Jalisco

Guadalajara, the capital and Mexico's second-largest city, is a cultured and elegant metropolis with a magnificent historic centre. Around its plazas stand the iconic twin-spired cathedral, the neoclassical Teatro Degollado, the Government Palace and the Rotonda of Illustrious Jaliscienses, all linked by a cross of pedestrian squares. The crown jewel is the Hospicio Cabañas, a vast neoclassical former hospice and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, whose chapel ceiling blazes with José Clemente Orozco's powerful 'Man of Fire' murals, among the masterpieces of Mexican art. On the city's south-eastern edge, the once-separate towns of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá are Mexico's craft capitals — Tlaquepaque's pretty pedestrian streets are lined with galleries, ceramics and design shops and El Parián, a great plaza of restaurants where mariachis play, while Tonalá's huge market overflows with pottery and folk art. Guadalajara is also the cradle of mariachi music, celebrated each year at the International Mariachi Festival, and a modern hub of food, design and tech — a city that rewards several days.

About an hour and a half north-west of Guadalajara, the town of Tequila gives its name to Mexico's most famous spirit, and the journey there is a highlight in itself. The road passes through a rippling blue-green sea of agave — the spiky blue agave plant from which tequila is distilled — set against the cone of the Tequila Volcano, a landscape so distinctive it is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (the 'Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila'). The pretty colonial town is dominated by the big-name distilleries — José Cuervo's La Rojeña and Sauza's La Perseverancia among them — and a host of boutique producers, most offering tours that walk you from the agave fields and the roasting of the piña hearts through distillation to a tasting, explaining the difference between blanco, reposado and añejo. You can reach Tequila by road tour, by the festive Tequila Express or José Cuervo Express tourist trains from Guadalajara, or on a day trip — an essential pilgrimage for anyone curious about the spirit, at its very source.

Jalisco reaches the Pacific at Puerto Vallarta, one of Mexico's most beloved and characterful beach resorts. Set on the huge, mountain-ringed Bay of Banderas beneath the jungly Sierra Madre, 'PV' has kept the soul of an old fishing town in its cobbled Zona Romántica and around the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, while its seafront Malecón — a lively promenade studded with bronze sculptures, street performers and restaurants — is the heart of the action. The bay offers beaches for every taste, from the resort sands to the secluded, boat-access coves of the southern shore (Yelapa, Las Ánimas), along with whale-watching in winter, snorkelling at Los Arcos, and excursions into the mountains and to tequila and craft villages. Puerto Vallarta has a renowned dining scene and is one of Latin America's most welcoming LGBTQ+ destinations. To the north, the bay continues into the Riviera Nayarit. The coast and the highlands together give Jalisco the rare combination of culture, spirit and beach.