The town of Acámbaro is a mere twenty minutes from Salvatierra. The area was originally settled in the pre-Hispanic period by the Chupicuaros, a people dating back at least 4,000 years, making them one of the oldest Meso-American peoples. The Chupicuaros were noted potters and left us a vast quantity of exquisite ceramic works.

Founded in 1526, the town is a site of considerable architectural interest, with the sixteenth-century church of the Hospital and the eighteenth-century churches of Guadalupe and Saint Francis being notable examples. There is also the remarkable Taurine Fountain, erected in the sixteenth century to commemorate the first ever bullfight in New Spain. This wide valley with its mighty river coursing along the feet of its imposing heights was given to local chieftain Don Nicholas de San Luis Montañez by Hernán Cortés. In 1526, Montañez, a member of the royal house of the emperor Moctezuma, led a half-Indian, half-Spanish army into the valley and founded the town of San Francisco de Acámbaro, the first officially sanctioned settlement in Guanajuato.

On October 22, 1810, Acámbaro was declared Headquarters of the Grand Army of América and Father Miguel Hidalgo was named "Commander in Chief of the Americas". Its architectural legacy is varied, original and highly valuable, making a walk through its squares is a delightful experience. The monumental structure of the Stone Bridge, with its nine arches spanning the River Lerma, is an elegant, neoclassical construction, built 1750.