Saltillo

Sarape shops, the bird museum and the cathedral over two Saltillo days

Saltillo's first day belongs to the centre. Begin at the Plaza de Armas with the 18th-century cathedral of Santiago, its silver-plated altar and carved doors of Saints Peter and Paul, then see the Salvador Tarazona murals in the Palacio de Gobierno and the thousands of mounted birds at the Museo de las Aves de México on Calle Hidalgo.

Afternoon. Browse the sarape shops of the centre, where the striped wool blankets come in every size. Visit the Museo de la Katrina on Calle Allende, a colourful small museum of Mexican traditions told through skeleton figures. Late in the day, take a taxi up to the Cristo de las Galeras for the view over the city and the mountains, and come back down before dark.

Day two. Spend the morning at the Museo del Desierto, a modern set of pavilions on Carlos Abedrop Dávila devoted to the Chihuahuan Desert, its plants, animals and fossils. Families can easily stay half a day. In the afternoon, relax in the Alameda Zaragoza, the city's shady park. If the Saraperos are at home between April and August, finish with an evening baseball game at the Parque Francisco I. Madero.

Pan de pulque, cabrito and tostilocos on the Saltillo street

Saltillo's own speciality is pan de pulque, a sweet bread raised with pulque, the fermented sap of the agave, which gives it an airy crumb and a faint tang. Bakeries across the city make it, Panadería La Reyna among them, and the shops opposite the bus terminal sell loaves for the road.

Like Monterrey, Saltillo eats northern-style: grilled beef, flour tortillas and cabrito, young goat roasted over coals, which is the dish to order for a celebratory lunch. Coahuila also produces dulces de leche and other milk sweets, sold in shops around the centre.

Street food is less of a culture here than in the south, but there is a local favourite: tostilocos, a bag of tortilla chips opened down the side and loaded with cheese sauce, corn, mayonnaise, grated cheese and hot sauce. Stalls in the centre sell them, often several on the same street. For tacos, locals send people to Los Pioneros, and La Penumbra is a simple traditional place for a cheap set meal.

Evenings move north to Boulevard Venustiano Carranza, where most bars, clubs and casual restaurants line up. It is the place for a drink, but stick to the established venues and take a taxi back.

Apple orchards of Arteaga, the Buena Vista battlefield and desert roads

The Sierra de Arteaga, a short climb east of Saltillo, swaps desert scrub for pine and fir forest. The town of Arteaga, just beyond the city edge, is ringed by apple orchards and cabins where city families go for cooler air, and villages such as El Tunal and Los Lirios sit in high valleys further in.

A regional bus leaves the central terminal at 10am in their direction, though a car gives far more freedom on the mountain roads.

South of the city lies the site of the Battle of Buena Vista (Angostura) of February 1847, one of the major clashes of the Mexican-American War, in a narrow pass on the road towards San Luis Potosí. A monument marks the field.

Further afield, the Coahuila desert stretches west towards Parras, Mexico's oldest wine region. Weather favours spring and autumn: March to May is dry with highs of 25-30°C, and October and November are similar with cooler nights. In winter, cold fronts can bring frost and occasional snow to the higher sierra, so check the roads before driving up from December to February.