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The Zona Dorada—the start of which is marked by a kitschy white castle that houses a dining and dancing complex—has blocks of high-rise hotels, shops (including car-rental offices and a few pharmacies), restaurants, and nightclubs, along with the city's best swimming beaches. The malecón connects this zone with the historic center to the south. The southern part of the city is where all of Mazatlán's charm lies, along with most of the museums and sights. There are some stunning viewpoints from the seaside promenade on this end, but there's virtually no beach access unless you want to do as the locals do and pick your way over rocks to catch the sunset from one of the jetties.
The view from Lookout Hill is fantastic, but the road up from Paseo del Centenario is steep and confusing; take a pulmonía. At the top are a rusty cannon and the Centenario Pégola—built in 1848 to celebrate the end of the U.S. invasion (aka the Mexican–American War).
The best view in Mazatlán gets you some exercise, too—a 30- to 45-minute climb along natural trails and rough-hewn stairs to the lighthouse that since 1571 has been warning ships from atop Cerro del Creston, 515 feet above the sea. Wear sturdy shoes, bring a bottle of water, and, if you go up to watch the sunset, maybe a flashlight for the trip back down. Note that it takes about 20 minutes to walk from the southern terminus of Paseo Claussen (the end of the malecón) to the start of the lighthouse trail, but it's a lovely route, most of which skirts the water. When Claussen ends just follow the signs for Paseo del Centenario for a few blocks through residential streets until you reemerge on the seaside road.
A long, gorgeous waterfront makes Mazatlán a great city for walking, biking, or rollerblading. The malecón, a sidewalk atop the 10-km-long (6-mi-long) seawall, runs from the Zona Dorada south to Viejo Mazatlán. It bustles, especially in the evenings. The route is filled with a dozen quirky monuments, from a vat from the Pacífico Brewery to a bronzed pulmonía, Mazatlán's beloved open-air taxi. The centerpiece is the massive Monumento del Pescador (Fisherman's Monument), which seems to portray a man preparing to throw a net over a napping woman. The road turns into Paseo Claussen, which continues past several more statues, including the Monumento a la Continuidad de la Vida (Monument to the Continuity of Life), a large fountain on which a bronze nude couple stand atop a large conch shell and a school of leaping porpoises. A few steps more bring you to a seaside plaza where you can buy snacks and kitschy souvenirs. If the crowd gets big enough, which it usually does when tour buses arrive around 11 am, 3 pm, and sunset, young men will dive into the sea from a high white platform.
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