Arriving at Aguascalientes Jesus Teran Peredo Intl Airport in Aguascalientes places you close to it all, with several nearby cities just a short drive away. Aguascalientes is a mid-sized central Mexican city with a clean, walkable colonial center, warm springs that gave it its name, and the biggest annual fair in the country. It has a railroad and textile past, a growing wine and craft beer scene, and an easygoing pride in being a place that works.

Standout experiences around Aguascalientes: - Join the Feria Nacional de San Marcos from mid-April through early May, three weeks of concerts, bullfights, and casinos - Stroll the Jardin de San Marcos and its pink stone balustrade - Visit the Museo Nacional de la Muerte, a museum devoted to Mexican death imagery - See the original prints of Jose Guadalupe Posada, creator of La Catrina, at his namesake museum - Admire the Templo de San Antonio and the murals in the Palacio de Gobierno on Plaza de la Patria - Tour the old rail yards at the Museo Ferrocarrilero - Soak in the thermal pools at Ojocaliente - Eat gorditas, lechon al horno, and guava sweets from Calvillo

From Aguascalientes, the guava-growing town of Calvillo is about an hour west, and the pretty mining village of Real de Asientos sits about the same distance northeast. San Jose de Gracia, with its enormous Cristo Roto statue on an island in a reservoir, is also within an hour, and Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi are each roughly two hours out. The fairgrounds are quiet most of the year, but in late April Aguascalientes becomes one giant party, and locals say you have not seen the city until you have seen the fair.