This expansive city of 20 million and over a mile high is built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the ancient Aztec capital.  Reminders of past civilization pervade the city, particularly at the Templo Mayor excavation and Anthropological Museum at Chapultepec Park.  Fine shops can be found in profusion in the Zona Rosa.

National Museum of Anthropology 

The National Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City is one of the most extensive of its kind in the world.  There are numerous rooms that house archaeological artefacts from the numerous ancient cultures in Mexico, including Olmec, Mexica, Maya, Golfo, Aztec and others.  In one courtyard there is a reproduction of an entire building that has an intricate facade of carvings and designs that are very distinctive. 

Templo Mayor

Templo Mayor is a large stone pyramid with the familiar wide staircases and temples seen throughout Mexico.  Twin temples on the summit of Templo Mayor were dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, and Tlaloc, the rain god.

Castillo de Chapultepec

The castle on Cerro del Chapulín (Grasshopper Hill) has borne witness to all the turbulence and grandeur of Mexican history.  In its earliest form it was an Aztec palace, where the Mexica made one of their last stands against the Spaniards.  Later it was a Spanish hermitage, gunpowder plant, and military college.  Emperor Maximilian used the castle, parts of which date from 1783, as his residence, and his example was followed by various presidents from 1872 to 1940, when Lázaro Cárdenas decreed that it be turned into the Museo Nacional de Historia.

Catedral Metropolitana

This is the largest and one of the oldest cathedrals in Latin America.  There are five altars and 14 chapels, mostly in the ornate churrigueresque style.  Like most Mexican churches, the cathedral itself is all but overwhelmed by innumerable paintings, altarpieces, and statues—in graphic colour—of Christ and the saints. 

Palacio de Bellas Artes

This striking structure is the work of Italian Adamo Boari.  Inside the concert hall a Tiffany stained-glass curtain depicts the two volcanoes outside Mexico City.  Today the theater serves as a handsome venue for international and national artists, including the Ballet Folklórico de México. 

 

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