Mexico: Ancient Cities, Beaches and Great Food

Stretching from the dry north down to the jungles of the Yucatan, Mexico has the Pacific along one flank and the Caribbean along the other. Maya and Aztec ruins still rise from the land, colonial towns sit on top of earlier settlements, and Mexico City is home to more people than many whole countries. The cooking alone makes the flight worthwhile. This guide covers hotels, sights, family-friendly restaurants and a few facts to take along. Pick one region per trip, because distances are bigger than they look on a map.

Places to Sleep

• Rosewood Mayakoba, Riviera Maya: Suites are strung along freshwater lagoons that wind through the mangroves, and many are reached by boat instead of by road. Expect private pools, a spa on a separate island, and a long beach at the far end of the grounds.
• Four Seasons Mexico City: Standing on Paseo de la Reforma, it is arranged around a leafy courtyard that shuts out the street noise. Chapultepec Park and the National Museum of Anthropology are just across the avenue.
• Hacienda Uayamon, Campeche: An eighteenth-century estate outside Campeche, restored with some of the crumbling walls intentionally left as they were. About a dozen rooms, a pool built inside the old machinery building, and almost nothing on the schedule, which is exactly the appeal.

What to See and Do

• Chichen Itzá Archaeological Site: El Castillo is the pyramid on every postcard, with nine terraces, four stairways and 365 steps in total. On the equinoxes the late sun casts a shadow along the north stairway that seems to slither downward like a serpent. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage listing and counts among the New Seven Wonders of the World. Be there when the gates open.
• Culinary Tour in Oaxaca: Oaxaca is home to some of the finest cooking in the country. Sample the different moles, have a tlayuda hot off the grill at a market stall after dark, and try mezcal at a palenque where agave is still roasted in an earthen pit.
• Relax on Tulum Beach: Pale sand, clear shallow turquoise water, and a Maya site on the bluff right above it, the one walled Maya city built beside the sea. Swim first, then climb the cliff for the view back over the bay.

Kid-Friendly Places to Eat

Restaurants here are well used to young diners. Servings are made for sharing, and noise is never a problem. These chains and local favourites keep it simple:

• VIPS: A diner chain with outlets in every decent-sized town. All-day breakfast, enchiladas, burgers, milkshakes and a picture menu. A dependable choice when nobody can make up their mind.
• El Bajío:
  Where: Avenida Cuitláhuac 2709, Azcapotzalco district, Mexico City
  A long-standing Mexico City favourite serving regional food, particularly from Veracruz and Oaxaca. Carnitas, mole and house-made tortillas, in a dining room packed with families on Sundays.
• La Casa de Toño: Inexpensive, bustling and open late, with outlets in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City. Pozole is the draw, with sopes, quesadillas and flan filling out the menu.
• Los Trompos:
  Where: Calle 34, no. 333, Gonzalo Guerrero neighbourhood, Cancún, Quintana Roo 77500
  Food from the Yucatan in Cancun, including panuchos, salbutes, cochinita pibil and tacos al pastor sliced right off the spit. Lively, fast and good value.
• Sanborns: Part restaurant, part department store, and a national institution either way. Try the enchiladas suizas or molletes, then let the family browse the books and candy on the way out.
• El Califa:
  Where: Avenida Jalisco 15, Nápoles neighbourhood, Mexico City
  A taco joint in Mexico City with a lengthy counter, a brief list of fillings and warm tortillas arriving constantly. Order a couple each and carry on until someone says stop.
• Sirloin Stockade: A buffet chain found in several Mexican cities, with steaks, a salad bar and a dessert counter. It ends most family debates about what to order in a minute or so.
• La Parroquia de Veracruz:
  Where: Calle Hidalgo 7, in the Centro district of Veracruz
  Serving on the Veracruz waterfront since 1808. The signature drink is café lechero: you clink a spoon against the glass and a waiter comes over to pour steaming milk from a great height. The rest of the menu is seafood and regional dishes.

Good to Know

• Aztec and Maya Heritage: Around 500 AD Teotihuacan ranked among the biggest cities in the world, and its builders remain uncertain; the Aztecs came upon it long abandoned and gave it its name. Palenque's temples rise out of the rainforest in Chiapas, and Chichen Itzá served as a Maya centre for hundreds of years. Archaeologists are still digging at all three.
• Diverse Ecosystems: Mexico is counted among the few megadiverse countries. Chihuahua's Copper Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon, the Sierra Gorda reserve holds both cloud forest and desert inside one border, and Jacques Cousteau nicknamed the Sea of Cortez the world's aquarium.
• Day of the Dead: Each year on 1 and 2 November, families set up altars decorated with marigolds, photos, candles and the favourite foods of those who have died, and many spend the night beside the graves. It is a warm occasion rather than a gloomy one. UNESCO placed the tradition on its intangible heritage list in 2008.