During last week´s #MexicoToday Twitter party I co-hosted, I noticed that many tweeps (myself included) were using the words “magical” and “mágico” to describe México and their experiences in this country.  It´s difficult not to include the word magical when talking about a country that exudes so much mysticism because of the force of its natural beauty and the juxtaposition of ancient, colonial and modern cultures all at once.  The unexplainable and unattainable becomes magical for a loss of a word that can encompass it all.

The Mexico Tourism Board acknowledges that México´s magical element, and not only its sun and beaches, is what keeps many tourists coming back.  Thus, they  created the Pueblos Mágicos {Magical Towns} program to recognize 37 places across the country that imbue certain characteristics that make them unique and historically significant.

The characteristics a town needs to have to be officially considered a Pueblo Mágico are:

1.  Be located in an area close to a popular tourist spot or a large city

2.  Be accessible by a modern road

3.  Have a high historical, religious and cultural significance

The only regret I have of the six years I lived in México is not traveling the country enough and discovering its less-visited areas. Sure, I do have a very long and amazing list of places I did go to and loved every one of them, but now that I know about the Pueblos Mágicos program (and I can stop beating myself over the head for not knowing about this before), I feel the urge to travel to every single one of the 37 towns on the list.  I can´t believe I´ve only been to four of them–Tepoztlán (actually lived there for three months), Valle de Bravo (my in-laws live there and we visit as often as we can. Remember our Mexican Holiday in Pictures post?), San Cristobal de las Casas (spent the strangest New Year´s Eve there) and San Miguel de Allende.

But I totally missed visiting places that were so accessible to me such as Pátzcuaro, Tequila, Taxco, Real de Catorce, Huasca de Ocampo, Coatepec, Bacalar and so many more.

The whole list of towns marks places that are well-known to locals for their enchanting streets, plazas, unique and peculiar architecture, artistic handicrafts and endearing people and traditions. Each one of these places holds a key to México´s history and is a piece of the puzzle to why this country as a whole is magical.

The Mexican Tourism Board created this program to make it easy for you to plan your trip and discover with your family the places that will truly immerse you in the country´s richness of culture.

Go to the Pueblos Mágicos site on VisitMexico.com to get a full list and description of all the Magical Towns.  The site also provides a guide to where to sleep, eat and how to get there.

Now you know and I hope knowing will get you there to feel the magia for yourself.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB6Be6cHoGs

Have you visited any of these Pueblos Mágicos?  Is there one that you´d really like to visit with your family?

Disclosure:  I am being compensated for my work in creating and managing content as a Community Manager for the México Today Program.  I am also being invited to an all-expenses paid trip to Oaxaca as part of my role.  All stories, opinions and passion for all things México shared here are completely my own.