In the build up to the Day of the Dead, the Belen Cemetery in Guadalajara will extend its nightly tour schedule to include Monday, October 31 and Tuesday, November 1.
Evening tours take place Wednesdays through Saturdays, at 8, 9, 10 and 11 p.m., while daytime tours are at 10 and 11 a.m., and 1 and 2 p.m. The daytime tours cost 34 pesos and the nighttime ones 89 pesos. There’s a surcharge of 85 pesos of you use photographic equipment (not cellphones). No cameras are permitted on the evening tours. Tickets are sold on the day at the cemetery ticket office, from 9 a.m. for daytime tours and 6 p.m. for evening tours. Cash only.
A free concert of “sacred music” will be held in the cemetery on Thursday, October 27, 6 p.m. Tickets are available (two per person) as of October 26 from the ticket office. (ID must be shown.)
The 18th-century Panteón de Belén is noted for its fine architecture and beautiful mausoleums created for some of the most privileged families in the city, including notable politicians, scientists and musicians.
Many locals insist that the site is haunted and legends about vampires, pirates and all manner of other ghouls have become part of Guadalajara folklore.
As nobody has been buried at the cemetery for many years, it has become a museum managed by the Guadalajara City Hall. Newlyweds often have their photos taken against the picturesque backdrop. The cemetery has undergone several restoration projects in recent years, the last one in 2014.
The Museo Panteón de Belén is located at Calle Belén 684 in central Guadalajara.