Mexico City

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The Templo Mayor was the main temple of the Mexica capital Tenochtitlan, dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, Mexico City, Mexico

The Palacio de Bellas Artes, completed in 1934, combines an Art Nouveau exterior with an Art Deco interior, Mexico City, Mexico

The Torre Latinoamericana has an observation deck with views over the historic centre and the Alameda, Mexico City, Mexico

Chapultepec Castle, once home to Emperor Maximilian, has housed the National Museum of History since 1939, Mexico City, Mexico

About Mexico City

Mexico City rises from a high valley where the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan once stood on an island in a lake. The Spanish built their colonial capital on top of it, and the modern metropolis now spreads across the drained lakebed at well over 7,000 feet, making it one of the largest cities in the world and the cultural engine of the country.

The historic center revolves around the Zócalo, flanked by the Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace, whose murals by Diego Rivera trace Mexican history. Right beside them, the excavated Templo Mayor exposes the heart of the Aztec city. A few blocks west, the marble Palacio de Bellas Artes faces the Alameda park, and the Torre Latinoamericana offers a classic view across the center. Chapultepec Park holds both the hilltop Chapultepec Castle and the National Museum of Anthropology, whose Aztec Sun Stone alone justifies a visit. Roma and Condesa are the leafy districts for cafés and restaurants, Coyoacán keeps a village feel around the Frida Kahlo Museum, colorful trajinera boats glide along the canals of Xochimilco, and pilgrims stream to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The city rewards curious, unhurried travelers, especially those who love food. Give the altitude a day. Teotihuacan's pyramids, north of the city, are the classic day trip.

Best seasonOctober through April is dry and mild; the rainy season brings afternoon showers from roughly June to September.

Ideal stayFive days is a good minimum for the center, Chapultepec, a few neighborhoods and Teotihuacan.

ArrivingBenito Juárez International Airport is the main hub, close to the center by taxi or metro.

WiserMap travel guideMexico City Mexico Templo Mayor Xochimilco and Street TacosPlan a Mexico City trip: the Zócalo and Templo Mayor, Chapultepec, Anthropology Museum, Coyoacán, Xochimilco, Teotihuacan, Roma and Condesa, and street food.Read the guide

Your Mexico City Bucket List: 12 Top Picks

Landmarks 3

The Zócalo, Metropolitan Cathedral and National Palace

Officially the Plaza de la Constitución, the Zócalo is one of the largest public squares in the world and sits over the heart of A...

Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Alameda

Begun under Porfirio Díaz and finished in 1934, the Palacio de Bellas Artes wraps an Art Deco interior in white marble Art Nouveau...

Torre Latinoamericana

Completed in 1956, this was one of the first major skyscrapers built on the capital's soft, quake-prone lakebed, and it came throu...

History 3

Templo Mayor

Steps from the Zócalo lie the excavated remains of the Mexica's great twin pyramid, dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc and re...

Chapultepec Castle

Crowning a rocky hill in Bosque de Chapultepec, the castle began as a viceroy's summer residence, became a military academy, then...

Teotihuacan

About an hour northeast of the city, Teotihuacan was among the largest cities in the world in the first centuries AD, long before...

Museums 2

National Museum of Anthropology

Housed in Pedro Ramírez Vázquez's landmark 1964 building in Chapultepec Park, this is Mexico's most important museum. Halls arrang...

Coyoacán and the Frida Kahlo Museum

South of the center, Coyoacán keeps a village feel with cobbled lanes, colonial churches and the leafy twin plazas of Jardín Cente...

Neighborhoods 2

Roma and Condesa

These neighboring colonias west of the center are where many visitors spend their evenings. Condesa grew in the 1920s and 1930s ar...

Xochimilco

In the far south of the city, canals and chinampas, the floating farm plots begun by pre-Hispanic farmers, survive as a UNESCO-lis...

Churches 1

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

On Tepeyac hill in the north of the city stands Mexico's most important shrine, where the Virgin of Guadalupe is said to have appe...

Entertainment 1

Arena México

Known as the cathedral of lucha libre, Arena México in the Doctores neighborhood is home to CMLL, the world's oldest professional...

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