Visit Zacatecas

Silver-mining city of candy-coloured houses stacked up a ravine, with streets in tunnels and student minstrels serenading the alleys.

Cobbled colonial town of pink Gothic church spires and rooftop bars, repeatedly voted the best small city in the world.

A pastel walled city built against pirates, the quietest colonial capital in the Yucatan.

Talavera tiles, 70 churches, mole poblano and the Popocatepetl volcano on the horizon.

A colonial centre of pink stone and an 18th-century aqueduct of 74 arches, the safest big city in Mexico.

A cathedral lit up every Saturday, an aqueduct and the monarch butterfly forests two hours away.

Ancient city of the Sun and Moon pyramids.

Maya city in the Chiapas jungle with the tomb of King Pakal, howler monkeys in the trees and morning mist on the temples.