In my mind, there is no doubt that Mexico is one of the world’s great travel destinations. Few countries offer such a wide range of experiences, from enormous cities and colonial towns to ancient civilizations, tropical beaches, deserts, jungles, volcanoes, and mountains. Mexico’s food, history, and culture alone could justify multiple trips, while its landscapes offer everything from diving and caving to hiking and high-altitude climbing.
Mexico also has an incredible amount of archaeological history. The Maya, Aztec, and many civilizations that came before them left behind cities, pyramids, temples, and artifacts throughout the country. Unfortunately, Mexico’s reputation as a travel destination has also been affected by cartel violence and organized crime. Conditions vary greatly depending on the region, so I think Mexico is a place where travelers should understand where they’re going and use common sense rather than judging the entire country by its most dangerous areas.
Explore Mexico City
Mexico City is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the cultural and political heart of the country. The city offers almost everything I look for when traveling: enormous neighborhoods to explore, nightlife, museums, historic architecture, archaeological sites, and modern skyscrapers. Its history stretches from the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan through the Spanish colonial period and into one of the world’s great modern cities.
Explore Cuernavaca
Nicknamed the City of Eternal Spring, Cuernavaca is famous for the mild climate it enjoys throughout much of the year. Its pleasant weather has long attracted wealthy residents and visitors from Mexico City, but the area’s history goes back much further. Cuernavaca was already an important settlement before the Spanish arrived, and today the city combines that long history with gardens, colonial architecture, museums, and a much more relaxed atmosphere than nearby Mexico City.
Explore Taxco
Taxco is one of the most picturesque cities I’ve visited in Mexico. Built across steep hills, the city is filled with narrow streets, whitewashed buildings, historic churches, and views across the surrounding mountains. Taxco became famous for the silver mined in the region, and that tradition continues through the city’s numerous silver shops and jewelry makers. Between the mountain setting and colonial architecture, simply walking through Taxco is one of its biggest attractions.
Explore Teotihuacan
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Teotihuacan was one of the largest cities in the world, with a population generally estimated to have reached well over 100,000 people at its height. The civilization that built the city remains mysterious, and Teotihuacan was already ancient by the time the Aztecs encountered its ruins centuries later.
Today its enormous archaeological complex includes the Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon, Avenue of the Dead, residential compounds, murals, and the remains of temples and ceremonial structures. Of all the historical sites I’ve visited in Mexico, Teotihuacan is one of the clearest demonstrations of just how advanced and enormous the civilizations of pre-Columbian Mexico could become.
