8-Nights Journeys: Discover Mexico - National Geographic Journeys

Oaxaca

Puebla

Puebla, Mexico, located 80 mi/130 km east of Mexico City, has played an important role in the nation's history: The only Mexican victory over foreign invaders took place there when Maximilian's French Foreign Legion was defeated on 5 May 1862 (now celebrated as Cinco de Mayo).

Puebla has more than 60 churches (including its grand 16th-century cathedral) and a "secret convent" (it remained active after convents and monasteries were outlawed in 1857). It's known for manufacturing colorful tiles (dating back to the 1600s), as well as antiques, talavera pottery and mole poblano, a rich chocolate and chili sauce that was first prepared there by the nuns and has become one of Mexico's signature dishes.

Museo Bello contains an impressive collection of colonial-era art, and Santa Rosa Convent is fascinating for its enormous tiled kitchen and museum of local crafts. Other sights include the Bazaar of Toads (known for antiquities and antiques, not frogs); the Parian, an art market; the Art District, where tourists can gape at artists at work; and Los Remedios Church with El Popo volcano in the background.

Just strolling the city's streets is a treat, too: Many buildings are covered in gorgeous tiles, and shops display an irresistible array of Puebla's famous hand-painted talavera pottery.

Mexico City

From the Alameda, a leafy center of activity since Aztec times, to the Zona Rosa, a chic shopping neighborhood, Mexico City offers endless options to urban adventurers.

Founded by the Aztecs as Tenochtitlán in 1325, Mexico City is both the oldest and the highest (7,349 ft) metropolis on the North American continent. And with nearly 24 million inhabitants, it is the most populous city in the world. It is Mexico's cultural, political, and financial core -- braving the 21st century but clinging to its deeply entrenched Aztec heritage.

You only need to stand in the center of the Plaza of Three Cultures to visually comprehend the undisputed significance of this city. Here, the remains of an Aztec pyramid, a colonial church, and a towering modern office building face one another, a testament to the city's prominence in ancient and contemporary history. Located at the heart of the Americas, Mexico City has been a center of life and commerce for more than 2,000 years. The Teotihuacán, Toltec, Aztec, and European conquistadors all contributed to the city's fascinating evolution, art, and heritage. Although residents refer to their city as simply México (meh-hee-koh), its multitude of ancient ruins, colonial masterpieces, and modern architecture has prompted others to call it "The City of Palaces."

The central downtown area resembles a European city, dominated by ornate buildings and broad boulevards, and interspersed with public art, parks, and gardens. This sprawling city is thoroughly modern and, in places, unsightly and chaotic, but it never strays far from its historical roots. In the center are the partially excavated ruins of the main Aztec temple; pyramids rise just beyond the city.