843 Best Sights in Mexico

Amusement park giant Six Flags operates this enormous, well-designed park in the south of Mexico City, near Tlalpan and about 18 km (11 miles) from the city center. You'll find acres of both extreme and fairly mild rides (nine rollercoasters in all), plus live entertainment and other diversions, including multiple restaurants and souvenir stands. Areas have colorful themes, such as DC Super Heroes, Bugs Bunny Boom Town, and Polynesian Village. It's possible to get here cheaply via the Insurgentes Sur Metrobus, but Uber is more efficient. The company also operates Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Oaxtepec, a similarly popular water park near Cuernavaca, about a 90-minute drive southeast of Mexico City.

Nestled in a protected cove, this wide stretch of beach is popular with divers and snorkelers due to the outer reef that keeps waters calm. The fine sand is perfect for a barefoot stroll, but the shallow waters have sharp rocks just below the surface. Across the road from Casa Cenote Restaurant is Manatee Cenote, an underwater cave that spills from the mangroves into the sea. This freshwater pool, coupled with the outer reef, make Tankah a snorkeler's paradise. The main draw is that the area is relatively isolated since most sun worshipers tend to bask on the shores of Playa del Carmen. Amenities: food and drink; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; solitude; walking.

The restoration of this 1860s-era opera house—named for a touring diva who died of yellow fever before she could give her concert—ignited the revival of the Centro Histórico in 1990. Catch a performance by students at the adjacent contemporary dance school (schedule is outside the theater) or take a self-guided tour.

The mouthful of a name denotes Todos Santos's 1944 movie theater, which was quite a grand movie palace back in the day for remote, small-town Mexico. A few cultural events take place here, including the annual Todos Santos Film Festival each March.

Inaugurated in 1866, this magnificent theater was modeled after Milan's La Scala. The refurbished theater preserves its traditional red-and-gold color scheme, and its balconies ascend to a multitier dome adorned with Gerardo Suárez's depiction of Dante's Divine Comedy. The theater is home to the Jalisco Philharmonic.

Adorned with bronze lion sculptures and a line of large Greek muses overlooking the Jardín de la Unión from the roof, the theater was inaugurated by Mexican dictator Porfirio Díaz in 1903 with a performance of Aïda. It now serves as a venue for works presented at the annual International Cervantes Festival and throughout the year. You can take a brief tour of the art deco interior.

Dominating the town of Nochixtlán is the 19th-century Templo de la Asunción, in the main square. The interior is especially elegant, with a five-tier chandelier hanging from the dome.

Michoacán's first cathedral was begun in 1540 by order of Vasco de Quiroga and completed in 1546. When the state capital was moved to Morelia some 20 years later, the church was taken over by the Jesuits. It remains much as it was in the 16th century. Moss has grown over the crumbling stone steps outside; the dank interior is planked with thick wood floors and lined with bare wood benches.

The 17th-century Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo towers over the main square of Teotitlán del Valle. Some parts of the facade have been scraped away to reveal stones carved with Zapotec designs that were used during the building of the church.

Templo de San Blas, called La Iglesia Vieja (“the old church”) by residents, is on the town's busy plaza. It's rarely open these days, but you can admire its diminutive beauty and look for the words to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Bells of San Blas" inscribed on a brass plaque outside. (The long-gone bells were actually at the church dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, on Cerro de San Basilio.)

On the site of Mexico's first convent (1524), this church has served as a barracks, a hotel, a circus, a theater, and a Methodist temple. The main sanctuary's elaborate baroque facade is set past an iron gate and down a pretty flight of steps from street level. Inside, the Templo is one of the best places in Centro to get a sense of the seismic shifts that continue to unsettle Mexico City. Stand at the back of the nave and note the chandeliers, which appear frozen mid-swing: an effect of gravity combined with the incline of the aisle, which has sunken unevenly over the centuries. The church next door, in a French neo-Gothic style, was added later.

Manuel Toussaint, an expert in colonial art, likened this church to "a temple of porcelain, worthy of being kept beneath a crystal dome." Construction began in 1590, with the elaborate Spanish baroque decorations added between 1650 and 1750. Multicolor Talavera tiles cover the exceptionally ornate facade. The interior blazes with polychrome plasterwork and gilding; a sun radiates overhead. Unlike that of the nearby Santa María Tonantzintla, the ornamentation hews to the standard representations of the Incarnation, the Evangelists, and the Holy Trinity. Look for St. Francis, to whom the church is dedicated, between the altarpiece's spiraling columns.

This former convent, constructed from 1727 to 1752 and attributed to the Queretano Don Ignacio Mariano de las Casas, is noteworthy for its whimsical arches and the Arab influence of its facade. Inside, the church is one of the joys of the Mexican baroque, famous for its five fantastically carved, gold-leaf altarpieces as well as its rich paintings and statues.

This 18th-century Jesuit church has an ornamented facade and an opulent interior with religious paintings. In the sacristy is an extensive collection of religious art.

This three-block-long complex houses a church, a former monastery, a regional history museum with a great deal to see, and the Templo de la Caridad (Temple of the Sisters of Charity). A two-headed eagle—emblem of the Hapsburg dynasty that once ruled Spain and its American dominions—broods over the pediment of the church, which was built between 1547 and 1569. The pink stone facade (which needs a good cleaning) is carved in an intensely ornamental style known as Baroque Solomonic: saints' figures, angels, and grooved columns overlaid with vegetation motifs abound. The interior has lavish altarpieces, an exquisitely fashioned pulpit, a sculpture of the Holy Trinity, and wall panels of gilded, carved cedar—one of the precious woods of Chiapas that centuries later lured Tabasco's woodsmen to the highlands surrounding San Cristóbal. At the complex's southeast corner you'll find the tiny, humble Templo de la Caridad, built in 1715 to honor the Immaculate Conception. Its highlight is the finely carved altarpiece. Indigenous groups from San Juan Chamula often light candles and make offerings here. (Do not take photos of the Chamula.) The adjacent former convent houses Sna Jolobil, an indigenous cooperative that sells weavings of high quality.

The striking neo-Gothic Church of Atonement is Guadalajara's most breathtaking church. Modeled after Italy's Orvieto Cathedral, it has phenomenal stained-glass windows—observe the rose window above the choir and pipe organ.

About 35 km (22 mi) north of Nochixtlán, Coixtlahuaca merits a stop for this sanctuary, which is perhaps the best preserved of the Dominican churches in the region. Vivid reds, greens, and blues still cling to the ribs on the vaulted ceiling, wind around the windows, and climb up the columns. Just inside the front doors, you'll find a large chapel dedicated to the Virgen de Guadalupe. The church's patron saint stands guard over the intricately carved retablo, and you can get close enough to the altarpiece to appreciate the delicate work. Outside, the bright red paint that once enlivened the now-demure white facade shows through cracks in the plaster. Though there aren't any set hours, the monastery is often open.

This towering 16th-century structure and its adjoining monastery appear even larger because they sit on a hill overlooking the village. The massive wooden doors face away from the village's main square.

The church's sheer size is its most stunning feature; its vaulted ceiling soars to almost 82 feet. The gold-leaf retablo behind the main altar has five levels, each depicting various saints. Santo Domingo, of course, stands alone at the top. Some of the paintings on this retablo are by the Spanish master Andrés de la Concha. Don't miss the mudéjar (Moorish) designs in the wooden ceiling of the choir. The handsome 18th-century pipe organ was restored in 1998.

Drenched in sun, bougainvillea, and flowering trees, Tequis (as the locals call it) is a pleasant stop for a day or overnight trip---it lies about an hour's drive east of Querétaro, and is also close to the region's wine country. Join the many families who come to stroll through the main square with its neoclassical Templo de Santa María de la Asunción, whose facade has been said to resemble swirls of cotton more than stone. Stop for lunch in one of the outdoor cafés under the arcades that front the plaza and visit the surrounding streets and the Mercado de Artesanías to shop for handicrafts. Tequis has a well-deserved reputation for high-quality craftwork, including wicker baskets, opal jewelry, woven goods, wood, and ceramics. The town is also known for its mineral swimming pools (many of the hotels have them) and spas.

Between San Cristóbal and Palenque, on a paved road running along the Río Jataté and through the Ocosingo Valley, is the ancient Mayan city of Toniná. The name means "house of stone" in Tzeltal, and you'll understand why it's named this once you glimpse this series of temples looming some 20 stories over the valley. Built on a steep hillside, Toniná is even taller than Palenque or Tikal.

Toniná is thought to be the last major Mayan ceremonial center to flourish in this area. It thrived for at least a century after the fall of Palenque and Yaxchilán. There is speculation as to whether it may have actually had a part in their downfall. Excavations indicate that the vanquished rulers of those cities were brought here as prisoners. Wonderfully preserved sculptures, including the Mural de las Cuatro Eras (Mural of the Four Ages) depict bloody executions.

This experienced tour provider hosts daily tours from San Cristóbal de las Casas to the Cañón del Sumidero, as well as longer excursions to Palenque and Bonampak.

Doing business for more since the late 1970s, this tour operator leads historical tours including San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo, shopping tours to Léon, and the more typical half-day tours of Guanajuato, including visits to haciendas and mines.

This group of guides can lead city tours, trolley tours, and also tours to Pátzcuaro, the monarch butterflies, or other Michoacán destinations.

Trolebús, a faux-antique trolleybus, picks up passengers at Plaza Zaragoza. The trip is an exhilarating plunge into Hermosillo's urban pulse.

A globe-shape monument marks the spot where the Tropic of Cancer line (the northernmost circle of latitude at which the sun can be seen directly overhead on the summer solstice) crosses Baja California Sur. The line separates Earth’s temperate zone and the tropics. Of course, Baja is Baja, and you won’t detect any difference in climate no matter which side of the line you are on. The geographical milepost is easily seen from the highway, but it's worth getting out of the car to pop into the shops surrounding it, which offer arts and crafts from local communities. There are restrooms available (but bring your own toilet paper) and a nice ice-cream shop next door. Also, here is a beautiful shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe, where Catholics will visit to light candles and pray. It is a stop on a local pilgrimage that takes place each year on the Dia de la Virgen (December 12) and ends in nearby Miraflores.

Extending 11 km (7 miles), Tulum's main beach is a tropical paradise comprised of glassy water and powdery sand, set off from the jungle by hip restaurants and low-slung bungalow hotels where the yoga set take their virtuous rest. It's divided by a rocky promontory into two main sections, similar to each other, although the farther south you go on the Carretera Tulum–Boca Paila beach road, the more secluded and lovelier it gets. The beach is bordered on the south by the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve, whose coast is even more deserted. To the north, you'll find the Tulum ruins. Beach access can be tricky; even though the beach is public, the hotels and restaurants along the shore often limit access to guests only, and public access points are few and far between. If you're not staying on the beachfront, make sure to ask your hotel where the closest access point is. Amenities: food and drink; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking.

Talk about a beach with a view! At Tulum's archaeological site, the Caribbean's signature white sand and turquoise waters are framed by a backdrop of Maya pyramids. The small cove can get crowded, especially during peak season when travelers flock to the ruins for a day of sightseeing. The south end by the rocks tends to have more breathing room. Only those who purchase a ticket to the ruins can access this beach, unless you approach the shores by boat. Amenities: none. Best for: swimming.

This tour company offers boat tours and tours through the Cañón del Sumidero that last around 2½ hours and cost $25 per person.

Founded in 1732, the university was formerly a Jesuit seminary. The original churrigueresque church, La Compañía, still stands next door. The green limestone facade of the university, built in 1955, was designed to blend in with the town's architecture.

Between the university and the church, several art galleries and one small museum associated with the center of higher learning present rotating exhibits of contemporary art.