Xilitla
Take a wealthy English eccentric, an idyllic tract of Mexican jungle and an extremely hyperactive imagination, and you’d still struggle to come up with…
Must-see attractions in Northern Central Highlands
La Huasteca Potosina
Like something from a tropical postcard, Tamul is easily the Huasteca Potosina’s most spectacular waterfall. Milky-blue water plunges 105m into the…
Guanajuato State
Cañada de la Virgen is an intriguing pre-Hispanic pyramid complex and former ritual and ceremonial location, dating from around AD 300 and in use until…
San Luis Potosí
This excellent museum devoted to the work of Mexican artist Federico Silva (b 1923) should not be missed. The 17th-century building was once a hospital…
San Luis Potosí
This superb museum displays a fascinating collection of ceremonial masks from across Mexico and around the world, and does a good job at explaining the…
Aguascalientes State
The excellent Museo Nacional de la Muerte exhibits all things relating to Mexico's favorite subject – death – from the skeleton La Catrina to historic…
La Huasteca Potosina
This huge jungle-fringed sinkhole is home to tens of thousands of swifts as well as many green parrots, and at dawn and dusk they surge in or out of the…
Guanajuato
Diego Rivera's birthplace is now an excellent museum honoring the famous artist, who was persona non grata here for years. Rivera and his twin brother…
Guanajuato
Don’t leave Guanajuato without visiting the magnificent Teatro Juárez. It was built between 1873 and 1903 and inaugurated by the dictator Porfirio Díaz,…
Guanajuato
On a hill overlooking Guanajuato, 5km north of the center, is the magnificent Templo La Valenciana. Its facade is spectacular and its interior dazzles…
Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato
Guanajuato
The attractive orange-yellow Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato contains a jewel-covered image of the Virgin, patron of Guanajuato. The wooden…
Querétaro
While a museum of calendars might not sound riveting, this extraordinary museum is unexpectedly interesting. It takes a wide angle view of calendars and…
Zacatecas
The excellent Museo Rafael Coronel is not to be missed. Imaginatively housed in the ruins of the lovely 16th-century Ex-Convento de San Francisco, it…
La Huasteca Potosina
The stunning cascades of Minas Viejas are well worth the 78km trip northwest from Ciudad Valles, if only to see the gorgeous turquoise waters here. The…
Museo Histórico de San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende
This is the house where Mexican independence hero Ignacio Allende was born in 1769, a fact that draws a steady stream of Mexican pilgrims year-round. The…
Zacatecas
The Museo Pedro Coronel is housed in a 17th-century former Jesuit college and is one of provincial Mexico's best art museums. Pedro Coronel (1923−85) was…
Xilitla
British-born but Mexican at heart, Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) was one of the last surrealist artists and a key player in the Mexican women's…
Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra Gorda
Northern Central Highlands
The Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra Gorda, in the rugged Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, covers a huge swath of the northeastern third of Querétaro…
Northern Central Highlands
The remote and scenic ruins of La Quemada stand on a hill 45km south of Zacatecas. The exact history and purpose of the site are extremely vague and many…
Guanajuato
This famous museum is one of the most bizarre (some might say distasteful) sights in Mexico. The popular attraction is a quintessential example of Mexico…
San Miguel de Allende
Located near the east end of Insurgentes, this multitowered and domed church dates from the 18th century. The pale-pink main facade is baroque with an…
Guanajuato
The monument to El Pípila honors the hero who torched the Alhóndiga gates on September 28, 1810, enabling Hidalgo's forces to win the first victory of the…
Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel
San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel's most famous sight is its parish church, characterized by its pink 'wedding cake' towers that soar above the town. These strange pinnacles…
Zacatecas
The most appealing of the many explanations for the name of the hill that dominates Zacatecas is that bufa is an old Basque word for wineskin, which is…
Bocamina de San Ramón & Bocamina de San Cayetano
Guanajuato
These neighboring mines are part of the famous Valenciana mining district. Silver was discovered here in 1548. At San Ramón you can descend via steps into…
Museo del Pueblo de Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Located beside the university, this fascinating art museum displays an exquisite collection of Mexican miniatures, and 18th- and 19th-century artworks by…
Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Dolores
Dolores Hidalgo
The Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Dolores is the church where Hidalgo issued the famous Grito (a call to arms for the country's independence) and is the…
San Miguel de Allende
Known as Mexico's Sistine Chapel, this vitally important church in the hamlet of Atotonilco, 11km north of San Miguel, is defined by its connection to the…
Dolores Hidalgo
The first and biggest winery in Guanajuato opened in 2005, heralding the reintroduction of wine production in the area 200 years after the Spanish banned…
San Miguel de Allende
This former monastery was converted into a fine-arts school in 1938. Don't miss the murals of Pedro Martínez, plus the Siqueiros Room, which features the…
Zacatecas
Visiting one of Mexico's richest mines (1586−1960s) provides an insight into a source of wealth and the terrible price paid for it. Digging for hoards of…
San Miguel de Allende
The shady Parque Benito Juárez is a lovely place to relax and meander through, with benches, well-maintained pathways and a popular play area for children.
Guanajuato
Built in 1663 by members of St Diego of Alcántara, the facade – carved pink quarry stone – exemplifies Mexican Churriqueresque and is quite lovely.
San Miguel de Allende
One of the best views over the town and surrounding country is from the mirador southeast of town.
Jardín Botánico El Charco del Ingenio
San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel's 88-hectare botanical garden is also a wildlife and bird sanctuary. Pathways head through wetlands and magnificent areas of cacti and native…
Templo y Convento de la Santa Cruz
Querétaro
One of the city's most interesting sights, this convent was built between 1654 and about 1815 on the site of a battle in which a miraculous appearance of…
Zacatecas
Built between 1729 and 1752, the pink-stone cathedral is an ultimate expression of Mexican baroque. The stupendous main facade is a wall of detailed…
La Huasteca Potosina
The extraordinary limestone sinkhole, known as Swallows’ Cave, is located near Aquismón. One of the world’s deepest pits at over 500m (over 370m free fall…
Templo de la Purísima Concepción
San Luis Potosí State
This impressive neoclassical church is where thousands of Mexican pilgrims descend annually in a pilgrimage (late September to early October) to the…
La Esquina: Museo del Juguete Popular Mexicano
San Miguel de Allende
This bright, modern museum is a must-visit for all kids, big or small. The toy collection of museum owner Angélica Tijerina has taken over half a century…
