El Malecón

According to Wikipedia, the Malecon is a paved walkway along the seashore in Colonia Centro and is especially popular during Sunday evening paseos, the traditional evening stroll. It was rebuilt in 2002 and 2003 after damage from Hurricane Kenna and renovated in 2010 with new walkways and sculptures. The bay on which Puerto Vallarta sits takes its name from an early Spanish expedition in 1524; by the account Wikipedia repeats, local villagers lowered their weapons when they saw the soldiers' flags, called banderas. The city itself grew from the village of Las Penas, whose official founding date is given as 12 December 1851, and it is named for Ignacio Vallarta, a former governor of Jalisco.

The Malecon is lined with contemporary sculptures by artists including Sergio Bustamante, Alejandro Colunga and Ramiz Barquet. The best known is The Boy on the Seahorse, called El Caballito, by the sculptor Rafael Zamarripa. It originally stood at Las Pilitas, a rock formation near Los Muertos Beach, and one version now stands on the Malecon while an identical one stands on Los Muertos Beach. Sources differ on the original's date: some place it in the 1960s, and the official tourism guide says a replica was placed near the Malecon bend in 1976, moved onto the Malecon in 1990 and to its current spot in 2011. The statue was swept away by storms and recovered more than once. La Rotonda del Mar, the Rotunda of the Sea, is by Colunga and consists of eight tall bronze chairs, and is generally dated to the late 1990s. In Search of Reason, by Bustamante, shows children climbing a ladder toward the sky while their mother calls from below, and is dated to 2000.

Near the boardwalk, an open-air amphitheater is known for four decorative stone arches, called Los Arcos del Malecon. According to Wikipedia they were brought from a hacienda near Guadalajara in 1970, destroyed by Hurricane Kenna in 2002 and replaced by a replica completed in December 2002 by the sculptor Martin Distancia. These arches are different from the natural rock arches of Los Arcos National Marine Park offshore.

The walk passes the oldest part of town and the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is on Hidalgo Street in Colonia Centro and is the focus of a festival in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe from 1 to 12 December. The boardwalk is lined with restaurants and shops on the inland side and offers sunset views over the bay.

The Malecon is a flat, easy stroll, and evenings are the lively time. A private guided visit with a driver can combine it with the church, the Zona Romantica and other parts of the city.