Mexico Travel Guide: Self-Guided City Walks

Mexico is a country shaped by ancient civilisations, Spanish colonisation, independence, revolution and a remarkable variety of landscapes. The best things to do in Mexico include exploring Mesoamerican heritage, discovering historic cities, experiencing Indigenous and Spanish cultural traditions, and understanding the food that connects them. Neywo has free audio guides for 32 cities in Mexico, with 714 narrated places in total and 28 walking tours.

What to see and do in Mexico

Explore Mexico’s ancient history

Mexico’s human story reaches back at least to 11,500 BC. Long before Spanish colonisation, Mesoamerica was home to advanced societies including the Olmecs and Maya. The domestication of maize, tomatoes and beans supported agricultural surpluses and helped shape communities across the region.

The archaeological site of Teotihuacan offers one of the clearest ways to encounter this ancient history. Its Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon and Quetzalpapálotl are among the places narrated by Neywo. The site is also one of the leading examples of Mesoamerican pyramid construction.

Ancient culture extends beyond the central highlands. In Yucatán, the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya in Mérida is among the city’s narrated places, while Cancún offers the Museo de Sitio, the Zona Arqueológica El Rey, the Museo Maya de Cancún and Yamil Lu’um. In Cozumel, the Museo de la Isla de Cozumel provides another point of connection with the region’s past.

Discover Mexico’s colonial and religious heritage

Spanish colonisation began in 1521, after an Indigenous alliance defeated the Aztec Empire. New Spain was established with its capital at Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. Silver mining and connections between Europe and Asia made the colony an important centre of the transoceanic economy.

Mexico’s historic cities still reflect these layers of history. In Guanajuato, Neywo covers places including the Museo Iconográfico del Quijote and the Alhóndiga de Granaditas. Puebla has 48 narrated places, among them the Amparo Museum, Casa del Deán, the Museo de la Revolución Mexicana and Casa de los Hermanos Serdán.

Morelia includes the Morelia Cathedral and Teatro Ocampo de Morelia, alongside the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Alfredo Zalce. In Oaxaca, the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, the Museo Textil de Oaxaca and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption reveal different sides of the city’s cultural inheritance.

The country’s religious history also appears in the missions of Baja California Sur. Loreto includes Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, Misión San Bruno, Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó and Misión San Juan Bautista Malibat. In Todos Santos, narrated places include Our Lady of Peace Cathedral, Misión Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Sur Chillá and the Museo de Antropología e Historia.

Visit Mexico City’s museums and landmarks

Mexico City stands at the centre of the country’s long historical story. The city was built on the site of Tenochtitlan, which became the capital of New Spain after colonisation. It now has 307 narrated places on Neywo, more than any other Mexican city in the guide.

Among its most important places are the Luis Barragán House and Studio, the National Museum of Anthropology, Museo Soumaya and Chapultepec Castle. Together, they connect Mexico’s modern architecture, Indigenous heritage, art and national history.

Experience Indigenous languages and living culture

Mexico is not defined by a single cultural tradition. The country recognises 68 Indigenous languages as legally equal to Spanish, and each has its own translation of Mexico’s official name. Indigenous traditions remain central to the country’s history and present-day identity.

The arts reflect this depth. Cave paintings in the Baja California Peninsula date back about 7,500 years, while Mesoamerican architecture developed from simple forms into complex monumental structures. Literature also has roots in Indigenous settlements, where poetry included both secular and religious traditions.

Mexico’s cultural life continued to change through cinema and television. Films from the middle of the twentieth century formed a major era of Latin American cinema, and Mexican telenovelas were translated for audiences around the world. Producer Miguel Sabido later created soap operas designed for social change.

Cities across the country provide different perspectives on this creative history. Monterrey includes the Mexican History Museum, Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey. Guadalajara has 49 narrated places, including Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara Cathedral, the Museo del Periodismo y las Artes Gráficas and the Guadalajara city museum.

Understand Mexico through its food

Mexican cuisine began taking its present form during the Spanish colonial era, when foods from Spain met Indigenous ingredients and older Mesoamerican food traditions. Maize, tomatoes and beans are especially important because Mexico was one of the places where these crops were domesticated.

Food therefore offers a direct way to understand Mexico’s history. Indigenous cultivation, Spanish influence, contact and adaptation all appear in the country’s cuisine. Rather than one tradition replacing another, Mexican food developed through a mixture of long-established ingredients and new influences.

Explore different landscapes and climates

Mexico stretches across the southern part of North America, between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. It borders the United States, Guatemala and Belize. Its size and varied topography create very different climates and landscapes.

The Tropic of Cancer divides broad climatic zones. Northern areas can experience cooler winter temperatures and, in some places, only sporadic rainfall. In the south, temperatures tend to remain more constant through the year, although elevation makes a major difference. Seasonal rains arrive with maritime air masses from May through August, while tropical lowlands can receive heavy annual rainfall.

This variety supports exceptional biological richness. Mexico is one of the world’s megadiverse countries, with more than 200,000 species and an estimated 10 to 12 percent of global biodiversity. Its reptile diversity is especially notable, alongside a wide range of mammals, amphibians, plants and ecosystems.

The country’s regional pages offer a way to continue exploring these contrasts, from Baja California Sur and Guerrero to Jalisco, Quintana Roo and Yucatán. Neywo also covers coastal destinations such as Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cancún, as well as inland cities including San Miguel de Allende, Querétaro and San Cristobal de las Casas.

Explore Mexico with Neywo’s free audio guides

Neywo offers free audio guides for 32 cities in Mexico, with 714 narrated places and 28 walking tours. Narration is available in 11 languages. Each story plays as you reach the place, at your own pace: no group and no schedule.

Download Neywo and explore Mexico while walking through its cities. The app tells the story of each place as you arrive, helping you discover museums, historic buildings, churches, archaeological sites and monuments without following a fixed group or timetable.