclassical design elements, adopted its new, artsy identity in 2008, and hosts a variety of classes and workshops in music, visual arts, literature and performing arts.

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The San Luis Potosi Center of Arts has continued to expand its offerings over the years. A 400-seat theater opened in 2016, while in 2018, the Centro de las Artes welcomed yet another addition: the Museo Leonora Carrington, a museum dedicated to the work of Leonora Carrington, an English/Mexican artist from the surrealist movement known for her paintings, sculptures, etchings, textiles and jewelry. The museum, which features multiple patios and exhibition areas, hosts temporary exhibits, a permanent collection and occasional museum nights that include live entertainment.

Also in the artistic vein is the Museo Pedro Coronel, an art museum founded in 1983 in the city of Zacatecas. This particular facility’s history, however, is not exclusively correctional in nature; the historic structure first housed a Jesuit college in the 17th century before serving as a hospital, barracks and a prison, which was its role into the 20th century. The handsome building’s identity changed thanks to Pedro Coronel, the Mexican painter and sculptor who was a member of the “breakaway generation” of artists of the mid-20th century. In 1983, he donated his private collection to create the museum, which displays a decidedly diverse and international collection that includes works from Europe, Asia and Africa.

Reimagined correctional facilities can also serve as historical institutions. In the city of Hermosillo, for example, a former penitentiary has, since 1985, been the home of the Museo Regional de Sonora, a regional history museum dedicated to the heritage of the state of Sonora. Actual prisoners were among those who contributed to the construction of this building, which dates to 1908 and was designed by French engineer Arthur Francis Wrotnowski. At the time, it was considered one of Mexico’s most modern and best-designed prisons. 

Today, the museum features 18 permanent exhibition rooms, five temporary exhibit galleries and a 130-seat auditorium for live presentations. The former cells now serve as offices and workshops. Guided tours and special events take place throughout the year, and admission is free.