Readers have sent me emails and letters asking my advice about the most romantic destination in the world for Valentine's Day. The old favourites, Paris, Venice, Marrakech, Istanbul or Copenhagen spring to most people's minds.
Angel of Hope, Puerto Vallarta
One of my personal favourites, however, is Puerto Vallarta (pronounced 'vay-art-ah'), on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The oldest part of town, called Villa Romantica, has cobbled streets, centuries-old churches painted pink, and steep, green jungles tumbling down to the green shoals of the Pacific. It's impossibly romantic. The town make me think of Puerto Vallarta as a Mexican version of Rio de Janeiro, without the crime and poverty - a place soaked through with salty tropical glamour, laissez-faire attitude and lusty, exorbitantly-rich scenery.
Conchas Chinas
The town is redolent with romance and natural beauty - the town's centrepiece, the cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a true expression of art.
The main building, constructed from rosy-red brick, is considered to be neoclassic, while the crown reminds me of baroque Austrian temples. The lateral towers, due to their late completion, have an elegant, Renaissance feel. I also love the quirky statues that seem to typify the avante-garde, liberated feel of the town: several, strange, abstract bronze figures by Alejandro Colunga, entitled The Rotunda of the Sea, with half-human, half-alien, sea or space creatures.
You have to sit on them as they are half in the shape of chairs and tables to experience their odd effect on the senses. Life revolves around the beach, particularly Playa de los Muertos where you'll see tourists from USA, Canada, Australia and Italy, mixing with super-models and Mexican A-list actors. If you take one of the boat trips from the end of the fishing pier, however, you'll be able to visit Los Arcos, a cluster of rocks where snorkeling and swimming rewards with hundreds of species of fish.
As the town faces west, the sunsets are to die for. It's almost like the whole world is on fire.
Sunset south of town
The town sees few British travellers. However, it's easy to get there from London on Continental via Houston (http://www.continental.com/).
We'll be revealing our travel story on Puerto Vallarta in a future issue of Escapism Travel Magazine. You can purchase Escapism Travel Magazine at newsagents or read it entirely online: www.escapism-magazine.com/read.html
