World City Guide

Key Attractions

Centro Histrico (Historic Centre)
The focus of the Centro Histrico, the Zcalo, or Plaza de la Constitucin, is second in size only to Moscow’s Red Square and is quite literally the capital’s political and religious centre. During the day and evening is animated and alive with people –with official ceremonies and celebrations, demonstrations and marches, impromptu performances and artisans plying their wares, but is surprisingly empty from around 2200 onwards. The ceremonial raising and lowering of the huge flag at the square’s centre takes place at 0600 and 1800 and is an early alarm for guests in hotels overlooking the plaza.

On the north side of the Zcalo is the Catedral Metropolitana (Metropolitan Cathedral). Built in 1573, consecrated in 1667, and completed in 1813 in a Baroque style known as churrigueresque, it is the largest and oldest cathedral in Latin America. The cathedral has suffered from subsidence over many years, sinking into the bed of Lake Texcoco and the restoration work that is under way to build new foundations does detract from its grandeur somewhat. There are no opening hours or admission fees but visitors are asked to be respectful during religious services.

Next to the cathedral are the ruins of the Templo Mayor (Main Temple), the principal teocalli of Aztec Tenochtitln, which was demolished by the Spaniards in the 1520s and rediscovered in 1978 while telephone cables were being laid in the area. First constructed in 1375, the Aztecs then built a new temple every 52 years – seven have been identified layered one on top of another. The site’s museum displays various artefacts found in the main pyramid of Tenochtitln.

The whole eastern side of the Zcalo is taken up by the Palacio Nacional (Presidential Palace), which houses the Federal Treasury, the National Archives and, until recently, the offices of the President of Mexico. Inside are colourful murals by Diego Rivera – his Mxico a Travs de los Siglos (Mexico Through the Centuries), in the main stairwell leading to the first floor, depicts every major event and personality of Mexican history, from Corts’ conquest of the Aztecs to the Mexican Revolution.

A few blocks west of Zcalo, the Museo Nacional de Arte (National Art Museum), built at the turn of the 20th century in the style of an Italian Renaissance palace, houses an exhaustive collection of Mexican art from every school and style.

Templo Mayor
Plaza de la Constitucin
Tel: (55) 5542 0606 or 4784.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1700.
Admission charge, free on Sun.

Palacio Nacional
Plaza de la Constitucin
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700.
Free admission; identification required for entry.

Museo de Arte Moderno
Tacuba 8
Tel: (55) 5510 2999.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1030-1730.
Free admission.

Alameda Central
Originally the site of an Aztec marketplace and later a place of execution during the Spanish Inquisition, the Alameda Central is Mexico City’s largest central park. A welcome green respite where office workers stroll past the many food stalls and hawkers sell a variety of wares; the place throngs with activity on Sunday and there are often open-air concerts. For an artistic impression of the park, the nearby Museo Mural Diego Rivera displays the artist’s Sueo de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park), a huge mural painted in 1947. It depicts the many characters from history that Rivera imagined to have walked in the Alameda.

The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), a sumptuous, white-marble concert hall at the eastern end of the Alameda, also houses a museum and theatre within its Art Deco interior. Intended to mark the 1910 centennial celebration of Mexican Independence, work began in 1904 under the Italian architect Adamo Boari, who also designed the spectacular Correo Mayor (main post office) nearby, but was finally completed in 1934 following a number of setbacks, including the Mexican Revolution. The museum on the second and third floors displays old and contemporary paintings, sculptures and handicrafts. Powerful works by the great Mexican muralists Diego Rivera, Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Rufino Tamayo are on display on the third floor. Operas and orchestral concerts are frequently performed in the theatre, which has a glass curtain designed by Tiffany. Opposite the Palacio is the Torre Latinoamericana (Latin American Tower), a landmark skyscraper built in the 1950s. Its 43rd-floor viewing platform is 2422m (7950ft) above sea level and on clear days affords splendid panoramic views over the city, the Valley of Mexico and the distant volcanoes.

Museo Mural Diego Rivera
Plaza Solidaridad, corner of Balderas and Coln
Tel: (55) 5512 0754.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge, free on Sun.

Palacio de Bellas Artes
Avenida Jurez, corner of Eje Central Lzaro Crdenas
Tel: (55) 5512 2593.
Website: www.conaculta.gob.mx/palacio/museo.htm.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1000-1800 (museum).
Admission charge, free on Sun.

Torre Latinoamericana
Eje Central Lzaro Crdenas, corner of Avenida Madero
Tel: (55) 5752 2887.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-2200.
Admission charge.

Paseo de la Reforma
The Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City’s main boulevard, runs from the Alameda to Chapultepec Park (see below) and is lined with shops, offices, hotels, restaurants and some modern skyscrapers. It is a prestigious address and home to many multinationals, financial institutions and embassies. Based on the Champs Elyses in Paris, this thoroughfare was built to provide a direct path for the Emperor Maximilian between the Centro Histrico and his palace in Chapultepec Park and is lined with monuments, fountains and statues of Mexican heroes.

In particular, El Monumento a los Heroes de la Independencia (Monument to Independence), or Angelito as it is affectionately known, is a gilded statue of a winged Victory set atop a 46m-high (150ft) column in a glorieta (traffic circle) and the location for demonstrations and sporting and national celebrations. In 1956, the statue toppled to the ground in an earthquake, but was completely restored, much to the relief of the Mexican people. Displayed inside the monument is the skull of Hidalgo, the executed leader of a group of rebels who rose against the Spanish in October 1810, which can be seen daily 0900-1700 at no charge. On the night of 2 July 2000, hundreds of thousands of jubilant Mexicans flocked to the monument to celebrate the victory of Vicente Fox in the presidential elections that toppled the 71-year rule of the former Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Lying to the south of the Paseo and bounded by Reforma, Sevilla, Avenida Chapultepec and Avenida Insurgentes Sur, is La Zona Rosa (Pink Zone), a busy shopping and entertainment district with many stores, restaurants and nightclubs.

Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Park)
Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City’s largest park, is a huge wooded area covering four sq kilometres (1.5 sq miles) and containing lakes, the presidential residences, several of the city’s finest museums, an amusement park and a zoo. Legend has it the wood served as a refuge for Toltec and Aztec kings during times of trouble. The park attracts thousands of visitors especially on Sundays when families come to relax and picnic. The park is divided into three sections, with the attractions listed below lying in the primera seccin (first section), on Paseo de la Reforma. The segunda seccin (second section) is occupied by La Feria (Amusement Park), and the tercera seccin (third section) by Atlantis, a marine park with dolphin and seal shows and an aquarium – both are on Avenida Constituyentes.

The Castillo de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Castle), situated on the Chapultepec Hill (the name means ‘Hill of Grasshoppers’ in the Aztec language Nahuatl), was built in 1785 for the Spanish viceroys and used as a residence for Mexico’s presidents until 1940. It now houses the Museo Nacional de Historia (National History Museum), filled with hundreds of paintings, murals, ceramics, furniture and carriages depicting the history of Mexico from the Aztecs to the present day. The rooms once used by Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlotta have been preserved and fine views over the Valley of Mexico can be had from the castle’s balconies. A road-train climbs the hill from inside the entrance to the park.

The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) has permanent exhibitions of Mexican contemporary art – by Rivera, Siqueiros, O’Gorman, Rufino Tamayo, Frida Kahlo and Dr Atl, to name but a few – and also hosts temporary exhibits of international artists. There is a delightful sculpture garden in the grounds of the museum. Parque Zoolgico de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Zoological Park) has an impressive collection of animals from around the world and was the birthplace of the first panda born in captivity. The modern Museo Rufino Tamayo contains permanent exhibits of work by contemporary Mexican and international painters, donated by Tamayo and his wife, as well as a superb collection of paintings by the artist himself.

Chapultepec Park
Tel: (55) 5553 6224.
Opening hours: Daily 0500-1700, closed Monday.
Free admission.

Chapultepec Castle and the Museo Nacional de Historia
Tel: (55) 5553 6224.
Opening times: Tue-Sun 0900-1700.
Admission charge.

La Feria
Tel: (55) 5230 2121.
Website: www.feriachapultepec.com.mx
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 1000-1900, Sat-Sun 1000-2000.
Admission charge.

Atlantis
Tel: (55) 5273 2176 or 5271 8618.
Website: www.parqueatlantis.com.mx
Opening hours: Sat-Sun and public holidays only, 1000-1730.
Admission charge.

Museo de Arte Moderno
Tel: (55) 5211 8331 or 8045.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1730.
Admission: Charge.

Parque Zoolgico de Chapultepec
Tel: (55) 5553 6229 or 6263.
Website: www.chapultepec.df.gob.mx
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1600.
Admission: Free.

Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo
Tel: (55) 5286 6519.
Website: www.museotamayo.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission: Charge but free on Sun.

Museo Nacional de Antropologa
(National Anthropology Museum)
Perhaps Mexico’s City’s finest museum, the Museo Nacional de Antropologa (National Anthropology Museum) is also one of the best of its kind in the world. Situated in an extension of Chapultepec Park, this huge museum houses a vast and spectacular collection centred on a spacious rectangular patio and can take days to explore. Its well-organised collection is dedicated to each major culture that contributed to the evolution of a Mesoamerican civilisation: Pre-Classic, Toltec, Teotihuacn, Aztec, Oaxaca, Gulf Coast, Maya, Northwestern and Western Mexico. Some of the most fascinating exhibits are the famous Aztec ‘sun’ (or ‘calendar’) stones, the giant stone Olmec heads from Tabasco and a replica of a Mayan tomb from Palenque. On the upper level, the rooms are dedicated to how modern Mexico’s indigenous people live.

Several times a day, voladores (fliers) give a daring performance in front of the museum’s entrance, re-enacting an ancient ceremony. Men dressed in colourful, traditional costume attach ropes to themselves and scale a tall pole, from where they launch themselves and ‘fly’ in circles as they unwind until they reach the ground.

Paseo de la Reforma (north of Chapultepec Park)
Tel: (55) 5553 6381.
Website: www.mna.inah.gob.mx
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 0900-1900, Sun 0900-1800.
Admission charge, free on Sun.

Coyoacn
Once a city in its own right, the suburb of Coyoacn is the oldest part of Mexico City and was the place from which Corts launched his attack on Tenochtitln. Along the peaceful tree-lined avenues are beautiful buildings from the 16th to 19th centuries. Especially at weekends, the craft stalls, musicians and mime artists around the central squares of Plaza Hidalgo and Jardn del Centenario create a bohemian atmosphere.

The Museo Casa de Frida Kahlo occupies the family home of the artist Frida Kahlo. She was born here in 1907 and then lived here with her husband, the revolutionary muralist Diego Rivera, from 1929 until her death in 1954. The couple was part of a glamorous, leftist, intellectual set during the 1930s and the house is full of mementoes of this period. Two rooms are preserved as lived in; the rest display paintings by both artists. The Kahlo work on display is not her best known but expresses something of the pain and torment in her life. The small collection of folk art – a passion of Kahlo’s –includes a number of regional costumes worn by the artist.

The Museo Casa de Len Trotsky (Leon Trotsky Museum) the house where the Russian revolutionary spent the last four years of his life, is a very dark and sombre place. Very little has changed in the house since 1940, when Trotsky was murdered in his study with an ice pick by an assassin sent by the KGB, while the living room wall, pockmarked with bullet holes, is a reminder of a previous failed assassination attempt. There is a tomb in the garden where his ashes were interred.

Museo Casa de Frida Kahlo
Londres 247 (corner of Allende), Coyoacn
Tel: (55) 5554 5999.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge, free on Sun.

Museo Casa de Len Trotsky
Avenida Ro Churubusco 410, between Gmez Faras and Morelos
Tel: (55) 5658 8732.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge, free on Sun.

San Angel
San Angel is an elegant, colonial neighbourhood about 9km (6 miles) south of Paseo de la Reforma. The affluent suburb is best known for its weekly arts and crafts market, the Bazar Sbado (Saturday Bazaar), in Plaza San Jacinto. The Museo Estudio Diego Rivera (Diego Rivera’s Studio Museum), where Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo lived in the 1930s, is an avant-garde building designed for them by Juan O’Gorman. There are only a few of the artists’ works on display but plenty of memorabilia. The Museo Carrillo Gil Arte Contemporano (Carillo Gil Contemporary Art Museum) is a fine art museum containing works by Mexican and international artists.

Museo Estudio Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera 2 (corner of Altavista)
Tel: (55) 5550 1518.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge, free on Sun.

Carrillo Gil Arte Contemporano
Avenida Revolucin 1608
Tel: (55) 5550 3983.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge, free on Sun.