From smog-choked Mexico City to the cartel-infested jungles of Tulum, Mexico can be a lot.
But hidden away from the tourist traps, from Baja to the Yucatan, are a rich collection of cultural gems.
In these pint-sized places, where honking car horns and screeching camote vendors fade into a concert of mariachi music and the faint barrage of marauding—even soothing—coyotes. Below is a look at Mexico’s best, quietest, and safest small towns.
Mission Possible
When rampant development along the southern tip of Baja gets too annoying, Todos Santos, an hour’s drive from San Jose del Cabo International Airport, beckons.
Founded as a mission 300 years ago, this once sleepy community, beloved by artists and cross-country surfers, has certainly been discovered, but not bombed – yet. Especially in the high season, and especially in the popular Los Cerritos beach, there is no shortage of tourists.
Fortunately, there are plenty of places to hide. Try one of the reimagined haciendas in the historic center or head to Villa Santa Cruz (from $700), a boutique hotel on the beautiful Playa Tortugas coast with oceanfront suites, bungalows and rooftop villas.
For ultimate relaxation, hit Paradero Todos Santos (from $600). It’s where guests go to enjoy the gorgeous views of the Baja desert in hammocks and hot tubs.
Mariachi mecca
Tlaquepaque is a town tucked away in the thriving city of Guadalajara that has somehow managed to maintain a laid-back vibe. Hotels like the neocolonial La Villa del Ensueño (from $113) allow guests to disappear into what was once a stately home.
Venture out into the rows and rows of colorful streets, like the pedestrian-only Calle Independencia, and sample textiles, tequilas and ceramics.
Tlaquepaque is known for its pottery, much of which was made in the neighboring suburb of Tonalá,
and a union of 150 local artisans have set up shop near Plaza Parian. Tlaquepaque is also an ideal location
to listen to mariachi – which originated in Jalisco – and to eat excellent authentic cuisine.
Go to restaurants like El Patio, where an all-female mariachi band plays three afternoons each week.
Secret societies
Home to more than 800,000 residents and a thriving metal goods and machinery industry, the center of the North
Mexico’s Querétaro is by no means a small town. But its colonial center, where Mexicans first declared their independence from Spain, feels that way with a network of small, pedestrian-only streets. Here you’ll find Hacienda Jurica (from $150), a 16th-century wonder that was converted into a hotel in 1969.
There is a stellar row of outdoor patio restaurants facing the Plaza de los Fundadores, which is one
short walk from the unique Calendar Museum, the world’s first collection of ancient calendars.
An hour away lies an even smaller secret, Guanajuato, whose patchwork of pastel houses and boutique hotels sprawls across the steep hills of Mesa Central. The streets are tightly linked together and are best explored on foot. Once the world’s main silver mining center, this UNESCO World Heritage city is loaded with beautiful Baroque and Neoclassical buildings, squares and tunnels.
Holy mole
Puebla is another big city looking for a small town. The country’s fourth largest metropolis with 3.3 million inhabitants, its core is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site with walkable streets radiating from the Zócalo, the city’s main square.
Like Querétaro, Puebla has revolutionary roots: in 1910, three brothers plotted to overthrow the regime of Porfirio DÃaz, and their house was surrounded by federal troops.
The same house is now on a nice street to buy sweets. This is also one of the few places in Mexico where Cinco de Mayo means something, as it was here that troops fought against Napoleon III’s forces at the Battle of Puebla.
The 19th-century Banyan Tree Puebla (from $239) combines three separate Renaissance and Neoclassical private houses. Guests of that hotel can safely walk to the historic center and try mole – in one of the places that first created the thick, brown sauce. Across the street is America’s oldest public library, the Biblioteca Palafoxiana.
A cherry cobbler
Chiapas is Mexico’s poorest state in economic resources, but one of the richest in natural beauty. The pine forests of the highland valley provide a lush contrast to the country’s often dry climates.
Go to San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Its narrow, cobbled streets are colonial gems, where donkeys still deliver produce to buildings with wrought-iron balconies and red-tiled roofs. Hotel Sombra del Agua (from $111) has been welcoming guests since 1907, and its restaurant, Tarumba, serves some of the best food in town.
The Santo Domingo church is home to the large open-air craft market and exquisite textiles made by the indigenous people – who make up a quarter of Chiapas’ population – and the Casa Na Bolom museum.
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Image Source : nypost.com