Cancun, Tourist city in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Cancún is a coastal settlement in Quintana Roo, Mexico, stretching along 27 kilometers of Caribbean shoreline with white sand and turquoise water. The hotel strip occupies a narrow barrier island shaped like the number seven, while the downtown area sits inland and serves as a residential and commercial center.
Government planners selected this site in 1970 to build a resort from scratch on mostly empty land near a small fishing village. Engineers designed the infrastructure and attracted investors who constructed the hotel zone over the following decades.
Local vendors sell handmade goods and street food along the main avenues, while families gather at the beaches on weekends. Fishermen still work from small docks in the older parts of town, preserving routines that predate the resort development.
The international airport sits about 20 kilometers south and offers direct flights to many cities worldwide. Buses and taxis run regularly along the hotel zone and into downtown, while most hotels and beaches remain open to the public.
An underwater museum called MUSA holds more than 500 submerged sculptures between the shore and Isla Mujeres, forming an artificial reef. Divers and snorkelers visit the art installations, which gradually host coral and algae growth.
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