Where the rough Sierra Madre range turns abruptly into lush coastal plains, and the waters of the Bahía de Campeche rush up to meet rocky beaches and sandy dunes, the Old World first met the New with the arrival of Hernán Cortés on Good Friday, April 21, 1519. There, some 250 miles east of what's now Mexico City, in a land rich with Mesoamerican Indian tribal culture, Cortés planted a cross and called it La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz (The Rich Village of the True Cross) and established the first settlement at La Antigua, sixteen miles north of the present city.

Today, over a million people call Ciudad de Veracruz (Veracruz City) home, Mexico's oldest city. Its maze of old colonial-style buildings with balconies and iron grills lining clean cobblestone-and-palm-lined streets harken back to the days of early Nueva España. Its distinctly Caribbean personality combines elegant Spanish heritage with Afro-Cuban rhythms and the spicy flair of Mexico. Veracruz has seen its share of Spanish invaders, pirates, slave traders, and armies from France and the United States, who all mixed with the Pre-Hispanic indigenous peoples resulting in a mélange that defies description. Its residents, commonly called Jarochos (The Rude Ones), are a fun-loving, lively people who love to have a good time.

Best Time to Go

It rains a lot here, and the humidity is overpowering any time of year. And while Veracruz's Carnaval is going on, usually in February, it's almost impossible to find a place to stay. May through July, even though the temperature can reach the low 80s, the humidity can make it seem even hotter. From September through November, hurricanes blow in from the Caribbean, and the winds change to a northerly direction during the winter, making November to March the best time to visit.

Cuisine

The gastronomic mosaic that's Veracruz cuisine — a combination of indigenous, Creole, mestiza, and mulato — combines fresh seafood with aromatic herbs and spices and tropical fruits to produce a synthesis of ingredients like no other in Mexico.

While maize (corn), beans, and squash have been staples of the Mexican diet since ancient times, Jarochos have added a variety of tropical fruits, tomatoes, chiles, and avocados to the ingredients of their ancestors to produce sauces a la Veracruzana. African slaves brought plantains, yucca, sweet potatoes, and peanuts, important elements of West African/Caribbean cooking, and added them to produce such dishes as pollo encacahuatado (chicken in peanut sauce). Also, you must sample the myriad of local seafood.

Or perhaps you'll prefer snacking on tasty gordas (thick corn cakes stuffed with beans) or picaditas Veracruzanas (ingredient-topped tortillas with salsa), and empanadas (meat pies) sold at street stands. In this hot climate, the locals love to drink licuados (fruit milk-shakes) and helados (traditional milkshakes). Try a toro, a milkshake made with rum — delicious.

If you have a sweet tooth, you'll enjoy lechero con canillas (milk and strong coffee with a special sweet bread). And since the coffee grown in the cool highlands of Veracruz is the best in Mexico, you'll be in heaven if you're a coffee lover.

Cautions and Safety Concerns

Veracruz is as safe a city as any in Mexico. However, watch out for pickpockets during Carnaval.

Getting Around Veracruz

After arriving at Veracruz's airport, you can catch a van into town for about $6 per person. You'll find taxis unmetered, inexpensive, and plentiful. Agree on the price before you get into the cab. Or you may want to hop on inexpensive, reproduction wooden trolley cars on rubber wheels, called Los Tranvías del Recuerdos (The Tramcars of Memories), that ply the streets as part of the city's public transit system.