Tijuana Travel Guide

26km (16 miles) S of San Diego

Don't expect to find the Mexico of your fantasies -- charming, sun-dappled town squares and churches blanketed in bougainvillea; women in colorful embroidered skirts and blouses -- in infamous Tijuana, Mexico's first point of entry from the West Coast of the U.S. Although quaint plazas filled with families do exist, you're more likely to encounter a dynamic city with a decidedly urban culture, a profusion of U.S.-inspired goods and services, and relentless hawkers playing to the thousands of tourists who come for a taste of Mexico.

Like many burgeoning cities in developing nations, Tijuana is a mixture of new and old, rich and poor, modern and traditional. But Tijuana is increasingly an important city in Mexico; the population has swelled to nearly two million, making it the second-largest city on the Pacific coast of North America (after Los Angeles). Despite obvious signs of widespread poverty, the town claims one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, thanks to the rise in maquiladoras, the foreign-owned manufacturing operations that continue to proliferate under NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). High-rise office buildings testify to increased prosperity, as does the emergence of a white-collar middle class that shops at modern shopping centers away from the tourist zone. And the availability of imported goods and the lure of a big-city experience draw visitors.

Tijuana has long been renowned for its hustling, carnival-like atmosphere and easily accessible decadence, a reputation stemming from its early notoriety as a playground of illicit pleasures during the U.S. Prohibition, when scores of visitors flocked here to the site of the world's largest saloon bar, The Whale. Not long after, the $10 million Hotel Casino de Agua Caliente -- the first "megaresort" in Mexico -- attracted Hollywood stars and other celebrities with its casino, greyhound racing, and hot-springs spa.

But Tijuana's "sin city" image is gradually morphing as the city develops into a more culturally diverse destination. Vineyards associated with the growing wine industry are nearby, and an increasing number of museums and other cultural offerings are joining the traditional sporting attractions of greyhound racing and bullfights. Perhaps one of the more overt signs of a Tijuana transformation is the construction of the Trump Ocean Resort (www.trump-baja.com), where guests and owners will be able to enjoy Trump-style luxury as early as 2008.