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The Cathedral of Guadalajara dominates the historical center being its landmark . The church has a central dome flanked by two towers , reminiscent of Cologne Cathedral , and was built in 1618 by the Spanish architect Martín Casillas on the site of the Church of Santa Maria de Gracia , which burnt down . Construction began in 1561 , as ordered by King Philip II of Spain , but the project took more than half a century to bring to completion due to lack of funds . But more misfortune was to come : exactly 200 years after the construction was finished , an earthquake destroyed the original towers and the dome . The cathedral was rebuilt , before suffering the same fate again in 1849 . The current towers were built in 1854 by local architect Manuel Gómez Ibarra . Since then , Guadalajara has been shaken around on numerous occasions , but with advanced engineering techniques , it has stood the test of time .

Santissimo Sacramento is another mustsee cathedral . Designed by the Italian Adamo Boari , it was named after the Blessed Sacrament . The dark stone façade of this neo-Gothic structure features an eye-catching white rosette , slightly reminiscent of the rosette on the park façade of Notre Dame . This church took even longer to complete , with construction spanning a full 75 years , with the Mexican Revolution interrupting the process .

Guadalajara boasts another architectural reference to the French capital : Hospicio Cabañas , a UNESCO World Heritage Site , which is often compared to Paris ’ s Maison des Invalides . The building built in 1791 by architect Manuel Tolsom and named after Juan de Cabañas , Bishop of Guadalajara , formerly housed a public hospital . The oldest in the Americas , it survived until 1980 , when the Cultural Institute moved in and an art gallery opened . But the first exhibit appeared much earlier — in the 1930s famous Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco painted the hospital chapel with murals commissioned by the state government . The central composition , Man of Fire , has been recognized as the main masterpiece . Today , the gallery hosts temporary art exhibitions from various eras , and in 2014 the square in front of the main entrance was decorated with allegorical sculptures by the French avant-garde artist Daniel Buren , one of France ’ s most celebrated living artists . Drawing parallels with Europe again , the museum is reminiscent of Mikhail Shemyakin ’ s gallery of vices on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow .