For enjoying the best of Mexico, Guadalajara and its surrounding region offer the best of settings. Renowned world over as the “most Mexican of cities,” Guadalajara brims with old-Mexico delights. From the simplest experience, such as the deliciously unmistakable aroma of hot corn tortillas or the murmur of a drowsy, pine-scented mountain breeze, to the most dazzling, such as the shimmering sunset over Lake Chapala or the whirl of the folkloric dancers’ skirts and the insistent rap of their heels, dreams of Mexico often come true in Guadalajara.

Guadalajara, with a metropolitan-zone population of about 3.5 million, is Mexico’s second largest city and a major manufacturing and business center in its own right. It spreads over a 100 square miles of a mile-high, mountain-rimmed valley, about 1,000 highway miles due south of El Paso, Texas, or about three hours by air from the major air gateways of Los Angeles and Houston.

Moreover, Guadalajara makes a convenient jumping-off point for other national or regional favorite destinations. These include Mexico City (by air, an hour; by road, six hours) and Puerto Vallarta (by air, less than an hour; by road, four hours) on the plumy Pacific shore. In the environs of Guadalajara itself, scenic road-trips lead in all directions. In less than an hour, explore the rustic village shoreline of cloud-tipped Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest lake. Only an hour more brings you to the pine-tufted rustic mountain villages of Mazamitla and Tapalpa; to the hot springs resorts and spas of Chimulco and Río Caliente Spa; to a monumental archaeological site, Guachimontones; to old-world haciendas such as El Carmen and Santa Lucia; and the colorful liquor distillery towns of Tequila and Amatitán.

Manifold motivations propel the millions of arrivees, so numerous that Guadalajara ranks second only to Mexico City in yearly foreign visitors. Many of them come to bask in Guadalajara’s year-round springlike weather, so lovely that anytime is the best time to go. Students of all ages come to study the Spanish language, Mexican history, art, and culture, and to stay in the homes of Guadalajara families. Others come to shop for Guadalajara’s wonderful arts and handicrafts, from papier-mâché so fine that it resembles bright sculpture, to gold necklaces and opals by the handful, fetching pottery animals and bright stoneware, and cool, designer resort wear.

The list goes on. Businesspeople come to buy and sell the products of Guadalajara’s burgeoning “Silicon Valley of the South,” a label that has progressed far past a slogan. A list of Guadalajara’s giant electronics plants—Sony, Hewlitt-Packard, NEC, Motorola, Intel—reads like a who’s who of the computer revolution.

Others come to Guadalajara seeking a quiet retirement. Many folks, currently numbering in the tens of thousands, after selling their U.S. or Canadian homes, have settled year-round in Guadalajara or along the shores of Lake Chapala. Many of them enjoy much more luxurious houses than they had back home—often for a third the price—and have enough left over to live on the interest.

Plenty more visitors come simply because they’ve heard the buzz: of Guadalajara’s venerated monuments, beloved old churches, world-class folkloric performances, renowned murals, quiet country hot springs resorts, adored pilgrimage shrines, picturesque colonial mountain towns, historic haciendas, fine nouvelle Mexico cuisine, and much more. Taken together, they are simply enough to write a book about.