Where in Mexico (authentic experience, beaches not required)
 

hi all, i have four days to spend somewhere in mexico and cant decide where. the only requirements are
* must be able to fly directly to from San Francisco
* i would much prefer a city that it really authentic and cultural rather than touristy. i live by a beautiful beach so that's not so important.
many thanks for any of your ideas
kind regards
nzsophie

Mexico City or Guadalajara

Agree with Mexico City.
If you'll be here before 1 March, just W. are the Santuarios Monarcas just NNE of Zitacuaro near Ocampo and Anguangeo which might be of interest.
M (SMdA, Gto.)

There is a new Direct flight Bay Area (SFO, OAK & San Jose) to Morelia a most lovely colonial city of 600,000 (Capitol of Michoacan) that has unique architecture. a great cathedral, tons of Museums, the best Zoo in all of Mexico & a lovely Plaza. Very Very Sophisticated city with great cafés, culture & only 30 Minutes from Patzcuaro a most unique city with incredible bargains of all types. Check it Out!
PS Lots of nice hotels in all price ranges.

thanks everyone. however, i cant seem to find direct flights into Guadalajara
and i really dont want to be difficult but i've read a bit that makes me worried about altitide sickness in Mexico City.

cont... and while i consider myself pretty tough i also enjoy a drink (or three!) and most of the altitude advice suggests avoiding alcohol. thank you all for taking the time to read and advise. :)

Only for the first 12 hours, lol.
M

Mexicana The Best (& statistically safest Airline) That flies to Mexico has a number of daily flights form The Bay Area to Guadalajara.. My favorite leaves SFO about 1:00 AM & arrives at around 6:00 AM with the time change, Mexicana flights (other than Red Eyes) Has full free meal service & free drinks on their flights with service that US airlines stopped giving 39 years ago! Check It Out!

Well I'd go to Puerto Vallarta myself. Definitely nonstop flights from SFO available. Plenty of opportunity for drinks and a nice time. A mix of "authentic" and tourists with a beach. But also a normal working city of 250,000.

If you don't want to go to the beach, and you are afraid of high altitude (many of the colonial cities are in the mountains)...

What exactly is it in Mexico you are hoping to see or experience? What is it that draws you to the country?

NZSophie, I agree with most replies, Mexico City and Guadalajara are going to be your main direct cities for flying. But from these cities you are only one, two, or three hours away by bus, less if you rent a car, from great colonial cities. One option is the state of Michoacan with Morelia been the capitol and very colonial arquitecture buildings and a great Plaza/square in downtown. You can make Morelia your base city for other great side trips like Pazcuaro and Uruapan which have wonderful small town charm and great nature escapes like the Lake of Pazcuaro and the island of Janitzio with its tons of shopping gallore. Then there is Uruapan and its beautiful National Park with spring water litteraly popping from rock formations and a gorgeous white water river. Also, somewhere around here you will find the Monarch butterflies that travel from the North of the continent.
Another great trip is in Guadalajara. Eventhough it is a very large city, second largest in Mexico. It is recognize world wide as the most mexican city in all of Mexico. It is the land of mariachis and tequila plus so much more. Its downtown is a walking paradise for pedestrians. There are 7 or so plazas that are connected together to make a type of a large one mile circle, with tons of museums, theaters, outdoor cafes, and great restaurants and beautiful arquitecture buildings. On the outskirts you will find shopping cities like Tonala & Tlaquepaque where you can great mexican artifacts made of glass, copper, bronze, and porcelain. A little further you will find the largest lake in Mexico in Chapala and its towns of same name and Ajijic. You will find many US and Canadian citizens retire in these towns that have open wonderful art galleries and great elegant restaurants facing the lake. Also, a not to miss experiense is the town of Tequila. You can either take the tequila train tour or a tourism tour from your hotel. The train offer great festive atmosphere with mariachis, food, tequila, and lots of entertainment. Or you can have a group tour by bus that take you to the town and shows you how they cultivate the blue agave and how the distillery works on making either silver (young) tequila, reposado, and aged tequila for smoother taste.
Also, with four days you can arrive in Mexico City and head to either Puebla (two hours away) or Cuernavaca (one hour away). Each city has its colonial charm. Puebla has wonderful shopping malls and mercados, plus an old fashion colonial downtown. Cholula is only minutes away from the city where you will find a great pyramid and a wonderful market in downtown. Now, Cuernavaca is always call as the eternal spring city of all of Mexico. It is a getaway city for most Mexico City residents during break. The best thing in here in my opinion is staying and eating at a boutique hotel call Las Mañanitas. Your lunch or dinner is serve under an umbrella and you are eating in the open air together with rare birds walking around like flamingos in the gorgeous garden inside the Hotel. Not too far you can take a side trip to Taxco, silver capitol of Mexico. It is a town built up in the hills. You still have winding cobble stone streets that lead up and down. Up you will find a beautiful gold leaf church and the main plaza with lots of wonderful restaurants facing the town. I believe they also have a cable car that takes you up to a restaurant or a goegeous hotel up in the hill.
These are my recommendations.
P.S. There are so many side trips from Mexico City and Guadalajara. Just make them your home base to beautiful colonial town that are only a few hours away. Queretaro, San Miguel de Allende, and Guanajuato City are some of the best colonial cities in all of Mexico and are just one to three hours from either large city just mentioned. Good Luck!

Bookmarking. Some great information here.

Nonstop SFO to Guadalajara on Mexicana is $577 (i just picked a date in February).

I really think that is your best bet, if you don't want to go to Mexico City or a beach destination... and want a direct flight from San Francisco, plus "culture" and "authentic".

Unless you want details about our pueblo magico, you have sound advice here.
M