Puebla

Three days around the Zócalo, Los Fuertes and Cholula

Spend the first of three Puebla days in the centre. Start on the Zócalo with the cathedral and the Biblioteca Palafoxiana next door, its 17th-century reading room seen from the doorway, then walk three blocks north to Santo Domingo and the gold-covered Capilla del Rosario.

After a cemita lunch, wander to the Casa del Alfeñique, its facade like iced cake, and the Mercado El Parián crafts market. End the day in the bars around the Callejón de los Sapos.

Day two: tiles and the battle. Take a morning tour at a Talavera workshop such as Uriarte to see the hand-painted pottery being made. Then visit the Museo Amparo, with its collection of pre-Hispanic and colonial art and a rooftop terrace overlooking the domes. In the afternoon, take a taxi up the Cerro de Guadalupe to the Fuerte de Loreto, where Mexican troops defeated the French on 5 May 1862, and walk on to the Fuerte de Guadalupe. Coming back down, the restored tunnels of the Pasaje Histórico 5 de Mayo surface in a district of street murals.

Day three: Cholula. Go to San Pedro Cholula and the Great Pyramid, the largest pyramid by volume in the world, now a grassy hill with the church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios on top. Walk through the excavated tunnels, then take a taxi to the indigenous baroque church of Santa María Tonantzintla, whose interior is crowded with painted angels and fruit. Return to Cholula for dinner and its student bars.

Mole poblano, cemitas and the sweets of Calle 6 Oriente

Puebla's claim to have invented Mexican cooking rests on mole poblano, the dark sauce of dried chillies, spices, nuts, seeds and a little chocolate, served over turkey or chicken and sprinkled with sesame. Legend credits the nuns of the Santa Rosa convent, whose tiled kitchen can still be visited.

The other emblem is chiles en nogada: poblano chillies stuffed with minced meat and fruit, covered in a creamy walnut sauce and scattered with pomegranate seeds and parsley, in the colours of the Mexican flag. The dish is seasonal, available from about July to September, and restaurants compete over their versions.

Everyday eating is just as good. A cemita is a sesame roll filled with breaded meat, avocado, stringy quesillo cheese, chipotle and the pungent herb pápalo. Tacos árabes, introduced by Lebanese immigrants, wrap spit-roasted pork in a soft flatbread with chipotle sauce. Small fried tortillas called chalupas, topped with red or green salsa and shredded pork, are sold around the Barrio de San Francisco. The Mercado de Sabores Poblanos gathers dozens of stalls serving these local dishes under one roof.

For dessert, walk along Calle 6 Oriente, known as the street of sweets, where shops sell camotes (sweet-potato candies), tortitas de Santa Clara and sugared fruit from old glass counters. To drink, look for pulque in a traditional pulquería, or a cold beer on the terraces of Los Sapos.

Cinco de Mayo parades, chile season and Popocatépetl views

Puebla's big date is 5 May, the anniversary of the 1862 victory over the French at the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe, marked with a military and civic parade through the centre and celebrations across the month. The Feria de Puebla, with concerts, rides and regional food, runs around the same weeks.

Late summer brings the season of chiles en nogada, from about July to September, peaking around 16 September, Mexican Independence Day. Day of the Dead altars appear in homes, markets and plazas in late October and early November.

Weather follows the highland pattern. From November to April, rain is rare, often under 15 mm a month, and days are sunny at 24-28C, but nights are cold, falling to 5-6C in December and January. May is warmest, around 29C. The rains run from June to September, with over 200 mm in June and September, usually in afternoon storms.

The clearest mornings for views of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl come in the dry winter. Popocatépetl is active and often puffing ash, so the summit is off limits; watch it from the top of Cholula's pyramid or from Atlixco, a flower-growing town about 40 minutes southwest. Further afield, Cuetzalan in the misty Sierra Norte, several hours away, is a favourite weekend escape with waterfalls and a Sunday market.