Puebla was founded in 1531 as a Spanish city from the start, laid out on a grid between the volcanoes and the road from Veracruz to Mexico City, and it grew into one of the richest towns of New Spain. Its historic centre is a World Heritage site, and walking through it you see why: dozens of churches, palaces and mansions, many covered in the hand-painted Talavera tiles for which the city is still famous. The cathedral, with its two tall towers, dominates the main square, and a few blocks away the Rosary Chapel of the church of Santo Domingo is a dazzling space of gilded stucco and carved angels that has to be seen to be believed.
Puebla is also a city with a place in history beyond Mexico. On 5 May 1862, the Mexican army defeated invading French troops here, a victory that is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo, much more in the United States than in Mexico itself, where the celebrations are mainly local. The forts of Loreto and Guadalupe on the hill above the city, where the battle was fought, now hold museums.
Food is a reason to come in its own right. Mole poblano, a dark, complex sauce of chilies, spices and chocolate, was born here according to legend in a convent kitchen, and chiles en nogada, stuffed poblano peppers with a white walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds, are a seasonal speciality in late summer, their colours matching the Mexican flag. Calle de los Dulces, the street of sweets, is lined with shops selling traditional candies.
Riding in Puebla is city riding, with heavy traffic, buses and taxis, and the topes are everywhere. Better to park and walk in the centre. But the surroundings are spectacular. On a clear morning Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl stand to the west, and the roads up to the sixteenth-century Franciscan monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, such as Huejotzingo and Calpan, make a beautiful day trip. Cholula, next door, has the largest pyramid in the world by volume, now a grassy hill topped by a church. Fuel, accommodation and mechanics are everywhere. The altitude, over two thousand metres, makes the evenings cool, so bring a jacket.