Mexico

The best food is on a plastic stool on a street corner. Trust it

Most visitors to Mexico see Cancun and the Riviera Maya, which is a strip of all-inclusive resorts on a genuinely beautiful coast and roughly as representative of the country as Blackpool is of Britain. The rest of Mexico is where the argument is.

Mexico City is one of the great cities of the world and badly underrated by people who last heard about it in the 1990s. It has more museums than almost any city on earth, Aztec ruins in the middle of the centre, a food scene running from street tacos to the world top fifty, and neighbourhoods like Roma and Condesa that are as pleasant as anywhere.

Beyond it: Oaxaca for food and mezcal and craft, San Cristobal for indigenous highland culture, Guanajuato and San Miguel for colonial towns painted in colours that should not work, and Chichen Itza, Palenque and Teotihuacan for pre-Hispanic sites that predate most of what Europe considers old. Street food is the best food, and the busy stall with a queue is the safe one.

Annual events and festivals

• Dia de los Muertos (1-2 Nov) — Day of the Dead. Marigolds, altars and cemetery vigils. Oaxaca and Patzcuaro do the most moving versions.
• Guelaguetza, Oaxaca (Jul) — indigenous communities from across the state perform dance and music in traditional dress.
• Semana Santa (Mar-Apr) — Holy Week, with major processions and passion plays nationwide.
• Carnaval, Veracruz and Mazatlan (Feb-Mar) — the biggest pre-Lent parties in the country.
• Independence Day (15-16 Sep) — El Grito, the shout, is recreated in every town square at 11pm on the 15th.
• Cinco de Mayo (5 May) — a minor holiday in most of Mexico, huge in Puebla where the battle happened.
• Vive Latino, Mexico City (Mar) — the biggest rock and alternative festival in Latin America.
• Feria de San Marcos, Aguascalientes (Apr-May) — the largest fair in the country, running for three weeks.
• Noche de Rabanos, Oaxaca (23 Dec) — radishes carved into elaborate scenes. Genuinely.
• Las Posadas (16-24 Dec) — nine nights of neighbourhood processions and pinatas before Christmas.