Jalisco · Mexico
Guadalajara Birthplace of mariachi and tequila
Central Highlands
Highlights
- Hospicio Cabañas UNESCO-listed former hospice with Orozco’s famed "Man of Fire" murals.
- Tequila country The UNESCO agave landscape and distillery town of Tequila lie an hour west.
- Tlaquepaque & Tonalá Artisan districts of ceramics, blown glass and gallery-lined pedestrian streets.
- Mariachi heartland Live mariachi in the plazas and an international festival every summer.
About the destination
Guadalajara is Mexico’s second-largest city and the capital of Jalisco — the state that gave the world mariachi music, charrería and tequila. Its historic center spreads out from the twin-spired cathedral across a chain of monumental plazas, crowned by the Hospicio Cabañas, a UNESCO World Heritage site housing José Clemente Orozco’s most powerful murals.
Beyond the center, the artisan suburbs of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá are famous for ceramics and blown glass, while the blue-agave landscape around the town of Tequila — itself a UNESCO-listed region — begins less than an hour west. Come hungry: tortas ahogadas and birria are local institutions.