Charming old-world towns in Mexico off the beaten path.
Less-touristed old-world towns in Mexico, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
San Carlos
On the Sea of Cortez coast in Sonora, Mexico, San Carlos is a tiny beach town designated a Pueblo Mágico in 2023, known for clear, warm water in its shallow…
Victoria de Durango
Founded in 1563 by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Ibarra, Victoria de Durango is the highland capital of Mexico's Durango state, set in the Valley of Guad…
Cholula
Cholula's Great Pyramid — the largest pyramid by volume in the world, with the colonial Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios built on its summit — ancho…
Zamora de Hidalgo
The Santuario Guadalupano, a neo-Gothic church said to be the tallest in Mexico and among the tallest in the Americas, dominates the skyline of this mid-size…
Valladolid
Walkable Yucatán town with a dense food-and-drink scene, a concentration of historic churches, and strong photographic appeal, Valladolid sits in the eastern…
Xalapa
A mountain capital in central Veracruz state with one of Mexico's densest café and restaurant scenes and the oldest symphony orchestra in the country, Xalapa…
Córdoba
Founded in 1618 by thirty Spanish noblemen — earning it the nickname "City of the Thirty Knights" — Córdoba is a colonial city in the highlands of Veracruz,…
El Oro de Hidalgo
Designated a Pueblo Mágico by Mexico's tourism authority, El Oro de Hidalgo is a small colonial-era town in the State of Mexico whose architecture bears the…
Taxco
Taxco, a town in the Mexican state of Guerrero southwest of Mexico City, has been synonymous with silver for centuries — first as a major mining centre durin…
Alamos
Designated a Pueblo Mágico for its colonial architecture — and the first town in Sonora to receive that title — Álamos is a small city in the foothills of th…
Parras de la Fuente
Home to Casa Madero, the oldest winery in the Americas, Parras de la Fuente is a wine-producing town in southern Coahuila, Mexico, with vineyards spreading a…
Atlacomulco de Fabela
A lively Mexican town in the State of Mexico highlands, where a stone kiosk anchors a well-kept central plaza ringed by arcaded colonial-style buildings, bac…
Valle de Bravo
A lakeside town in the State of Mexico, Valle de Bravo sits on the shore of Lake Avándaro — a reservoir created in 1947 — with a walkable colonial centre ful…
Real de Catorce
Once a booming silver-mining settlement high in the Sierra de Catorce of northern San Luis Potosí, Real de Catorce has reinvented itself as a destination aft…
Orizaba
This Pueblo Mágico city in Veracruz, Orizaba sits along rivers and parks in the highland mountains between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz, with a walka…
Santa Clara del Cobre
Copper craftsmanship rooted in the pre-Hispanic Purépecha tradition defines this compact Pueblo Mágico in Michoacán, Mexico, near the shores of Lake Pátzcuar…
Tepetlixpa
A pocket-sized Mexican highland town where a bold terracotta-domed church, a stone-arched gateway, and cobblestone plazas form a compact colonial religious c…
Dolores Hidalgo
Declared by the Mexican Congress as the Cradle of National Independence, Dolores Hidalgo is a colonial town in the highlands of Guanajuato where, in the earl…
San Cristóbal de Las Casas
A highland city in Chiapas with an exceptionally dense café and restaurant scene, cobblestone streets, and a well-preserved Spanish colonial centre of red-ti…
Tequila
Tequila, a town in Jalisco roughly an hour from Guadalajara, is the birthplace of the spirit that carries its name — distilled from the blue agave plant nati…
Juchitán de Zaragoza
A Zapotec city in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of Oaxaca, Juchitán de Zaragoza is a centre of indigenous Zapotec culture, known for its traditional fest…
Chiapa de Corzo
Sitting on the bank of the Grijalva River in the Chiapas highlands, Chiapa de Corzo is a walkable Mexican town with a centre full of cafés and restaurants.
Acatzingo
Sitting in highland terrain between the volcanoes Citlaltépetl and Malinche, this town in Puebla state is anchored by a main plaza that holds the former Fran…
Aguascalientes City
Founded on October 22, 1575, near thermal springs that gave it its name — "hot waters" — Aguascalientes is a large city in north-central Mexico whose histori…
Atlixco
Flower production defines Atlixco, a city in the Mexican state of Puebla known informally as "the city of flowers," where ornamental plants and cut flowers a…
Jerez de Garcia Salinas
A Pueblo Mágico town in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, Jerez de García Salinas takes its full name from a 19th-century reformer and sits close to the state…
Joquicingo
A small upland town in Mexico State where a white-and-blue colonial church and domed chapel anchor a cobblestone plaza, backed by rolling hills under wide op…
Tequisquiapan
Founded in 1551 around natural hot springs in the state of Querétaro, Tequisquiapan is a colonial town with cobblestone streets, wrought iron fixtures, and a…
Apaseo el Grande
Guanajuato town where elaborately carved colonial stone facades — like the richly ornamented baroque doorway visible here — anchor a compact centre with café…
Capulalpam de Mendez
A modest Sierra Juárez town in Oaxaca designated as a Pueblo Mágico in 2007, Capulálpam de Méndez sits in the mountains of the Sierra Norte with cafés and re…
Tlaquepaque
Lively Mexican plaza anchors this Jalisco city, where a terracotta-domed bandstand, tree-lined walkways, and a red-tiled church tower set the scene for explo…
Irapuato
Irapuato, a city in Mexico's Guanajuato state, claims the title of world capital of strawberries and ranks among the country's leading strawberry producers.
Zongolica
A small mountain town in the highlands of Veracruz, Mexico, Zongolica sits in the central Sierra region southwest of Orizaba, with a modest café and restaura…
Palenque/Temp
A town in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, Palenque sits close to one of the country's most visited Maya archaeological sites, a UNESCO-recognised zone…
Malinalco
Malinalco holds one of Mexico's most striking Aztec monuments: the Cuauhcalli, or House of Eagles, a sanctuary for the Eagle and Jaguar warrior elite carved…
San Pablo Huitzo
Small Oaxacan town in Mexico's Valles Centrales, San Pablo Huitzo draws visitors with its striking colonial stone church — twin red-domed towers and a carved…
Acatlan de Juarez
This sun-drenched central plaza anchored by a tall colonial church tower and colorful painted lettering gives this Jalisco town a lively, walkable heart, wit…
San Luis Potosí
A large city in central Mexico whose historic centre was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 as part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, San Lui…
Izúcar de Matamoros
A mid-size Puebla city built around a broad stone plaza, where a cream-and-gold baroque church tower dominates the town center and the wider region offers up…
San Martin Texmelucan
This mid-sized Poblano city where a stone neo-Gothic church draped in colorful paper bunting anchors a historic centre, set within easy reach of Puebla, Tlax…
Izamal
Known as the Yellow City for its tradition of painting nearly all its buildings yellow, Izamal is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Amer…
Comitán de Domínguez
Birthplace of the writer Rosario Castellanos, whose novel *Balún Canán* takes its name from the city's ancient Maya designation meaning "place of the nine st…
Texcoco
Once a major Aztec city on the shores of Lake Texcoco, this city in the State of Mexico carries a deep pre-Hispanic past visible in sites such as the palace…
Cuetzalan
Founded by Franciscan friars in 1547, Cuetzalan is a colonial highland town in the hills of northern Puebla state, with steep cobblestone streets lined by wh…
Jojutla
This town in the southern part of Mexico's Morelos state known for the recreational water destinations around it, including Lake Tequesquitengo, with part of…
Morelia
Morelia's historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, recognised for its well-preserved colonial architecture in pink quarry stone — i…
Mitla
Mitla's pre-Hispanic archaeological ruins — built by the Zapotecs and later occupied by the Mixtecs, and known to the Aztecs as Mictlán, "land of the dead" —…
Papantla de Olarte
Founded in the 13th century by the Totonacs, Papantla de Olarte is a town in northern Veracruz known as the origin region of natural vanilla and home to the…
Jala
A compact Mexican town in Nayarit's dry mountain valley, with a church-anchored centre visible against dramatic bare ridgelines and agricultural fields stret…
Emiliano Zapata
This riverside town in Mexico's Tabasco state with a walkable centre and a café and restaurant scene, Emiliano Zapata sits along the Usumacinta river region…
Zacatecas
Founded as a Spanish silver-mining camp in 1546, Zacatecas grew so wealthy that it was considered the second most important city in New Spain — and its colon…
Santiago de Querétaro
A large Mexican city whose historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, Querétaro is dense with colonial churches and a well-developed…