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Today, the visible remains of Mexico's Colonial era are the ornate churches and palacios, either government office buildings or the homes of Colonial officials, still surviving, in the center of Mexico's larger cities.
The palacios have thick walls and portales, broad covered walkways, with wide arches supported by pillars. They shelter sidewalk cafes, vendors of foods, jewelry, arts and crafts and sometimes a remnant of the past, scribes who write letters or documents for illiterates. Modeled on the architecture of Spain but modified by the native artisans who incorporated pre-conquest symbols, these largely baroque buildings are still in use and are major tourist attractions. Most of them rim the large zocalos, the central town squares of major cities. Even today these plazas are the focal point of city life. The original centers of colonial cities have a grid of streets running north-south and east-west. This arrangement, modeled on the plan of Renaissance era city design in Europe, was also how the indigenous Mexicans built their cities and the newcomers simply tore down the native temples and palaces and replaced them with similar structures, preserving the original plaza.
