Airlines Serving Mexico

Tucked away on one of the longest streets in the world, the Buñuel bookstore has been plying its business for decades. Since the till started ringing on its opening day in the early 1960s, the décor has remained almost the same. Books are stacked waist high, the air feels musty and finding anything by category is down to sheer luck.

At first glance la Navidad in Mexico seems reassuringly (or alarmingly) familiar to Yuletide in the United States. Stores are cluttered with junk and tinsel, Santa Claus (even though he has nothing to do with Mexico) is all over the place, neighborhoods are transformed by fairy lights, streets are packed with shoppers and traffic is unbearable.

Taxco, in the state of Guerrero, only about two and a half hour's drive from the capital, makes for one of those magical day trips that combines many fantasies of what Mexican mountain towns should be like - and has excellent shopping.

The discovery of silver deposits in central Mexico in the 16th century gave rise to cities that were to become some of the nation's most important. And by also establishing themselves as state capitals and centers of commerce and education, silver mining cities such as Guanajuato, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí were able to remain viable through the ensuing political and economic turmoil of Mexican history.

A priority for many visitors - even if they are only staying one or two nights in Mexico City - is going to Teotihuacán, the most visited of Mexico's archeological sites. Visitors will find these pyramids to be some of the most striking in Mexico, and within easy reach of the city.

Valle, with its clear, pine-scented air, is being restored to a nobler, historical look. Like other attractive inland towns, it is getting rid of ugly advertising posters and the black strands of electric cables that spoil the views of beautiful facades, old buildings, trees, and clear skies. Along with Mexico City’s historic center, Valle seems to be one of the first places where this process is nearly complete.