All Mexico

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Mexico

596 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Mexico

Updated May 16, 2025

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Cities

Top Cities
All Cities
  1. Aguascalientes
  2. Angahuan
  3. Atotonilco
  4. Bacalar
  5. Bernal
  6. Cabo San Lucas
  7. Campeche
  8. Cancún
  9. Chichen Itza
  10. Chihuahua
  11. Ciudad Juárez
  12. Cuatrociénegas
  13. Cuernavaca
  14. Cuilapam De Guerrero
  15. Dolores Hidalgo
  16. Durango
  17. Ensenada
  18. Guadalajara
  19. Guanajuato
  20. Isla Mujeres
  21. Ixmiquilpan
  22. Izamal
  23. León
  24. Malinalco
  25. Mazatlán
  26. Mérida
  27. Metepec
  28. Mexico City
  29. Monterrey
  30. Morelia
  31. Nativitas
  32. Naucalpan
  33. Oaxaca
  34. Pachuca De Soto
  35. Palenque
  36. Papantla
  37. Pátzcuaro
  38. Playa Del Carmen
  39. Puebla
  40. Puerto Escondido
  41. Puerto Vallarta
  42. San Agustín Etla
  43. San Andrés Cholula
  44. San Cristóbal De Las Casas
  45. San Francisco Mazapa
  46. San Juan Teotihuacan De Arista
  47. San Luis Potosí
  48. San Miguel De Allende
  49. San Pablo Villa De Mitla
  50. San Rafael
  51. Santiago
  52. Santiago De Querétaro
  53. Taxco
  54. Tepoztlán
  55. Tequisquiapan
  56. Tijuana
  57. Tlalnepantla
  58. Toluca
  59. Tuxtla Gutiérrez
  60. Valladolid
  61. Valle De Bravo
  62. Villahermosa
  63. Xicotepec De Juárez
  64. Xilitla
  65. Zacatecas

Unusual Attractions in Mexico

See All 596 Things To Do in Mexico

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Mexico

See all 45 Places to Eat in Mexico
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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Gastro Obscura’s 10 Essential Places to Eat and Drink in Oaxaca

Oaxaca, the mountainous state in Mexico’s south, is celebrated as the country’s “cradle of diversity.” Home to 16 Indigenous ethnic groups from Mixtecs to Triques to Zapotecs, it also boasts the country’s greatest biodiversity, counting 522 edible herbs, over 30 native agave varieties distilled by some 600 mezcal-producing facilities, 35 landraces (unique cultivars) of corn, and some two-dozen native species of chiles and beans. Oaxaca de Juárez, the state’s colonial capital, is drawing record numbers of visitors these days for its cobblestoned streets and the arty graffiti. But the main draw is Oaxaca’s status as the culinary epicenter of Mexico for its dozens of mole varieties, an encyclopedia of corn masa-based antojitos—memelas, tetelas, totopos, tlayudas, tamales—and a baroque layering of colonial-Spanish and pre-Hispanic Indigenous foodways. Local chefs understand that to be culinary authority here one must be part botanist and part anthropologist—roles which they embrace with great relish. Among the welcome recent developments to the restaurant scene has been the great rise of female chefs, as well as a new interest in cooking from the state’s different regions in addition to the complex colonial flavors of the Valles Centrales surrounding the capital. Whether you’re after unusual moles from the rugged Mixteca region, breads made exclusively from Oaxacan wheat, or a country lunch featuring edible insects, our guide has you covered. From a cult street taco stand to a Michelin-starred chef resurrecting forgotten dishes, here are the culinary highs to hit.

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Explore Mexico

Museums 106
Architecture 76
Art 71
Archaeology 66
Ruins 55
Murals 50
Aztec 48
History 46

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Stories About Mexico

In Mexico, today’s teyollohcuani is a terrifying, shape-shifting, vampire-like witch, but the figure has deep precolonial roots and a complex evolution.

Mexico's Vampire Witch Has a Twisted Origin Story

The terrifying teyollohcuani is a shape-shifter of ancient indigenous lore, dark colonial history, and pop culture.
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For the Ancient Maya, Cracked Mirrors Were a Portal to the World Beyond

Nobles of the powerful Mesoamerican civilization conjured gods and ancestors in rituals centered around the objects.
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Oaxaca is famous for its crafts, including alebrijes, colorful wood-carved animals.

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When fermented tuba gets distilled, just one fifth of the volume becomes vino de cocos.

Is This Mexico's Oldest Spirit?

In the state of Colima, one man is reviving vino de cocos, a distillate that disappeared in the 1700s.
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Honeypot ants feed on sweet nectar and death.

All Winter, These Ants Make the Ultimate Sweet Sacrifice to Their Colony

Their syrupy death is medicinal for humans, too.
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A 500-Year-Old Record of the Aztec Empire Comes to Life

The Digital Florentine Codex’s three languages and thousands of hand-painted illustrations provide a window into culture, war, and daily life.
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Lists Featuring Mexico

Beside the auto shop’s signage.

11 Marvelous Mexican Restaurants Hiding in Plain Sight

Sometimes, the best tacos are served inside an auto shop.

11

Including El Vilsito , Zaragoza Mexican Deli and Grocery, and La Morada

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The otherworldly landscape of Padar Island.
Black Sand Beach

10 Unique Beaches From Around the World

From bright red grass to stranded shipwrecks, these beaches are anything but ordinary.

10

Including Driftwood Beach, Red Beach , and Padar Island

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