9 must-visit cities in Mexico

Mexico City, the third-largest metro area in the world, can be overwhelming, but it's one of the most tourist-friendly cities with numerous muesum and restaurants. Mexico City, the third-largest metro area in the world, can be overwhelming, but it's one of the most tourist-friendly cities with numerous muesum and restaurants. Photo: Christine Delsol, Special To SFGate Photo: Christine Delsol, Special To SFGate Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close 9 must-visit cities in Mexico 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

Much as I love Mexico, I'm not a beach person. This actually serves me well, since the beaches draw the vast majority of foreign tourists. I always seem to gravitate to the country's mid-sized towns, large enough to have comfortable lodging and ATM machines but still concerned more with everyday life than luring tourists. But every time I find myself in one of its large cities, I'm bowled over by the magnitude of their history, their diversity and, often, their beauty.

For travelers who are ready to shower off the sand and delve into the cultural brew of Mexico's cities, here are my flat-out favorites.

Mexico City

The nation's sophisticated capital, third-largest metro area in the world, is a captivating fusion of the ancient and the modern. Yes, it can be overwhelming, but you can find a lifetime of places to explore just in the historic center and surrounding areas. Its onetime reputation for pollution and crime belongs to history; this is one of the most tourist-friendly cities in the world, even providing insurance for every visitor. Mexico City is home to well over 100 museums, second only to Paris, and innovative restaurants perfecting every cuisine known to Mexico. It also has at least a week's worth of diversions just for children. The city was built on top of the original Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, which has gradually been excavated right off the zocalo (central square); visitors can also sample the ancient Aztec city in the southern borough of Xochimilco, where open-air boats tour a remnant of the original builders' network of canals and gardens.

Puebla

Travelers who find Mexico City too big and intimidating might cut their teeth on Puebla. One of the country's oldest cities, with a strong local culture, this is a colonial showpiece with a large historic center full of imposing Baroque and Moorish cathedrals and an array of extraordinary museums. Its restaurants have made Puebla the mole poblano, chiles en nogada and chalupas capital of Mexico. You want more? The city center is resplendent with talavera pottery and tile, and it is ground zero for Cinco de Mayo, the holiday that celebrates Battle of Puebla. All against the dramatic backdrop of Mexico's famous twin volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl.

Merida

Merida has been the cultural and financial hub of the Yucatan Peninsula ever since the Spanish destroyed original Maya city and built their own walled city on top of it, using the limestone bricks of the old city. Several of the old Spanish gates remain in a historic district larger than any other in Mexico except for the capital. Ancient Maya history and contemporary Maya culture meld easily with iPad-toting young people in this hospitable city of narrow streets lined by ornate, European-designed buildings interrupted by mini plazas every few blocks. A flurry of renovation has restored much of colonial splendor, and the city provides free entertainment – both traditional and contemporary – every night of the week. Merida also holds one of Mexico's biggest Carnival celebrations.

Queretaro

This former mission headquarters and mining city boasts an immaculately preserved downtown adorned with 17th and 18th century buildings, quaint colonial-era plazas and lovely andadores, or pedestrian walkways, which are well used for evening promenades. The geometric street plan laid out by the Spanish exists side by side with the Indian quarters' sinuous alleys, reflecting the peaceful coexistence of the Otomi, Tarasco and Chichimeca Indians with the Spanish. History buffs have a field day here; while Queretaro takes particular pride in being the place where rebels secretly planned to overthrow Spanish rule in 1810, it is also the site of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the execution of Austrian Archduke Maximilian in 1867 and the signing of the Mexican Constitution in 1917. Its Historic Monuments Zone, full of ornate Baroque architecture, was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996.

Mazatlan

The "Pearl of the Pacific" is Mexico's only beach destination that remains just as much a traditional colonial city as it is a resort area. Despite its lust-worthy 16 miles of golden beaches, Mazatlan's primary occupation is its thriving fishing industry – it's one of the Pacific's largest shrimp producers – which makes it refreshingly Mexican. The center of its revitalized Centro Historico is the Plazuela Machado, the Spanish settlement's original zocalo, where cafes, nightclubs and crafts galleries have awakened slumbering 19th century buildings. The historic center and long, monument-studded malecon has hosted an arts renaissance in recent decades, and the city hosts the biggest Carnival celebration in Mexico.

Oaxaca

Home to some of Mexico's finest handicrafts, including the unique barro negro (black clay) pottery and alebrijes (intricate and brilliantly painted animal carvings), Oaxaca seamlessly melds its Zapotec and colonial past with its vibrant present-day culture. Everyday life is laced with fiestas, including the unique Guelaguetza celebration of traditional dance and Christmas-time Noche de Rabanos (Night of the Radishes). Its long list of culinary specialties, including rich mole and chapulines (spicy fried grasshoppers) make it one of the country's best places to take a cooking class. While much of the city's beauty is the legacy of three centuries of colonial society, it is surrounded by intriguing archaeological sites such as Monte Alban, one of Mexico's most important ruins.

Campeche

Perfectly outlined by the remains of the old city wall built in the 17th century to combat decades of plunder by pirates and buccaneers, the meticulously restored historic center of Campeche is a colonial time warp. Most colonial centers are a work in progress, their refreshed facades alternating with crumbling ruins. In Campeche, every building in all 40 blocks, along with the malecon (seafront walkway) and an increasing number of blocks outside the old walls, has been restored. The baluartes (bastions) now house exhibitions and a botanical garden, and two old forts a short distance beyond the wall's footprint have become museums of anthropology and colonial history. It's an extremely affordable city whose tourist infrastructure has made great strides in recent years, all the while maintaining its focus on local life.

San Cristobal de las Casas

Lying in a valley high (6,890 feet) in the pine-covered mountains of Chiapas, San Cristobal is one of Mexico's best-preserved colonial towns, a vision of white stucco buildings crowned with red-tile roofs, narrow sidewalks lining cobbled streets and colorful markets in numerous open plazas. Its exceptional scenic beauty and cosmopolitan lodging, cafes and nightlife plays second fiddle only to the opportunity to mingle with the highland Maya, both in the city and in outlying villages. Visiting the villages with a local guide can often gain you entrance into homes where Indian women weave their textiles and straw hats or work at other crafts.

Guanajuato

Guanajuato is the prettiest of the old silver cities that grew from the mining camps northwest of Mexico City. Narrow, music-filled streets curl and climb up and down the hilly landscape, leading to flower-festooned pastel houses, museums, old fountains and tiny plazas in unlikely corners. The only way to appreciate it is to walk, which is easier since the city diverted the Centro's traffic underground through stone tunnels once used for mining. It's also a college town with a wide variety of cultural offerings, and the culture here is as quirky as its street plan. Don Quixote and independence hero Pipila, whose 30-foot statue rises from a hill towering above the city, are revered in equal measure, and the Museo de Las Momias (Mummy Museum) is one of its biggest tourist attractions.

