Best of Mexico City

The National Palace stretches over two hundred meters along the east side of the Zócalo, defined by its long, rhythmic facade of reddish tezontle stone. This building sits directly atop the site of the former palace of the Aztec emperor…

The Templo Mayor Museum sits beside a sprawling archaeological site where layered stone foundations rise from the earth in uneven, jagged angles. These ruins are all that remain of the primary religious center of Tenochtitlan, the ancient…

The Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral dominates the Zócalo with its massive, twin-towered facade and an architectural blend of Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical styles. Construction began in fifteen seventy-three, immediately following…

The Palacio de Bellas Artes is unmistakable for its massive, golden-orange dome and the white Carrara marble that clads its exterior. Intended to open in nineteen ten for the centennial of Mexico’s independence, the building suffered from…

The Angel of Independence is a golden statue of a winged woman standing atop a tall, stone column in the middle of a roundabout on the Paseo de la Reforma. She holds a laurel wreath in her right hand and a broken chain in her left,…

Chapultepec Castle sits at the top of a steep, prominent hill, rising two thousand three hundred twenty-five meters above sea level to overlook the city. Its structure is defined by a distinct, tall stone watchtower, originally added to…

The Museo Nacional de Antropología is defined by a massive square concrete canopy known as El Paraguas, which hovers over a central courtyard. Supported by a single slender pillar, the structure features an artificial cascade that splashes…

The Museo Soumaya rises as a distinctive, silver-toned structure clad in sixteen thousand hexagonal aluminum tiles that catch and reflect the shifting light of the city. Opened in twenty eleven in the Plaza Carso, this six-story, rotated…