Mexico

El Castillo (pyramid of Kukulcán) in Chichén Itzá
El Castillo (pyramid of Kukulcán) in Chichén Itzá, Yucatán (Photo: wikimedia user Dschwen)

1. Yucatán Peninsula

Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán

Yucatán

      • Mérida (state capital)
      • Maya Archaeological Sites (Chichén Itzá – a World Heritage Site, Uxmal – a World Heritage Site, Tulum, and Ek’ Balam)

Campeche

      • Campeche/San Francisco de Campeche (state capital)
      • Maya Archaeological Sites (Calakmul – a World Heritage Site, Edzná, Chicanná)

Quintana Roo


2. Valley of Mexico

Mexico City and Mexico State

Mexico City

      • Mexico City (national capital and largest city/metro in nation) – Zócalo, Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, National Museum of Anthropology, and Xochimilco

Mexico State

      • Toluca/Toluca de Lerdo (state capital and fifth largest national metro area)
      • Ecatepec/Ecatepec de Morelos (largest city in state; part of Mexico City metro area)
      • Teotihuacan
      • Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl National Park – Popocatépetl

Church of Nuestra Senora de los Remedios and Popocatépetl
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios and Popocatépetl (Photo: cubscorner.blogspot.com)

3. Central Mexico

Morelos, Puebla, and Tlaxcala

Puebla

      • Puebla/Puebla de Zaragoza (state capital and fourth largest national metro area)
      • Cholula – Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios
      • Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl National Park – Popocatépetl

Morelos

      • Cuernavaca (state capital)
      • Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl National Park – Popocatépetl

Tlaxcala

      • Tlaxcala (state capital)
      • San Pablo del Monte (formerly Villa Vicente Guerrero – largest city in state)
      • Firefly sanctuary in Nanacamilpa

Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon (Photo: birdingthebrookeandbeyond.com)

4. North Central Mexico

Chihuahua and Durango

Chihuahua

      • Chihuahua (state capital)
      • Juárez/Ciudad Juárez (largest city in state and eighth largest national metro area)
      • Copper Canyon
      • Cave of the Crystals

Durango

      • Durango/Victoria de Durango (state capital)

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (Photo: allyouneedisbiology.wordpress.com)

5. South Pacific Coast Mexico

Michoacán and Guerrero

Michoacán/Michoacán de Ocampo

      • Morelia (state capital)
      • Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
      • Pátzcuaro (especially during Dia De Muertos – Day of the Dead)
La Quebrada Cliff Divers of Acapulco (Photo: lopezdoriga.com)
La Quebrada Cliff Divers of Acapulco (Photo: lopezdoriga.com)

Guerrero

      • Chilpancingo de los Bravo (state capital)
      • Acapulco (largest city in state) – La Quebrada Cliff Divers

Hidden Beach, Islas Marietas National Park (Photo: mantamarvallarta.com)
Hidden Beach, Islas Marietas National Park (Photo: mantamarvallarta.com)

6. North Pacific Coast Mexico

Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima

Nayarit

      • Tepic (state capital)
      • Riviera Nayarit – Islas Marietas National Park (Hidden Beach)
Guadalajara (Photo: sandisalsainmexico.wordpress.com)
Guadalajara (Photo: sandisalsainmexico.wordpress.com)

Jalisco

      • Guadalajara (state capital and national second city) – Instituto Cultural de Cabañas (a World Heritage site), Plaza de Armas, Catedral de Guadalajara (Guadalajara Cathedral), Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace), Teatro Degollado, Plaza de la Liberación (Liberation Square), Jardin de San Agustín (San Agustín Garden), Plaza Guadalajara, Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Merced, and Andador Fray Antonio Alcalde
      • Puerto Vallarta

Colima

      • Colima (state capital)
      • Manzanillo (largest city in state)

Palenque (Photo: therelevanceofrich.com)
Palenque, Chiapas (Photo: therelevanceofrich.com)

7. Southern Mexico

Chiapas and Oaxaca

Chiapas

Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán
Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán (Photo: entornoturistico.com)

Oaxaca

      • Oaxaca/Oaxaca de Juárez (state capital)
      • Monte Albán
      • Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca
      • Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve

La Venta Olmec head (Photo: farhorizons.com)
La Venta Olmec head (Photo: farhorizons.com)

8. Bay of Campeche

Tabasco and Veracruz

Tabasco

      • Villahermosa (state capital)
      • Maya Archaeological Sites (Comalcalco, Potonchán, and Pomona)
      • San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán Olmec archaeological sites
Cascada de Texolo/Texolo Falls near Xico (Photo: parachileldexalapa.wordpress.com)
Cascada de Texolo/Texolo Falls near Xico (Photo: parachileldexalapa.wordpress.com)

Veracruz

      • Xalapa (state capital)
      • Veracruz (largest city in state) – San Juan de Ulúa

Arch of Cabo San Lucas
Arch of Cabo San Lucas (Photo: blog.luxurytravelteam.com)

9. Baja California Peninsula

Baja California and Baja California Sur

Baja California

      • Mexicali (state capital)
      • Tijuana (largest city in state and sixth largest national metro area)
Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco (Photo: lacgeo.com)
Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco (Photo: lacgeo.com)

Baja California Sur

      • La Paz (state capital)
      • Cabo San Lucas
      • Arch of Cabo San Lucas
      • Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco

Guanajuato
Guanajuato (Photo: intrepidtravel.com)

10. Southern Bajio Mexico

Guanajuato, Querétaro, and Hidalgo

San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende (Photo: reddit.com user Caerbear)

Guanajuato

      • Guanajuato (state capital)
      • León (largest city in state and seventh largest national metro area)
      • San Miguel de Allende

Querétaro

      • Querétaro/Santiago de Querétaro (state capital and tenth largest national metro area)

Hidalgo

      • Pachuca (state capital)
      • Xihuingo – Teotihuacan ruins

Plaza de Armas, San Luis Potosí (Photo: williamjconaway.com)
Plaza de Armas, San Luis Potosí (Photo: williamjconaway.com)

11. Northern Bajio Mexico

Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas

Aguascalientes

      • Aguascalientes (state capital) – Garden of San Marcos and Plaza de las Tres Centurias
Museo Nacional de la Máscara (Photo: antoniorambles.com)
Museo Nacional de la Máscara (Photo: antoniorambles.com)

San Luis Potosi

      • San Luis/San Luis Potosí (state capital) – San Luis Potosí Cathedral, Museo Nacional de la Máscara, Plaza de Aranzazu, and Plaza Del Carmen

Zacatecas

      • Zacatecas (state capital) – Zacatecas Cathedral

Saltillo (Photo: coyotitos.com)
Saltillo (Photo: coyotitos.com)

12. Rio Grande Mexico

Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas

Coahuila

      • Saltillo (state capital)
      • Torreón (ninth largest national metro area) – Canal de la Perla pedestrian tunnel

Nuevo León

      • Monterrey (state capital, national second city and third largest national metro area) – Macroplaza, Faro del Comercio (Lighthouse of Commerce), Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace), Esplanada de los Héroes (Heroes’ Esplanade), Fuente de la Vida (Neptune Fountain), Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey (Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Monterrey), Paseo Santa Lucía (Santa Lucia Riverwalk), and Barrio Antiguo old Spanish Quarter

Tamaulipas

      • Ciudad Victoria (state capital)
      • Reynosa (largest city in state)
      • Matamoros/Heroica Matamoros

13. Gulf of California Mexico

Sinaloa and Sonora

Petroglyphs of Las Labradas in Sinaloa
Petroglyphs of Las Labradas in Sinaloa (Photo: mr.travelbymexico.com)

Sinaloa

      • Culiacán (state capital)
      • Petroglyphs of Las Labradas
      • Historical Town The Royal of the Eleven Thousand Virgins of Cosala

Sonora

      • Hermosillo (state capital)
      • El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve