Gorgeous beaches, a delicious culinary scene, festive culture and ancient pyramids all make Mexico a popular tourist destination. Mexico is a land of color and contrasts. Crowded beaches lead into quiet colonial towns while resort cities open gateways to jungles ringing with parrots and howler monkeys. Majestic mountains descend to remote deserts. Traditional pueblo houses sit near Spanish haciendas. Ruins of Mayan cities lie excavated outside of modern metropolises. This video offers a look at some of the best places to visit in Mexico.
An Outdoor Life
With steaming jungles, snow-capped volcanoes, cactus-strewn deserts and 10,000km of coast strung with sandy beaches and wildlife-rich lagoons, Mexico is an endless adventure for the senses and a place where life is lived largely in the open air. Harness the pounding waves of the Pacific on a surfboard, strap on a snorkel to explore the beauty beneath the surface of the Caribbean Sea and ride the white-water of Mexico's rivers. Or stay on dry land and hike Oaxaca's mountain cloud forests, scale the peaks of dormant volcanoes or marvel at millions of migrating Monarch butterflies.
Art & Soul of a Nation
Palm-fringed beaches, chili-spiced cuisine, steamy jungles, teeming cities, fiesta fireworks: Mexico conjures diverse, vivid dreams – and then delivers them.
A Varied Palate
Mexico's gastronomic repertoire is as diverse as the country's people and topography. Dining out is an endless adventure, whether you're sampling regional dishes, such as Yucatán's cochinita pibil (slow-cooked pork) or a vast array of moles (complex sauces, their recipes jealously guarded) in Oaxaca and Puebla, or trying the complex, artsy concoctions of world-class chefs in Mexico City. Some of Mexico's best eating is had at simple seafront palapa (thatched-roof shack) restaurants, serving achingly fresh fish and seafood, and the humble taquerías, ubiquitous all over Mexico, where tortillas are stuffed with a variety of fillings and slathered with homemade salsas.
Los Mexicanos
At the heart of your Mexican experience will be the Mexican people. A super-diverse crew, from Mexico City hipsters to the shy indigenous villagers of Chiapas, they’re renowned for their love of color and frequent fiestas, but they're also philosophical folk, to whom timetables are less important than simpatía (empathy). You'll rarely find Mexicans less than courteous. They’re more often positively charming and know how to please guests. They might despair of ever being well governed, but they're fiercely proud of Mexico, their one-of-a-kind homeland with all its variety, tight-knit family networks, beautiful-ugly cities, deep-rooted traditions, and agave-based liquors.
From the Lonely Planet