The 10 sweetest destinations in Mexico

Mexico stands out not only for its beaches and cities, but also for its various sweet treats, from chocolate to vanilla to caramels. Even sweet potatoes are whipped into sugary confections.

Savor Mexico’s sweetest destinations, not necessarily in this order:

Yucatán

Rich Melipona-bee honey, besides being very tasty, has many healthy properties and has medical uses going back to pre-historic times. But mainly, we enjoy adding it to tea, spooning it over bread, or eating it out of the jar. The fact that Melipona bees don’t sting make the honey seem even more sweet.

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Tabasco

The state is known for its many haciendas cocoateras, and has stood out as the leading producer of chocolate for Mexicans. In Tabasco, there is nothing like walking the traditional Cacao trail.

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Papantla

This magical town of Veracruz is not known only for its famous flying acrobats, but also for the delicious vanilla produced here. Papantla vanilla is ranked among the ten best in the world. Side note: The vanilla orchid blooms just one morning per year and only the Melipona Bee knows how to pollinate the vanilla flower.

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Toluca

The capital of the state of Mexico is renown for its popular alfeñiques, sweet little confections that are shaped as animals, skulls, people or other foods. They are made of sugar glass, a brittle transparent form of sweetener that looks like glass. The Feria del Alfeñique celebrates the Día de Muertos in the middle of October to the beginning of November.

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San Luis Potosi

While it is not in a particularly popular region for candies, the famous Costanzo chocolate was founded by Italian immigrants in San Luis Potosi. Today the company has more than 100 employees, using Italian and German technology to produce more than 150 sweet products.

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Morelia

The capital of Michoacan is known for its varied sweets, which are perfect gifts for family and friends. It is almost mandatory to visit the Museo del Dulce on Calle Real when you’re in the city. This is a small, charming museum, with staff in period costume, behind a sweet shop.

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Santa Rosa de Lima

In this pueblo magico in the state of Guanajuato, making jams is very common. Here you can find the Conservas Santa Rosa, a small business started and run by a group of women who produce traditional preserves. If you can’t make it to Santa Rosa de Lima, watch for Conservas Santa Rosa when visiting fairs across the country.

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Linares

In this Nuevo Leon city, Glorias are sweets made based on goat’s milk, corn syrup, vanilla and chopped nuts. Although you find this in many markets throughout Mexico, Nuevoleonenses in particular treasure this sweet.

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Celaya

Here in Guanajuato, the local caramels were declared “Dessert of the Bicentennial” in 2010. The condiment is made from goat’s milk, brown sugar and vanilla or cinnamon.

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Puebla

Puebla’s Calle de Santa Clara is better known as Sweets Street. A major destination for candy lovers. For three blocks, both sides of the street are lined with stores selling sweets with a distinctly Mexican flair: sacred hearts, guitars, and sombreros. Don’t forget to pick up some Camotes Poblanos, a sweet-potato-and-sugar mixture traced to a local convent.

Sources: Coyotitos.com, Afar, Wikipedia