Most visitors to Cape Town in South Africa typically spend three or four days exploring the city and its environs. Among their must-see sights are Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, the penguins near Simon’s Town, Kirstenbosch Garden, Groot Constantia and the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. 

These are among the top sights to visit, and well they should be. They make Cape Town special. But for those with more time and/or with an interest in history, there are several...

(Part 3 of 3 on central Mexico)

Querétaro is one of a trio of colonial cities that are the jewels of an area of central Mexico called the Bajío. Located north of Mexico City, these three cities — San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Querétaro — were the focus of a lengthy visit to the Bajío that my husband, Paul, and I made in the winter of 2015. We rented a house in San Miguel for a month (Nov. ’15, pg. 54) and made multiday excursions to the other two cities....

(Part 1 of 3 on central Mexico)

About a 4-hour drive north of Mexico City (México, D.F.) is a semiarid region punctuated by hills and valleys called the Bajío. It’s where three of Mexico’s most interesting destinations are located: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Santiago de Querétaro.

My husband, Paul, and I traveled to San Miguel de Allende to exchange New York’s especially brutal winter for San Miguel’s spring-like temperatures, which averaged...