Lake Chapala
This large lake is the source of most of Jalisco’s fresh water. It is bordered by small towns that make a pleasant weekend or day trip:
Chapala The lakeside town of Chapala boasts a local craft market that gathers artisans from all over the Lake Chapala region. The main crafts are wooden and bone sculptures, hand-woven fabrics, silken shawls and pottery.
Ajijic A cute little town by the water, Ajijic supports a number of art galleries, good inexpensive restaurants, and friendly people. It is also a quite popular place of residence for expatriate retirees.
The Coast
The coast of Jalisco is lined by beach towns, the most famous of which is the port of Puerto Vallarta.
Puerto Vallarta, or PV, offers beautiful golden sand beaches, a well-developed infrastructure (which includes hotels, restaurants and bars for all sorts of tastes and wallets) and good spots for fishing, golfing, surfing, sailing, going hiking and camping, as well as an active nightlife. The area of Puerto Vallarta is composed of Old Puerto Vallarta, the old city whose downtown keeps some of its old appeal with its narrow cobblestone streets, small eateries and its red roof houses, and Nuevo Vallarta, the adjacent new town, packed with big name hotels, upscale restaurants, bars, and dancing places.
There is an annual Gourmet Festival held in November (9-19th), where the culinary talents of the local chefs at participating restaurants and over 20 guest chefs from internationally acclaimed restaurants and hotels throughout the world showcase their talents. This festival is part of the larger Fiesta del Mar that takes place from Nov 8-26. The festivities include a Golf Cup of El Gobernador, an Art Festival, a month-long series of art gallery shows and open-air, beachside theater performances and the International Sail Fish Tournament.
Manzanillo This beautiful and busy port set in the neighboring state of Colima is also within a 5 hour drive of Guadalajara. Although it is somewhat smaller than PV (population 103,000) it also offers a great deal of enjoyable places and activities. It has nice sandy beaches which vary in texture from brown sugar to powder white and are often set in private rock enclaves, as well fishing for Sail Fish, water sports, golf and hiking and camping.
Bucerías This is a village located on Banderas Bay in Nayarit, close enough to Puerto Vallarta (11 miles North) to make it a good option for those who want a relaxed provincial day on the beach without missing out on PV nightlife. It offers nice beaches, a mix of accomodations that alternates between trailer parks and villa rentals, and a number of beachside seafood restaurants.
Sayulita 40 Km northwest of Puerto Vallarta, also in the state of Nayarit, this small beach town lays dormant during the summer but comes back to life as tourists hit the beach during the cool months from November to March. Sayulita offers great surf, golden sand beaches and a relaxed atmosphere, as well as a couple great places to grab a bite.
Tequila Country
Tequila The birthplace of the national drink, this small town in the highlands of Jalisco got its name from the nearby Tequila Volcano. Tequila has many distilleries including the famous ‘La Rojeña’ distillery of Jose Cuervo and the ‘Perseverancia’ distillery of Sauza. Most of the distilleries in town offer tours where they show you the steps in the production of tequila, as well as letting you sample the finished product. The Museo Nacional del Tequila is located in the center of town right across from La Rojeña. The annual Tequila Fair takes place in Tequila from late November through December 12 (the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe).
Close to tequila, the Tequila Volcano is a good place for a hike which could include a visit to the Guachimontones ruins, the largest discovered in México so far outside of the mesoamerican region (comprised mainly of the central and southern valleys of México). The agave-growing hills around Tequila, including the Guachimontones ruins, have recently been declared a UNESCO world heritage site.
Other towns that harbor tequila distilleries include:
Amatitán Home of Casa Herradura's Hacienda San
José Refugio. The Tequila Express
train tour visits this distillery.
Arandas Home of Cazadores and Tapatío,
the maker of El Tesoro de Don Felipe.
Colonial Cities
The mountains to the East and North of Guadalajara contain some of the most beautiful towns in México, with stunning colonial architecture and dramatic mountainside settings. Also, some of the most important events in México's history took place here.
Guanajuato, the capital of the state of the same name, gets David's vote for the most beautiful city in México (that he has seen so far). Located on a hillside, its architectural beauty is due to the vast amounts of silver extracted from its mines. In the late 18th century, Guanajuato was the largest exporter of silver in the world. Several of the main roads of Guanajuato are underground tunnels, which were originally built to contain a river. One of the most famous battles of the Mexican revolution was fought here, at the Alhóndiga de Granaditas (grain warehouse). The Spanish had barricaded themselves inside the warehouse, when, according to legend, a miner, nicknamed ‘Pípila’, tied a rock to his back to protect him from the Spanish guns and set the wooden door of the Alhóndiga on fire, allowing the Méxicans to enter the Alhóndiga and rout the Spanish. Guanajuato is also famous for its University and the Festival Internacional Cervantino, held in October. Guanajuato is 4 hours by bus from Guadalajara.
Photo Galleries of Guanajuato by QT Luong, vlad_l and Steven Miller
San Miguel de Allende is a smaller town in the state of Guanajuato, known for its well-preserved colonial architecture, for the arts, and for being home to a large expatriate population. In the 60's the city was frequented by famed characters such as Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. It is currently a popular place for foreigners to learn Spanish. San Miguel de Allende is 1 to 1½ hours by bus from Guanajuato (6 hours from Guadalajara).
Photo Gallery and Tourist Guide to San Miguel de Allende
Zacatecas is another beautiful silver mining city set on a dramatic hillside. Its historic center is a UNESCO World Hertiage Site (as are the city of Guanajuato and its mines and the historic center of Querétaro). The city is known for its cathedral, museums, and for its Telef´rico, a cable car that runs to the top of Cerro de la Bufa, a hill that overlooks the city. Zacatecas lies to the North of Guadalajara, 4 hours away by bus.
Photo Gallery of Zacatecas by QT Luong
Querétaro, yet another capital of a state of the same name, lies 2½ to 3 hours (by bus) further East from Guanajuato (4½ to 5½ hours from Guadalajara). It is also about 3 hours by bus North of Mexico City. Less touristed than Guanajuato and Zacatecas, Querétaro is also known for its stunning colonial architecture. It has also been the site of some of the most important events in Méxican histoy. It served as capital of México during the Méxican-American War (in México, La Intervención Norteamericana, essentially the “War of Northern Aggression”), and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed there, in which México lost California, Nevada, Arizona and parts of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico to the United States. In 1917, it was capital again, hosting the Constitutional Congress that established México's Constitution, which was signed there on February 5, 1917.
Photos of Querétaro by Bill and Dot Bell
Michoacán
Located west of Mexico City and southeast of Jalisco, Michoacán shares part of the shore of Lake Chapala. Michoacan is the homeland of 200,000 Purepecha Indians whose influence on the culture can be felt thorugh the character of the people as well as the art and cuisine. Michoacan has one of the most diverse cuisines in México, heavily influenced by prehispanic cooking methods. It also has one of the most diverse landscapes, with colonial cities, lush forests, a stunning and undeveloped mountain-lined coastline and the famed monarch butterfly reserve.
Highlights of the Cuisine of Michoacán
State Tourism Website, Spanish-only
Morelia, a colonial city built in the 16th century, is an outstanding example of urban planning, well-adapted to the slopes of the hill site, its streets still follow the original layout. Due to its grand colonial architecture, Morelia’s historical center has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Pátzcuaro, situated on the lake of the same name, between Morelia and Uruapan, was one of the most important prehispanic religious centers. Today it is characterized by its beautiful colonial arquitecture and by its pottery.
Uruapan has to be one of the rainiest cities Yasmín has ever lived in. It has nice, cool weather and exuberant vegetation. It is well known for being one the largest avocado production centers in México and also for the beauty of the Parque Nacional Eduardo Ruiz in the center of the city and ‘La Tzararacua’, a large national park 10 km away from the center of the city, full of waterfalls and rivers and landscaped in a ‘natural’ way.
Angangueo The area around this small town in northeast Michoacán contains five federal biosphere reserves that form a refuge where monarch butterflies spend the winter (typically, November to March). Two of them, one in the municipality of Angangueo and another one in El Rosario, are open to the public.
Mexico City
Arguably the world's third largest city, Mexico City (in México, it is just called “México” or the DF (Day EFF-ay), for Distrito Federal) and its surrounding urban area contain about 25 million people, or about a quarter to a third of all Méxicans, depending on which parts of the urban area you count. The city offers visitors a great number of cultural, gastronomical and recreational activities to choose from. In the historical center, you can visit the ruins of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán intermingled with colonial palaces and churches built by the Spanish. The city also features world-class museums, such as the Museo Nacional de Antropología. The main thoroughfares of the city are wide, tree-lined boulevards such as Reforma and Insurgentes, with impressive monuments dominating the central area. In the Polanco and Condesa districts the streets buzz with tourists and locals spilling out of cosmopolitan restaurants and bars onto the streets almost all through the night. Some other highlights include the Forest and Castle of Chapultepec, the Forest of Tlalpan, the squares of Coyoacan and Tlalpan, the campus of the National Autonomous University of México and the soccer games at the Aztec Statdium. For a well-researched guide of Mexico City we recommend the Lonely Planet guide of México.
Aerial Photo Gallery of México City
Website of the Government of Mexico City, a very nice webiste, in English
Wiki Travel Guide to Mexico City
Eating in Mexico City
An excellent guide to some of Mexico City's most delectable restaurants is avalible in print: La Guia de los 100 Mejores Restaurantes de Marco Beteta.
Or, you can try some of Yasmín's favorites:
Méxican
Coyoacan Market Antojitos, behind the church of San Juan Bautista in Coyoacan
Churreria El Moro Hot Chocolate and Churros, Eje Central 42 at Lázaro Cárdenas, 5512-0896
La Hacienda de los Morales Méxican, Vázquez De Mella 525, 5281-4554
Saks Vegetarian Méxican, Insurgentes Sur 1641, 5563-3402
Los Arcos Sinaloa Style Seafood, Torcuato Tasso 333, Polanco
Fonda Santa Clara Puebla Style, Reforma 80, Hotel Fiesta Americana, 5140-4100 ext. 4264
Los Almendros Yucatán Style, Campos Elíseos 164, 5531-7307
El Tajín Veracruz Style, Miguel ángel de Quevedo 687, Coyoacán, 5659-4447
La Casa de Michoacán Michoacán Style, Lucerna 63, 5566-0466
Casa Neri Oaxaca Style, Bélgica 211, 5539-3386
La Opera Cantina and Restaurant, Calle 5 de Mayo 10
El Nivel Cantina, Calle Moneda near Templo Mayor, 5522-9755
La Guadalupana Cantina, Higuera and Caballocalco, a few steps behind the Church of San Juan Bautista in Coyoacan
Non-Méxican
El Cambalache Argentinan Grill, Arquímedes 85, 5280-2080
Angus American Grill, Copenhague 31, 5207-6880
Champs Elysees French, Reforma 316,5514-0450
Café Del Bosque International, Parque de Chapultepec, 5516-4214
Café del Palacio International, Palacio de Bellas Artes, 5512-0807
La Bodeguita del Medio Cuban, Cozumel 37, 5553-0246
La Cava International, Insurgentes Sur 2465, 5616-1106
Bellinghausen International, Londres 95, 5207-4978
Creperie de la Paix Crepes, Michoacan 103, 5286-0049
Le Petit Cluny Crepes and Bistro, Av. De La Paz 57, 5616-4763
Cluny French, Av. De La Paz 58, 5616-2288
Mandarin House Chinese, Av. De La Paz 57, 5616-4410
Konditori International, Génova 61, 5250-1032
Near Mexico City
Teotihuacán, the “City of the Gods”, which, from 150 to 450 AD was the largest city in the Americas, is located about 30 miles Northeast of Mexico City. The name Teotihuacán was given by the Nahuatl-speaking Aztec centuries after the fall of the city; the original name is unknown. The ruined city was a place of pilgrimage in Aztec times, and in 1905 major projects of excavation and restoration began under archaeologist Leopoldo Batres, with the Pyramid of the Sun restored to celebrate the centennial of Méxican Independence in 1910.
Puebla is a colonial city East of Mexico City which is renowned for its beautiful churches and its food, most notably mole poblano.
Taxco is anther popular destination, famous for silver.