Everything You Must Do In Tampico-Madero, Tamaulipas

From beautiful beaches to delicious crab meals, here is everything you must do when visiting the area of Tampico-Madero.

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Tampico is a city that sits between the Pánuco River and the Gulf of Mexico. It is knowns for its beaches and its wild crab, of which you’ll see images throughout the city. Madero is a sister city immediately bordering Tampico. They both make up a single package.

Most visitors are Mexican nationals, with very few international visitors. This makes for a very authentic experience when visiting.

In addition to its delightful beach and boardwalk, you should not miss visiting Tampico’s symbolic downtown area. And you should most definitely not miss eating some of its most emblematic dishes!

Miramar Beach

Lets start off with the most popular spot for visitors: the beach! Miramar beach sits in Madero, sister city to Tampico. You can certainly make a day out of just relaxing at Miramar beach!

Once you’re done at the beach, you can walk over to the Escolleras.

Escolleras

The Escolleras, or water breakers, are about 20 minutes from Miramar beach by foot. Alongside these water breakers you can find a boardwalk.

At the boardwalk, you can find restaurants and shops where you can spend the rest of the evening strolling and admiring the views.

Many joggers like to run along the beach, all the way to the boardwalk and back. That makes a solid 10K run, in case you’re a runner!

There is a manmade pedestrian path that helps guide the Pánuco River water into the ocean. It is just about 1Km (about 0.6 miles) long, and you can walk to the end of it get a view of the gulf.

The effect of seeing the Pánuco’s fresh water meet the gulf’s ocean water makes for an interesting display of colors where they both meet!

Downtown Tampico

Tampico was at the epicenter of Mexico’s successful oil era, becoming one of the largest oil exporting ports in the Americas. In the 1920’s, however, it’s largest oil field dried up yielding growth to other industries.

The Plaza de Armas, also known as the Square of the Constitution, is the main square of Tampico. It is the most representative landmark of its historic downtown.

The square is adorned by its centerpiece kiosk, which was built in the 1940’s. It is made out of pink quarry stone, and surrounding it you can see the Temple of the Immaculate Conception as well as the City Hall building.

As you admire downtown Tampico’s buildings, you can’t help but see the resemblance between the style you can find in New Orleans.

Walking the streets of downtown Tampico will automatically transport you back in time, and it will invite you to explore its narrow streets.

Fun fact: it is in this square where you will find the statue of Pepito el Terrestre, the tallest Mexican to ever live. Standing at around 7’6″, he was a kind-hearted person that captivated the town’s heart. He was immortalized with this statue.

You will definitely want to spend some time sitting at the main square and seeing everyday life happen right before your eyes.

Shop in the Market

Near the main square, you will also find the market. It’s a traditional place with some fairly modern looking appearance. You will find the traditional street food stands, as well as herb stores and other shops. Hey, it even includes flat escalators to move between floors!

Visit the Old Customs Building

One of the other jewels you will find in downtown is the historic Old Customs building (Antigua Aduana). This customs building was built in the 19th century by Porfirio Diaz, an infamous dictator in the era of the Mexican Revolution. This building was the main maritime receiver in all of Mexico during its time, and was also the most important port during the oil boom. You must take a tour of this place! They begin just by the entrance.

You should definitely set aside a whole day to explore the streets of downtown Tampico.

Lunch in Veracruz

If you’re up for a unique treat, how about taking a boat from Tampico over to the state of Veracruz for lunch? Nearby the Escolleras (“Paso de lancha Varadero” GPS location: 22°15’32.3″N 97°48’01.4″W) you can take a small boat to cross the Pánuco River and have lunch at one of the restaurants in Veracruz!

Laguna del Carpintero

The Laguna del Carpintero, or the Carpenter’s Lagoon, is a space of that preserves the region’s terrestrial and aquatic environment. It is located in the heart of the city and, despite being subject to constant urban pressure, it has a great variety of fauna and flora.

There’s a pathway at the border of the lagoon. As you walk, you’ll get the opportunity to see several types of birds as well as crocodiles!

On the background, you get a glance of the Tampico bridge, which connects south Tamaulipas with north Veracruz over the Panuco River.

This area by the lagoon is very well maintained. It hosts the Museum of the Huasteca Culture, viewing platforms to admire the nature, and they’re also building a theme park. This is an amazing place to spend a full afternoon.

Enjoy a Soccer Match: Jaiba Brava del Tampico-Madero

Remember how we mentioned that Tampico and Madero are considered sister cities? Get a load of this: the two cities share a professional soccer team in the Expansion League, Jaiba Brava del Tampico Madero (the Tampico-Madero Brave or Wild Crabs). What’s more interesting and noteworthy, though, is the fact that their stadium (Tamaulipas Stadium) is built such that one half of the field is in the city of Tampico and the other half in the city of Madero!

So have at it. Enjoy a game at their stadium between the two cities!

Food: Tortas and Jaibas Bravas

If you are making a list of everything you must do when visiting the area, you have to include the food! When you think of Tampico, there’s a couple of dishes that come to mind. Specifically, there are two that I most definitely recommend!

First, you have to try a wild crab (jaiba brava) if you visit Tampico. Simply put, it represents the city. You will see images of this iconic crustacean throughout the city. The soccer team adopted it as the mascot!

Seafood as a whole is one of the landmark dishes in Tampico-Madero! You cannot leave without trying it.

Two places I recommend trying are La Palma and El Chachalaco.

One other iconic food you must try are the “tortas de la barda,” which loosely translates to “the sandwiches by the fence/wall”. This sandwich was born in downtown Tampico by an iconic wall. However, there are several places that make them today.

These are basically the perfect combination of ham, pork rinds, salsa, cheese, and other sandwich goodness. I most definitely loved these! 😋

Tortas Paquirri and Tortas Brava (GPS: 22.22231° N, 97.86257° W) are two spots I recommend to grab your torta de la barda!

Other Things To See and Try

There’s a number of museums you may want to try out if you have additional time to spend. Some of those museums include a Children’s Museum, Museo MATT (a classic car museum), and La Casa de la Naturaleza Tampico (environmental conservation museum).

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I hope you got a good idea of everything you must do in Tampico, a little known town in Mexico that packs a punch. Please let me know what you think about this article–I’d love to hear from you!

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