All Mexico

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Mexico

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

Updated June 1, 2023

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Cities

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

Unusual Attractions in Mexico

See All 534 Things To Do in Mexico

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Mexico

See all 10 Places to Eat in Mexico
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Trips

Oaxaca: Tastes of Past & Present

Join us as we explore the indigenous flavors, contemporary cuisine, and rich history of Oaxaca—meeting local chefs, artisans, and historians along the way.

Learn More

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Mexico City's Centro Histórico

Anchored by the Zócalo plaza and the architectural splendor of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City's historic center rightfully draws scores of visitors from around the world. If you look, smell, and taste carefully, you’ll also find a universe of culinary offerings that tells stories of immigration, adaptation, and imagination. With the help of Culinary Backstreets, we assembled a primer on eating and drinking your way through the district.

View Itinerary

Explore Mexico

Art 69
Archaeology 62
Museums And Collections 58
Ruins 55
Aztec 46
Sacred Spaces 45
Murals 44
History 41

Mexico Leaderboard

Recent Mexico Activity

Stories About Mexico

Nestled high in Mexico's mountains, a community works to protect the Endangered monarch butterflies that come to hibernate in the hundreds of thousands. Here two members of that community, Eduardo Carrillo and David Bautista, show the difference between males (left), who have two black dots on their wings, and females (right).

How This Tiny Mexican Town Has Saved Their Monarch Butterflies—For Now

At the Joya Redonda Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, hibernating monarch numbers have multiplied tenfold. But is that enough to save the insect?
by Vanessa Freije & Yolotzin Hernández
In the Caribbean's Lesser Antilles archipelago, this aerial shot from April 2015 shows sargassum seaweed creeping toward a beach on Grande-Terre, which is part of the island of Guadeloupe, one of France's overseas départements.

10 Photos of Seaweed Blobs That Will Blow Your Mind

As a supersized sargassum bloom heads toward Florida and the Caribbean, we take a closer look at past big blobs.
by Sarah Durn
Families were raised and communities created in the migrant camps of Yakima Valley, Washington.

How Photos Tell the Story of a Migrant Farm Community to a New Generation

“I see the collection as a tool for uncovering what is already there."
by Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing
The cookbook also includes instructions on decorating your own sugar skulls. Don't eat these: You'll chip a tooth.

A Cookbook for Dining With the Dead

Learn to make amaranth skulls, “buried” tamales, and other regional Día de Muertos recipes.
by Sam O'Brien

Podcast: Concrete Animals of Mexico

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
Black sapote, better known as chocolate pudding fruit.

Does This Fruit Really Taste Like Chocolate Pudding?

Plus the turducken of beers.
by Diana Hubbell
A jaguar in Mexico escapes the day's heat in a shady pool.

Will the Jaguar Return to the American Southwest?

Scientists monitoring the big cats in northwestern Mexico see potential paths to reintroduction across the border.
by Ganesh Marin and John Koprowski
Leydy Pech considers traditional Maya beekeeping an "ancestral" calling.

The Keeper of Sacred Bees Who Took on a Giant

To save her native Maya bees and their shrinking forests, Leydy Pech waged a fierce campaign on multiple fronts.
by Gemma Tarlach

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

Red Seabeach
Padar Island and its crystal-clear turquoise water.
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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