Flying into Hermanos Serdan International Airport in Puebla puts you in a great spot, surrounded by cities, towns, and attractions close by. Puebla is a city of tiled church domes, baroque facades, and some of the most celebrated food in Mexico, all set beneath the snow-capped volcanoes Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. The UNESCO-listed center feels grand but lived-in, with antique markets, candy shops, and sidewalk cemita stands on every other block.

A taste of what Puebla offers: - Stand under the gilded Capilla del Rosario inside the Templo de Santo Domingo - Visit the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, the oldest public library in the Americas - Hunt for antiques on Sunday at the Callejon de los Sapos - Buy hand-painted Talavera pottery at El Parian market and the Barrio del Artista - Eat mole poblano, chalupas, and a cemita stacked with milanesa and quesillo - Ride the Estrella de Puebla, a giant Ferris wheel with views of the volcanoes - Walk the Fuertes de Loreto y Guadalupe, where the Cinco de Mayo battle was fought in 1862 - Tour the Museo Internacional del Barroco, a striking modern building by Toyo Ito - Climb the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the largest by volume on earth, topped by a yellow church

Cholula is only about 20 minutes from Puebla, and Atlixco, with its flower nurseries and warm climate, is around 45 minutes south. Tlaxcala, a small, colorful state capital, is under an hour away, and Mexico City is about two hours northwest. Come between late July and September for chiles en nogada, the green, white, and red dish created here in the 1820s to honor Mexican independence, and leave with a box of camotes, the sweet potato candies sold along Calle 6 Oriente.