The Yucatán’s colonial heritage is particularly noteworthy. Keep in mind its shores were the first in Mexico upon which the Spanish set foot and the capital city of Campeche was founded in 1540; Mérida was founded in 1542 and the city of Valladolid just one year later. But colonial heritage doesn’t end solely with what you find in those three lovely cities—or in Izamal, for that matter. A trip along the peninsula’s “Convent Trail” retraces the paths blazed by friars committed to their Christianizing mission in the New World, and unmistakably bears the traces of their times. Similarly, Campeche—recently declared a UNESCO World Heitage Site—is one of the few walled cities found in the Western Hemisphere.