Driving To Mexico Places To See

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Places To See In Mexico

There are many places to see in Mexico. Options range from costal cities to former Arabic cities to tropical islands.

Mexico City: Mexico City is a place to love and loathe, with everything you'd expect to find in the world's third-largest metropolis (only Tokyo and NYC are bigger).

Teotihuacán: Some of Mexico's best attractions are only a day trip from Mexico City. If there is any �must see� in this region it has to be Teotihuacán, just 50km (31mi) northeast of the capital. Teotihuacán was Mexico's biggest ancient city and the capital of the country's largest pre-Hispanic empire, boasting 200,000 inhabitants at its peak in the 6th century.

Baja California: With Tijuana as its frontier post, Baja is the epitome of 'south of the border'. The peninsula is renowned for its long coastline of fine white beaches, peaceful bays and imposing cliffs, sharply contrasting with the harsh and undeveloped interior.

Chihuahua-Pacific Railway: Mexico's most scenic railway connects Los Mochis on the Pacific coast with Chihuahua in the country's arid inland. The route takes 14 to 16 hours, and includes several stops in the fabled Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) - actually a group of 20 canyons, and all up four times larger than the Grand Canyon. The 655km (406mi) train line passes through 86 tunnels and over 39 bridges as it cuts through the Sierra Tarahumara's sheer canyons, hugging the sides of towering cliffs and offering dizzying glimpses of river beds far below.

Puerto Vallarta: Cobble-stoned and whitewashed Puerto Vallarta is one of the central Pacific coast's best-known beach resorts. Nestled beside the Río Caule, between palm-covered mountains and flanking the azure Bahía de las Banderas (Bay of Flags), the city boasts a picturesque setting with white-sand beaches and red-tiled houses of white adobe.

Guadalajara: Many of the traditions considered characteristically 'Mexican' were created in Guadalajara, the country's second-largest city. Guadalajara can be held responsible for the mixed blessings of mariachi music, tequila, the Mexican Hat Dance, broad-brimmed sombrero hats and the Mexican rodeo.

Acapulco: White-sand beaches, high-rise hotels, nightlife that glitters and the divers of La Quebrada - these are the postcard images of Acapulco, the granddaddy of the Pacific coast's resort cities, where tourism has been the number-one industry since the 1950s.

Oaxaca: This Spanish-built city of narrow streets has a special atmosphere - at once relaxed and energetic, remote and cosmopolitan. Situated in the rugged southern state of the same name, Oaxaca has a large indigenous population, flourishing markets and some superb colonial architecture.

Yucatan Peninsula: Cross the Río Usumacinta into Yucatán, and you enter the realm of the Maya. Heirs to a glorious and often violent history, the Maya live today where their ancestors lived a millennium ago.

Puebla: The Spanish colonial flavor is particularly piquant in the old city of Puebla, 125km (77mi) east of Mexico City. Despite the ravages of the 1999 earthquake, Puebla is home to more than 70 churches and a thousand other colonial buildings, many of them adorned with the city's famous hand-painted tiles (azulejos).

Álamos: This tranquil little town in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental has been declared a national historic monument. Back in the 18th century Álamos was a silver boom town of gorgeous mansions and haciendas, but by the 1920s it had declined into a forgotten backwater. An injection of expat norteamericano funds gave the dilapidated ghost town a much-needed facelift, and today Álamos' Spanish colonial buildings have been beautifully restored.

Pátzcuaro: Pátzcuaro boasts some particularly stately colonial architecture, but the town's major claim to fame is its candlelit Day of the Dead celebrations on November 2. The local Purépechas' celebrations have an especially magical quality and notably pre-Hispanic undertones. Graveyards are lit with candles, decorated with altars of marigolds and filled with traditional dancers and musicians.

San Cristóbal de las casas: This handsome colonial town in the pine-clad Valle de Jovel is surrounded by the classic Mayan villages of the Chiapas highlands. It's a delightful place and a magnet for travelers who want to learn a little Spanish, absorb the bohemian atmosphere and enjoy the lively bar and music scene.

About Mexico Travel - Places To See