Mexico · Local picks
100+ Places to Visit in Mexico
Our pick of places across Mexico, from famous museums, ruins and cenotes to market stalls, mezcal bars and quiet villages most visitors miss. Check opening days and book the popular ones ahead, especially in high season.
Places to Visit in Mexico City
Arts and Culture
- Museo Nacional de Antropología (Bosque de Chapultepec)
The finest collection of pre-Hispanic art in the Americas, including the Aztec Sun Stone. - Museo Frida Kahlo (Coyoacán)
The Blue House where Frida Kahlo was born and lived, best booked online well ahead. - Palacio de Bellas Artes (Centro Histórico)
A marble and art deco landmark with murals by Rivera and Siqueiros and the Ballet Folklórico on stage. - Museo Anahuacalli (Coyoacán)
Diego Rivera's volcanic stone temple to his pre-Hispanic collection, far from the crowds.
Things to Do
- Zócalo and Templo Mayor (Centro Histórico)
The vast main square beside the excavated ruins of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. - Xochimilco trajineras (Xochimilco)
Colourful flat boats drift along ancient canals with mariachis and food boats alongside. - Teotihuacán (Estado de México)
The Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, an easy day trip from the capital, best at opening time. - Arena México lucha libre (Doctores)
Masked wrestlers, roaring crowds and pure theatre on fight nights.
Nature and Outdoors
- Bosque de Chapultepec (Miguel Hidalgo)
A huge city park with a hilltop castle, lakes and several of the best museums.
Restaurants
- Taquería El Califa de León (San Rafael)
A tiny counter famed for its simple, perfect gaonera steak tacos. - El Huequito (Centro Histórico)
A long-running spot for tacos al pastor carved from the spit. - Contramar (Roma Norte)
A buzzing long-lunch seafood favourite, known for its red and green grilled fish. - Rosetta (Roma Norte)
Elegant Mexican cooking in a romantic old mansion, with a much-loved bakery nearby.
Cafés
- Panadería Rosetta (Roma Norte)
The guava and cheese roll and the cardamom bun are worth the queue. - Café de Tacuba (Centro Histórico)
A grand old café dining room serving Mexican breakfasts and hot chocolate since the early 1900s.
Bars and Nightlife
- Bar La Ópera (Centro Histórico)
An ornate old cantina where, legend says, Pancho Villa shot a hole in the ceiling. - Licorería Limantour (Roma Norte)
A lively cocktail bar that put the city on the world drinks map.
Shopping and Markets
- Mercado de San Juan (Centro Histórico)
A food market for adventurous eaters, with exotic meats, cheeses and stalls to taste at. - La Ciudadela crafts market (Centro)
Crafts from across the country under one roof, good for gifts before you fly home.
Events
- Día de Muertos parade (Paseo de la Reforma)
A huge parade of skeletons, floats and marigolds in the days before 2 November.
Places to Visit in Oaxaca
Arts and Culture
- Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Centro)
A dazzling gold baroque church beside the city's cultural museum and ethnobotanical garden. - Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca (Centro)
Set in the former convent of Santo Domingo, with treasures from Monte Albán.
Nature and Outdoors
- Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca (Centro)
A walled garden of native plants seen only on guided tours. - Hierve el Agua (San Isidro Roaguía)
Mineral springs that look like frozen waterfalls, with pools on the cliff edge. - Árbol del Tule (Santa María del Tule)
A cypress with one of the widest trunks in the world, in a village churchyard.
Things to Do
- Monte Albán (Valles Centrales)
The Zapotec hilltop city with sweeping views over the three valleys. - Mitla archaeological site (Mitla)
Zapotec ruins known for their intricate stone mosaics.
Shopping and Markets
- Mercado 20 de Noviembre (Centro)
Choose your meat in the smoky grill hall and eat it with tortillas and salsa. - Mercado Benito Juárez (Centro)
Chocolate, chapulines, mezcal and every chilli you can name. - Tlacolula Sunday market (Tlacolula de Matamoros)
One of the oldest and liveliest weekly markets in the valleys. - San Bartolo Coyotepec (Valles Centrales)
The village of black clay pottery, with family workshops to visit. - Teotitlán del Valle (Valles Centrales)
Zapotec weaving village where families dye wool with natural colours.
Restaurants
- Casa Oaxaca (Centro)
Chef Alejandro Ruiz's modern Oaxacan cooking with a terrace view of Santo Domingo. - Criollo (Centro)
A celebrated tasting menu restaurant in a calm courtyard.
Cafés
Bars and Nightlife
- Mezcaloteca (Centro)
A tasting room that explains small batch mezcal by producer and agave. - In Situ (Centro)
A huge mezcal library and a friendly place to learn the difference between agaves.
Events
- Guelaguetza (Cerro del Fortín)
The July festival of dance and music from Oaxaca's regions.
Places to Visit in Mérida
Things to Do
- Paseo de Montejo (Centro)
A grand boulevard of mansions built in the henequen boom. - Chichén Itzá (Tinum)
The great Maya city and its pyramid of El Castillo, best at opening time. - Uxmal (Ruta Puuc)
Elegant Puuc style ruins and the rounded Pyramid of the Magician. - Izamal (Izamal)
The yellow town, with a vast convent and pyramids in the streets. - Valladolid (Valladolid)
A colourful colonial town with a cenote right in the centre.
Arts and Culture
- Gran Museo del Mundo Maya (Norte)
A modern museum that brings Maya history and life to life. - Casa de Montejo (Plaza Grande)
A conquistador's house with a striking carved façade, now a free museum.
Nature and Outdoors
- Cenotes de Cuzamá (Cuzamá)
Underground swimming holes reached by horse drawn cart on old rail tracks. - Celestún (Celestún)
Boat trips to see flamingos in a coastal biosphere reserve. - Ek Balam (Temozón)
Ruins with a remarkably preserved stucco jaguar mouth and a nearby cenote. - Las Coloradas (Río Lagartos)
Pink salt lagoons near flamingo flats on the north coast.
Restaurants
- La Chaya Maya (Centro)
A classic place to try cochinita pibil, sopa de lima and papadzules. - Manjar Blanco (Centro)
Home style Yucatecan food in a pretty colonial house. - Mercado Lucas de Gálvez (Centro)
The city's main market, with cheap breakfasts of panuchos and salbutes.
Cafés
- Marquesitas on Plaza Grande (Centro)
Crisp rolled crêpes with cheese, a favourite evening snack.
Bars and Nightlife
- La Negrita (Centro)
A lively old cantina with live son and salsa in the afternoons.
Stays
- Hacienda Temozón (Ruta Puuc)
A restored henequen hacienda turned quiet country hotel.
Places to Visit in Cancún
Nature and Outdoors
- Isla Mujeres (Isla Mujeres)
A short ferry to a laid back island with the calm, clear Playa Norte. - Isla Holbox (Holbox)
A car free island for whale sharks in season and bioluminescent beaches. - Playa Delfines (Zona Hotelera)
A wide public beach with the famous Cancún sign. - Isla Contoy (Isla Contoy)
A protected bird island with limited daily visitors. - Cenote Azul (Riviera Maya)
An open air swimming cenote that is good for families. - Cozumel (Cozumel)
An island known for world class reef diving and calm snorkelling.
Arts and Culture
- MUSA underwater museum (Isla Mujeres)
Hundreds of sculptures on the seabed, seen by snorkel or dive. - Museo Maya de Cancún (Zona Hotelera)
A good museum with ruins in its grounds, a calm break from the beach. - Cobá (Cobá)
Jungle ruins you explore by bike, with the tall Nohoch Mul pyramid.
Things to Do
- Xcaret (Playa del Carmen)
A big eco park with underground rivers and an evening show of Mexican history. - Puerto Morelos reef (Puerto Morelos)
Snorkel a protected reef from a quiet fishing village. - Playa del Carmen Quinta Avenida (Playa del Carmen)
A pedestrian street for strolling, eating and people watching.
Restaurants
- Parque de las Palapas (Centro)
Evening food stalls with marquesitas, tacos and families. - La Habichuela (Centro)
A garden restaurant with Caribbean and Mexican dishes. - Mercado 28 (Centro)
Souvenir stalls and simple local restaurants in downtown Cancún. - Taquería El Fogón (Playa del Carmen)
Busy, cheap taquería beloved for its al pastor.
Bars and Nightlife
- Coco Bongo (Zona Hotelera)
A huge party show club with acrobats and live tribute acts.
Places to Visit in Tulum
Things to Do
- Tulum archaeological site (Tulum)
Maya ruins on a cliff above a turquoise sea, best at opening time. - Akumal Bay (Akumal)
Snorkel with sea turtles over seagrass, with authorised guides. - Cenote Calavera (Tulum)
A small cenote where you jump in through holes in the rock.
Nature and Outdoors
- Gran Cenote (Tulum)
A clear cenote with caves, turtles and snorkelling through the rocks. - Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (Sian Ka'an)
Lagoons, mangroves and dolphins in a vast protected area. - Cenote Dos Ojos (Tulum)
Two linked cenotes famous for snorkelling and cave diving. - Laguna Kaan Luum (Tulum)
A turquoise lagoon with a deep dark sinkhole at its centre. - Bacalar Lagoon (Bacalar)
The lagoon of seven colours, a calm few hours south. - Playa Paraíso (Tulum)
A classic white sand beach near the ruins.
Restaurants
- Antojitos La Chiapaneca (Tulum Pueblo)
Cheap, busy tacos al pastor in the town centre. - Hartwood (Zona Hotelera)
Wood fired cooking under the stars in the beach jungle. - Arca (Zona Hotelera)
Creative Mexican cooking over an open fire. - Taquería Honorio (Tulum Pueblo)
Yucatecan breakfast tacos of cochinita and lechón.
Bars and Nightlife
- Batey (Tulum Pueblo)
A lively bar with live music and mojitos made with sugar cane pressed in an old VW Beetle.
Arts and Culture
- Muyil (Sian Ka'an)
Quiet Maya ruins on the edge of the reserve, with a float down a canal.
Stays
- Azulik (Zona Hotelera)
Treehouse style villas built from wood and vines above the beach.
Places to Visit in San Miguel de Allende
Arts and Culture
- Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel (Centro)
The pink neo Gothic church that is the symbol of the town. - Santuario de Atotonilco (Atotonilco)
A UNESCO listed sanctuary covered in murals, called Mexico's Sistine Chapel.
Things to Do
- El Jardín (Centro)
The main square, the place to sit and watch the town go by. - Cañada de la Virgen (San Miguel de Allende)
An Otomí pyramid site in a quiet valley, by guided visit. - Guanajuato (Guanajuato)
A colourful university city of tunnels and alleys, an easy day trip. - Dolores Hidalgo (Dolores Hidalgo)
Birthplace of Mexican independence, famous for odd ice cream flavours.
Nature and Outdoors
- El Charco del Ingenio (San Miguel de Allende)
A botanical garden and canyon reserve on the edge of town. - La Gruta hot springs (Carretera a Dolores)
Thermal pools and a warm grotto for a relaxed day.
Shopping and Markets
- Fábrica La Aurora (Aurora)
An old textile mill turned art and design centre. - Mercado de Artesanías (Centro)
A lane of stalls with tin work, glass and textiles.
Restaurants
- The Restaurant (Centro)
A courtyard restaurant with creative cooking. - Áperi (Centro)
Inventive tasting menus in Dos Casas hotel. - Mercado Ignacio Ramírez (Centro)
A local market for fruit, juice and cheap comida corrida.
Cafés
- Lavanda Café (Centro)
A favourite for coffee and breakfast, with a queue to prove it.
Bars and Nightlife
Events
- Fiesta de San Miguel Arcángel (Centro)
The September festival with fireworks, dancers and processions. - Callejoneadas in Guanajuato (Guanajuato)
Student minstrels lead singing walks through the alleys at night.
Stays
- Rosewood San Miguel de Allende (Centro)
A luxury hotel with a rooftop bar overlooking the Parroquia. - Casa de Sierra Nevada (Centro)
A collection of colonial houses turned into a historic hotel.
Places to Visit in Guadalajara
Things to Do
- Tequila town and agave fields (Tequila)
The UNESCO listed agave landscape and the distilleries of Tequila. - Tlaquepaque (Tlaquepaque)
Galleries, crafts and mariachi in a pretty old town.
Arts and Culture
- Hospicio Cabañas (Centro)
A vast former orphanage with Orozco's fiery murals.
Restaurants
- Tortas ahogadas at Mercado San Juan de Dios (Centro)
The city's famous drowned sandwich in a huge market.
More to Explore
We are still checking these with fresh sources, so confirm opening times before you go.
- Casa Polanco (Polanco, Mexico City)
A small, refined hotel in a 1940s mansion facing Lincoln Park. - Tlayudas Libres (Centro, Oaxaca)
Late night tlayudas grilled over charcoal on the street. - Noche Mexicana (Paseo de Montejo, Mérida)
Free weekend music and dance shows with food stalls. - Pok ta Pok ball game (Plaza Grande, Mérida)
A re-enactment of the ancient Maya ball game in the main square. - Del Cielo (Tulum Pueblo, Tulum)
Popular breakfasts and good coffee. - Tulum Pueblo guesthouses (Tulum Pueblo, Tulum)
Staying in town is far cheaper and close to the bus station.