Chihuahua City, the state capital, is noted for its charming colonial architecture which is woven into a modern setting of a clean and modern industrial city. Chihuahua was founded on October 12, 1709, by the Spanish explorer Deza y Ulloa, who dubbed it "Real de San Francisco de Cuellar". It was elevated to the status of "Villa" in 1718 and given the name San Felipe el Real de Chihuahua. In 1823 it became a city.

The name of both the city and the state, according to some sources, comes from an Aztec word that means "Dry and sandy place". Others have it that it is a Tarahumara Indian word meaning "Place where sacks are made".

Some of the principal attractions in Chihuahua City include -

• The baroque-style Cathedral, built with pink quarry stone
• The Municipal Palace is housed in what was the old Casa de Cabildo, whose meeting table is considered one of the largest in the world
• The French-style Mansion Quinta Gameros
• The Regional State Museum with halls dedicated to the archaeological zone of Casas Grandes
• La Quinta Luz Museum also known as the Pancho Villa  House
• The Lerdo Park where you can visit the Municipal Library
• The Government Palace, headquarters of the State officials, where we can see the Altar to the Fatherland whose eternal flame indicates the place where the hero of Mexican independence Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was executed
• The Aaron Piña murals, which represent the history of Chihuahua
• The Division del Norte Monument, the Villa Mausoleum
• The Rotonda of Illustrious Men
• The Information and Documentation Center
• The Heroes Theater
• The University City
• The Sacred Art Museum and The Casa de Juarez Museum, built in the XVIII century, where there are documents, lithographs and newspapers, related with the stay of Benito Juarez in Chihuahua
• The Popular Art Museum, where there is an exposition of Tarahumara art
• The bullring La Esperanza
• The Pancho Villa Statue
• The Soldadera statue

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Murals depicting the Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa are popular

The Palacio del Gobieron and the statue of Deza y Ulloa, the founder of Chihuahua