Xalapa

A mountain capital in central Veracruz state with one of Mexico's densest café and restaurant scenes and the oldest symphony orchestra in the country, Xalapa traces its origins to 1313 and was dubbed "City of Flowers" by Alexander von Humboldt during his 1804 visit. The historic centre holds the Metropolitan Cathedral and a concentration of colonial architecture, and the city's highland setting above the Gulf coast gives it a notably cooler climate than the lowlands nearby.

• Population424,755
• Nearest water1.3 km
• Nearest mountain1.9 km