Xalapa
The Anthropology Museum, Xalapa, Veracruz. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
The misty highland capital of Veracruz, home to the Museo de Antropología with the finest collection of Olmec colossal heads anywhere. A university city, it has a strong cultural scene of music, theater, and cafes. Coffee from the surrounding Coatepec region fuels it all.