Top places to visit in Mexico

Merida

Four hours inland from Cancún, Mérida is 'real Mexico', a colonial city of 750,000 lived-in and loved by locals and near several days' worth of superb daytrips. It's not only an underrated add-on from a beach vacation, but a destination in its own right. The city's best on weekends, when the historical core – a scene of 17th-century cathedrals made from Mayan bricks – closes to vehicles and fills with open-air stages, taco stands and much life.