Mexico City is one of the world's great food and art capitals. See Aztec temples beside colonial cathedrals, spend a day at the Anthropology Museum, ride a colourful trajinera boat at Xochimilco and eat your way through taquerías and markets.
Good to know
- Best time to go
- March, April, May, October and November
- Flight from New York
- about 4h 35m nonstop
- Local time
- —
- Currency
- Mexican Peso (MXN)
- Languages
- Spanish
Flight time is an estimate based on distance; actual schedules vary by airline and route.
Highlights
- National Museum of Anthropology
- Street tacos and markets
- Teotihuacan pyramids day trip
History
In 1325 the Mexica, better known as the Aztecs, founded Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco, where legend said they saw an eagle on a cactus devouring a snake; that image is now on Mexico's flag. By 1500 it was one of the largest cities in the world, linked to the shore by causeways. Hernán Cortés and his Indigenous allies conquered it in 1521, and the Spanish built their capital on its ruins, draining the lake over the following centuries. As capital of New Spain, the city filled with Baroque churches and palaces. Mexico won independence in 1821, endured war, foreign intervention and revolution, and in the twentieth century became a centre of art, from Diego Rivera's murals to Frida Kahlo's paintings.
Culture
Chilangos, as residents are called, live much of their life in the street. Breakfast might be a tamal from a bicycle cart; lunch, the main meal, runs late in the afternoon; and tacos al pastor, cooked on a vertical spit, fuel the night. Markets overflow with chillies, fruit and flowers. On Sundays, Paseo de la Reforma closes to cars for cyclists. The Day of the Dead, on 1 and 2 November, fills homes and cemeteries with marigold altars honouring loved ones.
Landmarks
© kornemuz · CC BY-SA 3.0 National Museum of Anthropology
One of the finest museums in the Americas, it holds treasures from Mexico's ancient civilisations, including the famous Aztec Sun Stone. The central courtyard's giant umbrella fountain is a modern architectural landmark.
© Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China · CC0 Zócalo and Templo Mayor
The vast main square is flanked by the Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace, with Diego Rivera's murals. Just beside it lie the excavated ruins of the Templo Mayor, the main temple of Tenochtitlan.
© Hdlrosa · CC BY-SA 4.0 Teotihuacan
About an hour north of the city, this ancient metropolis, built long before the Aztecs, is crowned by the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. Walk the Avenue of the Dead and climb for views across the valley.