Alexandre Gustave Eiffel's ‘Iron Palace’ is Orizaba’s fanciful art nouveau landmark. The palace’s interior has been converted into several small museums (none of them particularly inspiring), including the Museo de la Cerveza, tracking Orizaba’s beer industry; the Museo de Fútbol (soccer); the Museo Interactivo, with a small planetarium and some science exhibits, including a bed of nails you can lie on; and the Museo de las Raíces de Orizaba displaying archaeological artifacts.
The master of metallurgy who gave his name to the Eiffel Tower and engineered the Statue of Liberty’s framework, designed this pavilion, which was built in Paris. Orizaba’s mayor, eager to acquire an impressive European-style Palacio Municipal, bought it in 1892. Piece by piece it was shipped, then reassembled in Orizaba.
