Acapulco
Beyond the Puerto Marqués turnoff and before the airport, Playa Revolcadero is a long, straight beach that has seen a recent explosion in luxury tourism…
Must-see attractions in Mexico
Coyoacán & San Ángel
A storehouse of magnificent sacred art in a former school run by the Carmelite order. The collection includes oils by Mexican master Cristóbal de…
Northeast Mexico
Located within the Palacio de Gobierno, this sleek museum focuses on the history of the Coahuila with an emphasis on the state governors. Exhibits include…
Northern Central Highlands
Constructed by Franciscan monks and their indigenous converts in the 1750s, the original of the five missions in the Sierra Gorda is in the middle of the…
Northeast Mexico
This deeply striking church perched precariously on the rocky outcrop on the south edge of town has – once you’ve undergone the steep-but-rewarding 293…
Chiapas
On the plaza, the pretty apricot-yellow Iglesia de Santo Domingo dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries, and sports unusual and handsome blind arcading…
Veracruz
This excellent, colorful museum is devoted to the centuries-old history of Xico's costumed dances that take pride of place during the town's celebrations…
Cholula
This excellent museum is housed in a fantastically restored colonial building on the zócalo. The small collection includes ceramics and jewelry from the…
Central Pacific Coast
On the palm-fringed Bahía Tenacatita, Playa Tenacatita has clear snorkeling waters and a large mangrove lagoon with good bird-watching. There is a land…
Cancún
A favorite spot for Cancun athletes. Set where the Zona Hotelera meets Cancún Centro, Kilometer Zero has a lush green outdoor gym in the middle of the…
Mazatlán
Although not as famous nor as spectacular as Acapulco's cliff divers, local clavadistas cast their bodies from a couple of platforms at the eponymous…
Central Pacific Coast
On the river, this crocodile nursery rears toothy reptiles that later get released into the wild as part of a repopulation program. There are also some…
Cuernavaca
This bright and inviting museum showcases handicrafts from Morelos, including life-size chinelos (costumed dancers with upturned chins from Morelos). Most…
Tijuana
The Museo de las Californias chronicles the history of the Baja Peninsula from prehistoric times to the present. The exhibit kicks off with replica cave…
Parque Zoológico Benito Juárez
Morelia
Morelia's zoo is located 2.5km south of the Plaza de Armas and is surprisingly pleasant, with most critters in decent habitats. Animals include sea lions,…
Chiapas
Situated at 1500m above sea level, in a coniferous forest, this beautiful farm is less about the coffee and more about the flowers. This botanic garden…
The Copper Canyon & Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacífico
This simple stone church was built in the 18th century as a Jesuit mission, used to periodically give mass to, well, the masses. No priest lived here full…
Coyoacán & San Ángel
One of the city’s first contemporary-art spaces, this San Ángel museum was founded by Yucatecan businessman Álvaro Carrillo Gil to store a large…
Cancún
Beloved by local nature-lovers and fitness-lovers alike, this jungle park in the city remains mostly untouched. Runners and walkers flock to the 1.9-km…
Bahía de Kino
This visitor center services the 900-island Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Islas del Golfo de California, a biodiverse protected area of islands in…
Mérida
The pretty little Parque Santa Lucía has arcades on the north and west sides; this was where travelers would get on or off the stagecoaches that linked…
San Luis Potosí
The Churrigueresque Templo del Carmen (1749−64) is San Luis's most spectacular structure. On the vividly carved stone facade, hovering angels show the…
Puebla
Puebla’s central plaza was originally a marketplace where bullfights, theater and hangings occurred, before assuming its current arboretum-like appearance…
Veracruz
Some 39km from Catemaco, this village has several palapas offering grilled fish and seafood, along with fresh coconut water, and there's a beach here with…
Bahías de Huatulco
Tangolunda, 5km east of Santa Cruz Huatulco, is the site of most of the major top-end hotel developments. The long, wide, spotlessly clean beach is…
Museo Fernando García Ponce-Macay
Mérida
Housed in the former archbishop’s palace, the attractive museum's impressive collection holds permanent exhibitions of three of Yucatán’s most famous…
Palenque
Palenque’s site museum is well worth a wander, displaying finds from the site and interpreting, in English and Spanish, Palenque’s history. Highlights…
Isla Cozumel
To reach the far northeast of the island you're best off heading out on an off-road tour to avoid getting stranded on the remote dirt road. The tour makes…
Ixtapa
A long stretch of greyish sand, Playa Linda is popular with locals, though the water towards the north end can be murky thanks to the nearby rivers and…
Cascada Las Brisas & Cascada del Salto
East of Mexico City
About 5km southeast of town, there’s a pair of lovely waterfalls. The shallow natural swimming pools beneath the falls are cold but enticing – bring your…
Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec
Your children won’t want to leave this innovative, hands-on museum. Here kids can put together a radio program, channel their inner mad scientist, join an…
Mérida
The Museo de la Ciudad is housed in the old post office and offers a great reprieve from the hustle, honks and exhaust of this market neighborhood. There…
Museo de Arte Sacro de Guadalajara
Guadalajara
This pious collection astride the eastern flank of the cathedral is filled with dark and brooding 17th- to 18th-century religious art, as well as some…
Sonora
Just 4km outside of the Aconchi is a set of man-made pools, naturally filled with water from hot springs. Said to be medicinal, they are, at the very…
Veracruz
All that's keeping up much of the ruined walls of this 16th-century stone building is a lattice of tree roots. Cortés is said to have stayed here and for…
Sonora
This well-done museum of Sonoran customs has extensive exhibits (all in Spanish) on the history and traditions of the state. Special attention is paid to…
Morelia
Morelia’s impressively preserved aqueduct north runs for just over 2km along (appropriately enough) Avenida Acueducto and then curves around Plaza…
Monterrey
A shady park, Plaza Zaragoza hosts many concerts and special events. The centerpiece of the plaza – and the larger Macroplaza – is a 70m-tall, red…
Mérida
Founded as a livestock ranch in 1683 and converted into a henequén plantation in the 19th century, today Hacienda Teya is a restaurant, hotel and popular…
La Paz
La Paz's waterfront, with its wide sidewalk, tiny beaches, tourist pier, benches, sculptures by local artists and unimpeded sunset views, is the city's…
