Get to Texas fairly frequently with work, first opportunity to take some time Laredo for exploration. Have been through here a few times and found the city intriguing.  The most common response I get when heading to Laredo is ” Really, you taking a gun?”  I never understood that.  Laredo is a typical US city with very strong Hispanic culture in the downtown area, and I quite like it.

I spent a half day and evening walking and exploring the Historical area in Laredo, and had a surprisingly great time, even though I was alone.

Started by walking down Zaragoza street and past the Border Heritage Museum.  A Relatively new museum in the area and worth a quick look.  Take a stroll through the Museum to learn about the very interesting culture of a border town.  As you walk down The Zaragoza street, you will pass the St. Agustin Church.  Very beautiful church with great architecture, albeit in need of a little TLC.  The street turns into a great little square shared with the La Posada hotel, while I did not stay there it was a very it appeared to be very popular and very convenient to both border bridges.

Just off the square is the shopping district, where you could find yourself spending a large portion of the day.  Approximately 2 city blocks of shops where you can find nearly any product you need, and pay very little for it.  Many of the Owner bring their products from across the border daily or weekly for sale.  Had a great time walking the district and meeting the locals.

As I left the shopping district, I walked toward the border and found myself at the Rio Grande river.  It was much narrower at this point that I had expected, and found myself intrigued by watching the fisherman on the other side.

As the sun began to set, I did feel the need to get back to my car for the evening after having enjoyed my day in downtown Laredo.  While I would not make a special trip here to visit, if you find yourself in the Laredo the downtown area is worth a few hours of your time.