Cities & Regions in Mexico

Guadalajara guide: mariachi music, tequila country, colonial architecture, and a thriving food and arts scene in Mexico's second city.

Guanajuato guide: underground roads, mummified bodies, Diego Rivera's birthplace, and one of Mexico's most photogenic colonial cities.

Plan your trip to Mexico City: neighbourhoods, food, museums, day trips, and practical tips for one of the world's great capitals.

Morelia guide: baroque pink stone cathedral, Michoacán cuisine, Monarch butterfly sanctuaries, and a cultured colonial capital.

Oaxaca City: mezcal tastings, mole cuisine, Monte Alban Zapotec ruins (MXN 75), colonial streets, and the Central Market. Neighbourhoods covered.

Puebla travel guide: mole poblano, Talavera tiles, Cholula pyramid, and a colonial city two hours from Mexico City with excellent food.

San Miguel de Allende guide: colonial architecture, the Parroquia de San Miguel, art galleries, cooking schools, and the expat community.

Taxco guide: Mexico's silver capital, cobblestone hilltop town, the Santa Prisca church, and workshops selling real silver jewellery.

Bacalar travel guide: the Lake of Seven Colours, sailing the lagoon, and the slow-travel alternative to the Riviera Maya crowds.

Campeche: Mexico's most colourful fortified city, pirate history, intact colonial walls, and the least-visited UNESCO town on the Yucatán Peninsula.

Cancun guide: Hotel Zone beaches, cenotes from MXN 150, Isla Mujeres day trips, snorkelling, and the Riviera Maya gateway. Hotels and costs.

Cozumel guide: world-class diving in the Mesoamerican Reef, snorkelling, the San Gervasio Maya site, and the island's beaches.

Holbox guide: car-free island, whale shark swimming, bioluminescent plankton, flamingos, and the Yucatán's quietest beach escape.

Isla Mujeres guide: Playa Norte, golf carts, whale sharks, snorkelling, and a quieter Caribbean island 30 minutes from Cancún.

Mérida travel guide: colonial centre, Yucatecan food, cenotes, and using the capital of Yucatán as a base for Chichén Itzá and Uxmal.

Playa del Carmen guide: Fifth Avenue, Cozumel ferry, cenotes, and why this Riviera Maya town works better than Cancún for most travellers.

Tulum travel guide: clifftop Maya ruins, cenotes, jungle hotels, and what the Tulum Corridor actually looks like for independent travellers.

Valladolid guide: colonial city between Cancún and Chichén Itzá, cenote Zaci, Ek Balam ruins, and the Yucatán's most affordable base.

Huatulco guide: nine bays, snorkelling, coffee plantation tours, eco-tourism, and Oaxaca's planned Pacific resort town done better than expected.

Los Cabos guide: El Arco, desert beaches, sport fishing, whale sharks, and the key differences between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.

Mazatlán guide: Mexico's most underrated Pacific coast city, a restored old town, long malecón, good seafood, and surf beaches near the marina.

Puerto Escondido guide: the Mexican Pipeline surf break, Zicatela beach, bioluminescent lagoon, sea turtles, and Oaxacan Pacific coast life.

Puerto Vallarta guide: Malecón boardwalk, Zona Romántica, whale watching, jungle waterfalls, and Mexico's Pacific coast resort city.

Sayulita guide: surf village north of Puerto Vallarta, consistent beach break, whale watching, good food, and staying small despite the crowds.

Zihuatanejo is a Pacific fishing bay with calm beaches ideal for swimming, excellent fresh seafood, and the resort strip of Ixtapa five minutes away.

Monterrey guide: Mexico's industrial capital with good beer, mountains, Barrio Antiguo nightlife, and Fundidora Park in a former steel mill.

Palenque guide: the most atmospheric Maya site in Mexico, jungle-surrounded temples, the Tomb of Pakal, and waterfalls at Agua Azul and Misol-Há.

San Cristóbal de las Casas guide: highland Chiapas, Tzotzil Maya communities, Sumidero Canyon, Zapatista history, and cool mountain air.

Creel: gateway to Copper Canyon - Chepe Express from Chihuahua, viewpoints at Divisadero, Rarámuri craft markets, and overnight rim hikes.

La Paz guide: whale shark snorkelling, sea lion colonies, the Malecón, Espíritu Santo island, and Baja California Sur's most liveable city.

Pátzcuaro guide: Día de Muertos on Lake Pátzcuaro, the indigenous Purépecha culture, colonial plaza, and Janitzio island.

Querétaro guide: UNESCO colonial centre, the 74-arch aqueduct, cheese and wine route, and Peña de Bernal, with transport, costs and where to base.

Todos Santos is a Baja art town with surf breaks at Pescadero, seasonal whale watching, gallery openings, and a one-hour drive from Los Cabos airport.

Veracruz guide: Mexico's oldest port city, the Zócalo café scene, Gulf Coast seafood, jarocho music, and the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa.