San Cristóbal de las Casas
The leafy main plaza is a fine place to take in San Cristóbal’s unhurried highland atmosphere. Shoe-shiners, newspaper sellers and ambulantes (mobile…
Must-see attractions in Mexico
San Cristóbal de las Casas
Chiapas amber – fossilized pine resin that's around 30 million years old – is known for its clarity and diverse colors. Most is mined around Simojovel,…
Chiapas
Impressive arcades frame three sides of the plaza, and a beefy tree called La Pochota buckles the sidewalk with its centuries-old roots. Venerated by the…
Morelia
This ambitious museum contains five rooms chock-a-block with religious paintings and sculptures, including more than 100 depictions of the crucified…
Xalapa
A worthy day trip from Xalapa, Naolinco is a 33km drive north of the city. Apart from its Parroquía San Mateo, it has a viewpoint overlooking the…
Ixtapa
Ixtapa's longest (2.5km) and broadest stretch of blond sand is overrun by parasailing and jet-skiing concessions. The sea takes on an aquamarine sheen in…
Central Pacific Coast
The cliff-hugging road south of San Juan de Alima climbs above the coast, offering gorgeous views of desolate sandy beaches below. The tiny white strand…
Tapachula
Opened in August, 2019, it's worth coming here, even if it's just to tour the lovely building, a former palace. The museum's intentions are good: to…
Zihuatanejo
About 12km south of Zihuatanejo, just before the airport, Playa Larga has big surf, beachfront restaurants and horseback riding. This is where Andy…
Acapulco
Perched on a hilltop high above Acapulco is this quiet spot for reflection, an airy '70s A-frame chapel surrounded by lovely gardens and providing…
Puebla
Occupying the entire block facing the south side of the cathedral, the former bishop’s palace is a classic 17th-century brick-and-tile edifice that now…
San Miguel de Allende
As well as housing one of the largest collections of books and magazines in English in Latin America, this excellent public library functions as a…
Southern Baja
This well-restored mission is between Rosarito and Bahía de los Ángeles in pristine, spectacular boojum-tree-and-cardón desert. The (bumpy) drive alone…
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción
Campeche
Dominating Plaza Principal’s east side is the two-towered cathedral. The limestone structure has stood on this spot for more than three centuries and it…
Western Central Highlands
Some 4km northeast of Colima, this extensive, manicured site was settled some time around 1300 BC, reaching its zenith between AD 1100 and 1400. There are…
Acapulco
This beautifully restored pentagonal fort was built in 1616 atop a hill east of the zócalo. Its mission was to protect the Spanish naos (galleons)…
Campeche
Shaded by carob trees and ringed by tiled benches and broad footpaths radiating from a belle-epoque kiosk, Campeche’s appealingly modest central square…
Toluca
This musuem exhibits the work of modern Mexican-Japanese muralist and landscape artist Luis Nishizawa (1918–2014). Nishizawa was born in the state of…
Monterrey
About 10km west of Monterrey’s city center, this spectacular canyon is studded dramatically with 300m-tall rock formations and gorgeous desert landscapes…
Riviera Maya
A rocky, reef-hugged point 65km south of Cancún, Punta Bete is reached by a dirt road that runs past a housing development and weaves 2.5km from Hwy 307 …
La Huasteca Potosina
One of the most visited of Huasteca Potosina's falls it may be, but there's a reason for that: here seven waterfalls of different heights cascade down a…
Centro Histórico
Built for colonial nobility, in 1821 this became the residence of General Agustín Iturbide, a Mexican independence hero who was proclaimed emperor here in…
Puebla
Situated above the Casa de la Cultura and founded in 1646, Biblioteca Palafoxiana was the first public library in the Americas. For this, Palafoxiana has…
Veracruz
Tucked at the base of Volcán San Martín, an hour north of San Andrés Tuxtla, this little village has installed very rustic cabañas (M$450) and offers…
Acapulco
Located on the campus of a Jesuit university, these botanical gardens house an impressive collection of flora and fauna. The well-marked footpath climbs…
Capilla de la Virgen del Patrocinio
Zacatecas
Named after the patron saint of miners, this 18th-century chapel has a holy image of the Virgen del Patrocinio above its altar that is said to be capable…
Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec
A multilevel structure built to house international contemporary art, donated by Oaxaca-born painter Rufino Tamayo to the people of Mexico. The small…
Acapulco
A dying Diego Rivera spent the final two years of his life at this villa with his muse and lover, Mexican art collector Dolores 'Lola' Olmedo. Rivera…
Puebla
This fine Dominican church features a stunning Capilla del Rosario (Rosary Chapel), south of the main altar, which is the main reason to come here. Built…
Campeche
The Baluarte de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, designed to protect the Puerta del Mar, contains the fascinating Museo de la Arquitectura Maya. It provides…
Chichén Itzá
The Platform of Skulls (Tzompantli in Náhuatl, a Maya dialect) is between the Templo de los Jaguares y Escudos and El Castillo. You can’t mistake it,…
Museo de Arte Popular de Yucatán
Mérida
In a building constructed in 1906, the Museo de Arte Popular de Yucatán has a small rotating exhibition downstairs that features popular art from around…
Southern Baja
Part museum and part bookstore, this beautiful old building sits around a verdant garden with magnificent trees, including a soaring (and shady) ficus…
Cholula
Ringed by platforms and unique diagonal stairways, this plaza was the main approach to Cholula's pyramid. Three large stone slabs on its east, north and…
Valle de las Ranas y los Hongos
The Copper Canyon & Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacífico
San Ignacio's main road leads into the Valle de las Ranas y los Hongos, 2km from the western edge of town and named for its respectively fat-and-squashed…
Valladolid
The original edifice of Valladolid's main church was built in 1545, but was demolished and rebuilt in the early 1700s following a violent atrocity the…
Templo Expiatorio del Santísimo Sacramento
Guadalajara
This dramatic neo-Gothic church, begun in 1897 but not completed until 1972, dominates the neighborhood thanks to its enormous stone columns, 15m-high…
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Alfredo Zalce
Morelia
Modern-art fans might find something interesting at this art museum in Morelia's city park named for the Michoacano artist and muralist Alfredo Zalce …
Oaxaca City
A 19th-century wonder of marble and murals, the State Government Palace occupies the Zócalo's southern flank. The large, very detailed stairway mural …
Tijuana
Part local art gallery, part coworking space, part drinking and dining hub, with some modern accommodations thrown in for good measure. It's all just a 10…
