For most tourists, Mazatlán means only one thing: a stretch of beachfront hotels north of town known as the Golden Zone. But gold is in the eye of the beholder, and from this traveler's viewpoint, the trendy vacation area of this Mexican resort on the Sea of Cortez is more fractious muddle than precious metal.

Mazatlán (population 340,000) is the second largest city in the state of Sinaloa and Mexico’s largest commercial port. With its endless splay of hamburger joints, trinket shops and loud bars in faceless boxes, the Golden Zone is reminiscent of nothing so much as one of the cheap commercial strips at the edge of just about every city in the United States. There's even a Wal-Mart to complete the picture.

But don't let appearances fool you. There is a treasure in Mazatlán. It just takes a little digging to find.

Historic, artistic, architecturally rich and surprisingly dignified, Viejo (or Old) Mazatlán is the all-but-forgotten heart of this venerable port city. Though young by Mexican standards ― Mazatlán itself dates only to the 1820s ― it is nonetheless redolent of an earlier, and far more courtly, era.

While the Golden Zone is typified by the ear-splitting noise, cheapjack merchandise and the hectic beat of an endless army of tacky Señor Frog restaurants, Viejo Mazatlán boasts tree-lined streets, formal plazas, gracious Colonial buildings ― and peaceful silence.

Mazatlán serves as Mexico's largest commercial port and tourist hot-spot all year round.

Well, not total silence. But instead of a souped-up sound system playing the same hip-hop and rap music you tried to avoid back home, you can listen to traditional romantica played by strolling Mariachi trios, the strains of classical piano music from ballet classes at El Centro Municipale Artes, the municipal arts center, or smooth standards wafting from an intimate jazz bar owned by two expatriate Oregonians.

You may even be lucky enough to catch a symphony or opera at the 130-year-old Angela Peralta Theatre. Hailed at one time as the most luxurious theatre west of Paris, the auditorium plays host to regular performances by the Sinaloa Orchestra of the Arts and the Ballet Folclorico de Sinaloa, the folklore ballet of Sinaloa, as well as numerous guest artists.

Savoring the district's more measured pace of life, you can walk the stately streets, visit the Catedral Basilica de la Purisima Concepcion, a rather baroque structure begun in 1856 and completed in 1899, and dine at first-class, locally owned restaurants instead of one of the chains and gringo knock-offs that dominate the city's contemporary resort area.

And, rather than staying in a 20-story hotel that could just as well be in Manhattan as Mazatlán, you can spend the night at the Royal Dutch Inn, a small bed-and-breakfast created from an adobe casa complete with 18-inch (45 cm) thick walls and 18-foot (5.5 m) ceilings. Hand-carved doors, tiled floors and a flower-and-bird filled courtyard reflect the building's Spanish heritage.

“This house has been in my family since it was built in the 19th century,” says Alicia, a Mazatlán native who owns the inn with her husband Wim, a Dutch marine engineer. Wim met Alicia when he became a regular at her family's restaurant, which used to occupy a storefront around the corner. She cooked at the restaurant and also made the breads and pastries for an adjoining bakery.

Alicia and Wim decided to turn three of the rooms of their home into an inn. They had noticed life returning to Viejo Mazatlán after decades of neglect and figured tourists might again be interested in staying in the heart of town.