3 Best Nightlife in Zacatecas, San Miguel de Allende and the Heartland

Remember—whatever happens in La Mina Club stays more than 1,000 feet underground. This is the world's only nightclub in a mine. DJs spin modern dance music—don't expect salsa and merengue—while revelers admire the toxic waters deep below through glass floors. It's open Saturday night 10 pm–3 am, with a cover charge of MX$150. It's also open Thursday 4 to 10:30 (MX$50), and later on Friday night, although if its booked for a private party then, it won't be open to the public.

Popular with locals (including families) as well as visitors, the "15 Letters" bar is small, lively, and fun. Drinks are a cut above the usual cantina fare, and the food is good, too. But a cantina it definitely is. On the walls are hundreds of works of art by Mexican artists, known and unknown. It has live norteño music most nights after 8 pm. It's just a few blocks southwest of the cathedral and Plaza de Armas, and open Monday through Saturday 1 pm to 2 am.

The hotel Quinta Real has one of Mexico's most unusual and romantic bars, a candlelit haunt literally built into the old bullring.