The sweeping landscape of Mexico’s central highlands (also known as the Mexican Altiplano) is home to some of the country’s most picturesque and agreeable colonial towns and cities which offer an abundance of character and culture—and the benefits of mountain living.

The benefits of mountain living in Mexico

Living at elevation —typically, Mexico’s inland colonial towns and cities are situated at elevations of at least 4,000 feet above sea level— offers several benefits:

Ideal climates

Many places situated at elevation in Mexico offer the benefit of year-round temperate, low-humidity, climates created by a combination of the locations’ latitude and an average elevation around 6,000 feet above sea level which make it a pleasure to live and be outdoors, and an ideal location to enjoy active outdoor activities.

Enjoy plenty of daylight all-year

Year-round and especially during the winter, you benefit from at least ten hours of daylight every day of the year, with no shortage of daylight hours in the winter, and you also enjoy extended light into the evenings during the late spring and summer months.  You can learn about climates through the seasons in Mexico here on Mexperience.

Fresh highland air and breathtaking views

Enjoy crisp, fresh, mountain air which complements the magnificent views from local vantage points, and elevations that can aid your good health and general well-being without being too high so as to become uncomfortable.

Access to good local infrastructure and amenities

Many of Mexico’s popular colonial highland towns and cities offer provincial living with plenty of local fresh food and produce markets, (much of it grown locally), independent shops and boutique traders, with accessibility to popular big-brand stores, outlets, and supermarkets as well as specialized stores offering foods and homewares foreign residents often seek out when living here. Most colonial cities also have adequate-to-excellent healthcare facilities locally; in smaller towns, more extensive facilities are available in larger nearby cities.

Well-connected to transport links

You’ll discover that the highland towns are well connected by modern roads, most are serviced by frequent intercity bus services, and some also have airports nearby. High-speed internet access is available in your home, as well as wireless data over advanced mobile networks which form part of Mexico’s extensive communications infrastructure.

Integrate into genuine local communities

Many of the colonial towns and cities offer you the opportunity to participate and integrate in local communities.  Here you can discover authentic neighborhoods and real local community spirit, and if you choose to, you can integrate with local lifestyles and community groups, and forge long-term friendships.

Considerations for mountain living in Mexico

Mountain living isn’t for everyone.  Some people yearn to be near the ocean with year-round warmth, whereas highland towns tend to be cooler—and may even get cold at times during the winter months.  A very small number of people find that they can’t adjust to living at higher elevations, while others find the mountain towns too remote, rural, or provincial for their lifestyle preferences or intentions.

If you’re unsure, visit for an extended stay

An ideal way to determine if mountain life in Mexico will suit you is to invest in a trial period —perhaps six months to a year— and see how you respond to the experience.  When you take the time to explore, you’ll discover thriving communities where, when you’re prepared to integrate, local people will come to know and greet you by name, you’ll cultivate appreciable relationships, you’ll give and receive value as you trade at the local markets through transactions which feel human and personal… and over time, you become the community you seek.

When you look with care you’ll also find the very best of Mexico in these places—people, culture, climate, food, amenities, and real local communities. For some, Mexico’s highland towns and cities become exceptionally special places to live.

Choosing between urban and (semi) rural settings

Other than Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, Mexico’s highland towns and cities are situated in provincial (rural or semi-rural) settings and we recommend your consider whether living in the Mexican countryside would suit you, as well as giving careful thought to your lifestyle needs as a whole as you short-list potential places to live instead of looking at certain aspects in isolation.

As with other places you may consider moving to in Mexico, you’ll need to plan and prepare for your new lifestyle, you might need to acclimatize to the higher elevation, and you’ll need to be prepared to forge your own story here. Hundreds of thousands of foreign residents enjoy a good life in Mexico; with some considered choices and forward planning, you could as well.

Explore highland towns and cities in Mexico

Here are some of the more popular colonial towns and cities foreign residents have settled in, as well as some which are less well-known and gaining attention in recent times.

Mexico’s colonial heartland

Querétaro, Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende for traditional colonial highland cities; Aguascalientes for a more contemporary living lifestyle; and Zacatecas if you’re seeking a mountain city off-the-beaten-track and on the edge of a mountain frontier.

South-central highlands

Cuernavaca, Tepoztlán, and Puebla.  These traditional provincial highland places are situated conveniently close to Mexico City and yet are far enough removed from the congestion of the capital to enjoy a genuine provincial atmosphere and feel.  For a more rustic option off-the-beaten track in this area, consider Taxco.

In the mountains west of Mexico City

The highland lakeside towns of Chapala, and Ajijic are home to the largest community of foreign residents in Mexico; the city of Morelia offers old-world colonial elegance, and the ancient highland town of Pátzcuaro offers an attractive blend of colonial indigenous cultures amidst an intimate colonial setting. If you’re seeking an urban lifestyle at elevation, Guadalajara offers vibrancy, culture, and all the benefits of a large metropolitan city, and is close to Ajijic, Chapala, and Jocotepec—small towns settled along the northern shoreline of Lake Chapala and home to tens of thousands of foreign residents, most from the US and Canada.

Further south, to Oaxaca and Chiapas

Oaxaca City remains one of the most authentic and cultured colonial cities in Mexico; and further south, in the breath-taking state of Chiapas, you’ll find the highland mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas—somewhat off-the-beaten-track and close to the traditional indigenous mountain communities of San Juan Chamula and Zinacatán.

Discover more places to live in Mexico

Discover interesting and charming locations to live, work or retire in Mexico, and articles with helpful insights about choosing a place to settle here.

Resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• Detailed knowledge about planning a move in Mexico
• Insightful articles about living and lifestyle in Mexico
• Detailed insights about retirement in Mexico
• Practical insights for planning your Mexico lifestyle
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

Place is personal, subjective, and important—and as you consider places to live in Mexico, Mexperience helps you to consider your choices and shortlist locations that may suit your lifestyle needs.

Discover places to live, work or retire in Mexico

To help you discover and explore potential places to live here, Mexperience publishes a curated list of locations to consider for living, working or retirement in Mexico—organized by popularity and notoriety and classified by the location type.

Our articles introduce you to key places where many foreign residents live now, emerging locations that are becoming increasingly popular with foreign residents, as well as those places that are less well known, or situated off-the-beaten path. We also publish a selection of detailed guides of places to live in Mexico:

The most popular places to live in Mexico

Discover locations that have for a long time, or in recent times, garnered considerable popularity with foreign residents (retirees and others) and have active communities of interest established at the location.

Emerging locations to live in Mexico

Discover locations that have, in recent years, been catching the attention of foreign residents and have fledgling or developing communities of interest present there.

Underexplored locations to live in Mexico

Discover places that do not have significant numbers of foreign residents already established and are generally ‘off-the-beaten-path’ for most foreigners considering Mexico for living and retirement. These places can offer attractions that may be of interest to some potential foreign residents and retirees seeking someplace more traditional, unusual, and with a lower concentration of foreign residents living there.

Detailed living guides

For detailed guides to selected places to live and work or retire, connect to our section with Guides to Living Places in Mexico

Most (but not all) of Mexico’s colonial cities are situated at elevations of at least 5,000 feet above sea level and if the place you choose is situated in these high lands you can expect cooler and more temperate climates year-round than you’ll experience in colonial cities which are situated at lower elevation or nearer to the coasts where temperatures soar, particularly during the late spring and through the summer months.

During late fall and throughout the winter, early mornings, evenings, and nights are cooler in colonial cities—even chilly in some higher places that may also require the warmth of a fireplace or other heating system. The spring and fall climates are close to ideal in most of Mexico’s highland colonial cities, featuring a temperate ambiance with occasional rainfalls between otherwise undisturbed sunlight, shining across crisp and deep azure-blue skies.

The late spring and summer months in Mexico’s highland colonial cities are warm and can get quite hot.  Most regions experience seasonal rains between June and October each year; these often take the form of torrential afternoon or evening downpours which cool the high summer temperatures and make the local flora radiate with color and fragrance.

Which colonial cities are people moving to?  The two big ‘expat enclaves’ of San Miguel de Allende and Ajijic/Chapala have been popular with foreign residents for decades, and their lure and appeal is still attractive to many who visit and call these places their home, full or part-time.

Foreigners researching places to live in Mexico will usually come across popular colonial locations like San Miguel de Allende, Ajijic, and Cuernavaca. Other places that are less well-known but which have have been rising in popularity in recent years include: Mérida, Puebla, Guanajuato, Querétaro, and Oaxaca. For places somewhat off-the-beaten-path, you might also consider researching San Cristobal de las Casas, and Morelia (with nearby Pátzcuaro).  If you’re seeking a colonial setting near the coast consider Mazatlán, Manzanillo, and Campeche.

With the exception of the most popular colonial towns, Mexico’s colonial settings offer (generally speaking) lower property purchase and rental prices than equivalent land and homes situated at popular Mexican beach-side towns and resorts. However, house prices in colonial cities have risen substantially in recent years and property prices across Mexico are no longer the bargain they once were.  It’s also worth keeping in mind that lesser-known colonial locations don’t tend to generate the same level of property sales turnover as the most popular locations do, so if you buy land or property away from a fashionable area, it might take longer to sell.  You can learn all about property purchase and ownership in Mexico here on Mexperience.

We recommend above all else that you take time to step back and consider your lifestyle needs and short-list locations in Mexico that serve those needs.

If you’re looking for a long-term investment and a foothold in Mexico that will provide you with a stable home, a good climate, decent access by road (some cities also have airports not far away); a lower cost of living than the US, Canada and Europe; and a place where you can be surrounded by culture and heritage, do some research here on Mexperience to learn about Mexico’s colonial cities and then go and experience a few of them in person.  You may be pleasantly surprised.

Morelia is the capital of the state of Michoacan and one of the country’s most significant colonial cities. In 1541, Mexico’s first Viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, named the city Valladolid after the city in Spain where he was born. Following Mexico’s War of Independence, it was renamed Morelia to honor one of the city’s greatest heroes: Jose Maria Morelos.

Located about 200 miles west of Mexico City, Morelia is colonial with an aristocratic feel. The city is filled with elegant Spanish Colonial architecture featuring pink stone and baroque styles. Many areas in this capital city have remained true to their colonial heritage because Morelia, like many colonial cities in Mexico, has strict building regulations to ensure that the original look and feel of the city is well-preserved.

The center of town hosts a beautiful pink stone cathedral—one of the finest in Mexico—with twin towers over 200 feet high. Morelia has over one and a half million residents, a large university, and many opportunities for high-end art, music and other cultural experiences such as museums, theater and exhibits.

Morelia also has a number of good language schools where people from all over the world come to study for extended periods of time.

Nearby Morelia is the colonial town of Patzcuaro. Just 45 minutes by highway from Morelia, Patzcuaro is a charming town with a mixed colonial and indigenous feel. Although Patzcuaro is close enough for a day-trip, it is best experienced with a stay over of at least one night.

The state of Michoacan is host to the Monarch Butterflies, which arrive from the USA and Canada in early November and stay through the end of February. Domestic and international tourists alike come to see the butterflies which cover the trees with a bright flaming orange hue at the sanctuary near the town of Angangueo. Although it’s about a 3-hour drive from Morelia to see the Monarchs, it’s an amazing experience. See Key Attractions, below, for more details.

Key Attractions

Colonial Center

An impressive pink stone cathedral dominates the main plaza, which is surrounded by beautiful colonial buildings. The cathedral is said to have taken over 100 years to build and is one of the finest (if not the finest) in all of Mexico.

The cathedral’s twin towers, large organ and sculpture of the Crucifixion (Senor de la Sacristia) are worth a visit.

One of Morelia’s most prominent architectural features is the El Acueducto (the aqueduct), which is an artificial channel that brings water from one location to another. Morelia’s aqueduct runs along dozens of colonial arches that stretch for over a mile across the city. You’ll probably travel under at least one of the arches while you’re in town, so you can’t miss it.

Other colonial features worth visiting here include:

Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace), which is about a block east of the cathedral, and today boasts fine murals that tell the history of Michoacan and Mexico.

Palacio Clavijero is right next to the tourist office and about 2 blocks west of the cathedral and has a pink stone patio. The Palacio Clavijero was a school, a warehouse and a prison before hosting the state government offices as it does today.

Colegio de San Nicolas de Hidalgo, which is between Palacio Clavijero and the cathedral, hosts a statue of Miguel Hidalgo, one of the heroes of Mexican independence, amid a beautiful courtyard.

Plaza del Carmen is a few blocks north of the cathedral around the corner from the Museo de Arte Colonial and has numerous cultural performances. It’s also around the corner from the Museo de la Mascara (mask museum) which is worth a visit as well.

Templo de Capuchinas is a few blocks south of the Plaza Valladolid and is an adorable little baroque church that is best seen between 8 am and 9 am or 5 pm and 6 pm during mass.

Museums and Art in Morelia

Morelia has several museums that are worth visiting to get an insight into the history and social evolution of this part of Mexico.

Casa Museo de Morelos is a converted house, the place where Morelos lived as an adult.

Museo del Estado (State Museum) displays the archaeology and history around Morelia on the lower level and contemporary life in Michoacan on the upper level.

Museo Regional Michoacano (Regional Museum of the State of Michoacan) displays pre-Hispanic and colonial artifacts, contemporary art from local artists as well as the region’s fauna.

Museo de Arte Colonial displays a selection of religious paintings from the 18th Century.

Patzcuaro

Just 45 minutes by road southwest of Morelia is the town of Patzcuaro. This beautiful town with its indigenous feel makes a perfect day-trip from Morelia. And if you fall in love with it as many people do, you can always return easily, or perhaps use Patzcuaro as a base to explore the areas around it more fully. Read the Mexperience Guide to Patzcuaro for full details.

Monarch Butterflies in Michoacan

Michoacan’s Butterfly Sanctuary (Santuario de Mariposas El Rosario) is situated high up in the mountains of north-eastern Michoacan.

The Monarch Butterflies arrive in Mexico from the USA and Canada in early November, and you can see them here until late February or early March.

Despite the 3 hour drive from Morelia, you’ll find the trip is worth every minute of the journey. The sanctuary is near a small colonial town called Angangueo, near the village of El Rosario (thus the name). For a small entry fee, you can hike uphill for about an hour to catch a glimpse of these amazing butterflies.

The best way to see the butterflies is by means of an organized tour, arranged via travel specialists who know the area and are experienced in taking small groups to the sanctuaries.

To learn more about these remarkable insects, their migration and over winter in Mexico, connect to our complete guide to Monarch Butterflies in Mexico.

Getting There & Around

By Air – You can fly to Morelia from the USA and other points in Mexico including Mexico City, Guadalajara and Leon. Morelia has become extremely well-connected by air from serveral US cities in recent years. Mexicana Airlines flies non-stop between Dallas Forth Worth and Morelia and between Los Angeles and Morelia. Continental Airlines also flies from Los Angeles to Morelia, and from Houston to Morelia. The Houston connection is particularly useful for people connecting from other US cities, Canada and Europe as Houston is Continental’s principal hub. The airport is about 15 miles away from the city center and taxis will be standing by to take you into town when your flight arrives.For detailed information about flights and flying, see the Mexperience guide to Air Travel in Mexico.

By Bus – You can travel to Morelia on a luxury bus from Mexico City – the trip takes around 4 hours. The buses depart from the Western Bus Terminal (Terminal de Autobus Poniente) – and are frequent and plentiful. For detailed information about bus transportation read the Mexperience guide to Bus Travel in Mexico.

By Car – Driving to Morelia from either Guadalajara or Mexico City (Morelia is equidistant from these two cities, the drive takes 3-4 hours) is fairly easy using Highway 15, a high-speed toll road. See additional information about Driving in Mexico and Mexico’s Toll Roads on Mexperience.

Car Rental – To explore Mexico’s colonial towns and cities, consider renting a car for your visit. Having your own car will give you more flexibility than using public transport options and, in some cases, offer you access to places which are otherwise difficult to visit without the use of a car. Read our guide to Car Rental in Mexico to learn what you need to know about car rental in Mexico and connect to the Mexperience Travel Center to reserve your Rental Car.

Taxis – Taxis in most of Mexico’s colonial towns and cities are not metered, so agree your price before you get in. Taxi travel is very affordable in Mexico, in comparison to the USA, Canada and Europe, and so provides a viable means of public transportation in Mexico. Your hotel can arrange taxis for you; some post their rates on a board in the lobby; taxi hotel rates are usually higher than cabs you hail off the street. If you speak Spanish, you will have a distinct advantage and be able to negotiate a price with the driver. For detailed information, read the Mexperience guide to Taxi Travel in Mexico

Morelia Essentials

Telephone: Connect to the guide about Communications in Mexico on Mexperience for detailed information about keeping in touch and the latest table of national dialing codes.

Exchanging Currency: Banks with ATM machines can be found throughout the downtown area of Morelia. During business hours, they and the local Casas de Cambio will buy traveler’s cheques and cash from you as well. For detailed information about exchanging and managing your money, read the Mexperience guide to Money in Mexico.

Travel Insurance: We recommend that you are adequately covered with travel medical insurance and/or travel assistance insurance when you are visiting Mexico. Read the Mexperience guide to Travel Insurance in Mexico for full details and links to specialist insurance suppliers.

Internet Access: Internet cafes can be easily found in towns and cities across Mexico and WiFi is increasingly commonplace–from cafes, shops, hotels, and some cities even offer free WiFi in some defined public spaces.

What to Buy in Moreila

You can buy good quality, locally made and hand-crafted Mexican craftwork in and around Morelia and the surrounding towns and villages. The Mercado de Artesanias features craft works from almost every main town and village in the state: each town/village specialises in a certain type of craft. The market provides you with a convenient opportunity to buy genuine crafts made in the surrounding towns and villages; however, if your time allows, you should also consider visiting the surrounding area to get a full appreciation of the way the materials are worked and the craftworks created.

Don’t miss the opportunity to buy some traditional Mexican confectionery which is a specialty in this state (Michoacan) – and sold all over the Mexico. Two sweets which you should definitely try are: Chongos (made from milk, honey and cinnamon) and Ates, which are made from fruit paste. You can buy the local confectionery from market stalls, shops and other trading outlets all around this area.

Local Climate

Morelia, standing at an altitude of around 1,980 meters (6,500 feet), enjoys year-round, warm and dry weather. The climate is spring-like and thus ideal for taking part in a variety of outdoor activities and for taking in the local culture, architecture and scenery. The rainy season is April thru November. As with most monsoon areas, rains tend to be fierce and brief in the late afternoon, leaving the evenings dry and cooled off. Winters here can be chilly (November to February) – so bring warm clothes during these months.

Weather & Climates in Mexico

Learn more about the weather and climates through the seasons and regions by connecting to the Mexperience guide about Weather and Climates in Mexico