Where locals go

Coatepec is small enough that the tourist spots and the local spots overlap more than in most Pueblos Mágicos — but there’s still a difference between the photogenic plaza cafés and where residents actually go.

Coffee, the everyday way

Locals aren’t lingering over a slow pour-over at the prettiest place on the square. They grab their café de olla or a lechero at a plain, long-running counter café off the plaza, often with pan dulce, often standing. These places are cheaper and the coffee is just as much theirs.

The market

The Mercado is where the town does its real eating and shopping — fondas serving cheap, honest comida corrida at midday, fresh produce from the surrounding hills, and stalls selling local beans by the kilo far cheaper than the gift shops. Go hungry around lunch.

A day off

On weekends, families head down to Xico for the waterfalls and the food, or up to Xalapa for the bigger city. Around town, a day off looks like a slow breakfast, an errand at the market, and an evening on the plaza when it cools down. If you want to blend in, do exactly that — the plaza in the early evening is where the town actually gathers.