Merida

Mérida, the capital of Yucatán state, is one of Mexico's most cultured and liveable cities — a colonial city of whitewashed mansions, Mayan heritage, excellent food (Yucatecan cuisine is one of Mexico's most distinctive) and a cultural calendar so rich that it has earned the title "Cultural Capital of the Americas." It is also the gateway to the extraordinary Mayan archaeological sites of the Yucatán Peninsula. The historic centre — the Plaza Grande (main square), the imposing Cathedral of San Idelfonso (the oldest cathedral on the American continent's mainland), the Palacio Municipal and the Palacio de Gobierno with murals by Fernando Castro Pacheco depicting Yucatec history — is compact, well-preserved and excellent. The Paseo de Montejo, Mérida's elegant tree-lined boulevard modelled on the Champs-Élysées and lined with palaces of the 19th-century henequen boom, is beautiful for an evening stroll. Yucatecan cuisine — cochinita pibil (slow-roasted achiote pork), poc chuc, sopa de lima, papadzules (egg tacos in pumpkin seed sauce) — is extraordinary. The Sunday free concerts and dance performances on the Plaza Grande are excellent. Uxmal (80km south, an outstanding Mayan site with far fewer visitors than Chichén Itzá), Chichén Itzá (120km east) and the pink flamingo lagoon at Celestún (90km west) are excellent day trips. Mérida is one of Mexico's safest and most pleasant cities.