OVERVIEW
Mexico city is located on the spot where the Aztecs built their capital city Tenochtitlan. That city impressed the Spaniards when the first arrived by the beautiful setting in the middle of a lake. The present day Mexico City is sure to impress you, but for completely different reasons.
According to most statistics Mexico City is the biggest city on the planet. It should have about 25 million inhabitants, but no one seems to be really sure. What is sure is that when you visit the city you will be stunned by the sheer size of the place.
Within this huge cosmopolitan area you will find many museums, parks, colonial buildings, an Aztec pyramid, good nightlife, many cheap restaurants.
To be short: you are sure to enjoy yourself if you can stand the foul air, the traffic jams and being surrounded by millions and millions of friendly Mexicans, 24 hours a day, everywhere.
SIGHTS
Palacio Nacional
Palacio Nacional (National Palace), built on the site of an Aztec palace it now houses the offices of the president, a museum as well as murals of Diego Rivera.
Templo Mayor
Just east of the cathedral are the remnants of the Templo Mayor, the Aztecs' principal temple, and the stunning museum that houses the artifacts discovered at the site.
Cuicuilco pyramid
Aztec pyramid.
Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe
Within the northern city limits is the famous Basilica of Guadalupe, not just another church, but the central place of worship for Mexico's patron saint, and the home of the image responsible for uniting pre-Hispanic Indian mysticism with Catholic beliefs. The Virgin of Guadalupe is the most revered image in the country, and you will no doubt see her countenance wherever you travel in Mexico.
The basilica is located on the site where, on December 9, 1531, a poor Indian named Juan Diego is reputed to have seen a vision of a beautiful lady in a blue mantle. The local bishop, Zumarraga, was reluctant to confirm that Juan had indeed seen the Virgin Mary, so he asked the peasant for some evidence. Juan saw the vision a second time, on December 12, and when he asked her for proof, she instructed him to collect the roses that began blooming in the rocky soil at Juan Diego's feet. He gathered the flowers in his cloak and returned to the bishop. When he unfurled his cloak, the flowers dropped to the ground and the image of the Virgin was miraculously emblazoned on the rough-hewn cloth. The bishop immediately ordered the building of a church on the spot, and upon its completion the image was hung in a place of honor, framed in gold. Since that time, millions of the devout and the curious have come to view the miraculous image that experts, it is said, are at a loss to explain. The blue-mantled Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico.
So heavy was the flow of visitors--many approached for hundreds of yards on their knees--that the old church, already fragile, was insufficient to handle them. An audacious New Basilica was built, designed by Pedro Ramírez Vazquez, the same architect who did the breathtaking Museo Nacional de Antropología. The miracle cloak hangs behind bullet-proof glass above the altar. Electric people-movers going in two directions move the crowds a distance below the cloak. If you want to see it again, take the people mover going in the opposite direction; you can do it as many times as you wish. To the right of the modern basilica is the Old Basilica, actually the second one built to house the cloak--the first one is higher up on the hill. Unfortunately, the Old Basilica is tilting precariously, and is not open to visitors. Restoration has been ongoing for at least 10 years, but is moving more rapidly now. To the back of it is the entrance to the Basilica Museum, with a very good display of religious art in restored rooms. One of the side chapels, with a silver altar, is adjacent to the museum. Outside the museum is a garden commemorating the moment Juan Diego showed the cloak to the archbishop. Numerous photographers with colorful backdrops gather there to capture your visit on film. At the top of the hill, behind the basilica, is the Panteón del Tepeyac, a cemetery for Mexico's more infamous folk (Santa Anna among them), and several gift shops specializing in religious objects and other folk art. The steps up this hill are lined with flowers, shrubs, and waterfalls, and the climb, although tiring, is worthwhile for the view from the top. If you visit Mexico City on December 12, you can witness the grand festival in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The square in front of the basilica fills up with the pious and the party-minded as prayers, dances, and a carnival atmosphere attract thousands of the devout. Many visitors combine a trip to the basilica with one to the ruins of Teotihuacán, since both are out of the city center in the same direction. It is virtually impossible to understand Mexico and its culture without appreciating the national devotion for the Virgin of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Alameda Park
Today, the lovely tree-filled Alameda Central Park attracts pedestrians, cotton-candy vendors, strollers, lovers, and organ grinders. Long ago, the site of the Alameda was an Aztec marketplace. When the conquistadors took over in the mid-1500s, heretics were burned at the stake there under the Spanish Inquisition. In 1592, the governor of New Spain, Viceroy Luis de Velasco, converted it to a public park.
Templo Mayor and Museo del Templo Mayor
The Museo del Templo Mayor (Museum of the Great Temple) opened in 1987. To enter it, take the walkway to the large building in the back portion of the site, which contains fabulous artifacts from on-site excavations. Inside the door, a model of Tenochtitlán gives a good idea of the scale of the vast city of the Aztecs. The rooms and exhibits are organized by subject on many levels around a central open space. You'll see some marvelous displays of masks, figurines, tools, jewelry, and other artifacts, including the huge stone wheel of the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui ('she with bells painted upon her face') on the second floor. The goddess ruled the night, the Aztecs believed, but died at the dawning of every day, slain and dismembered by her brother, Huitzilopochtli, the sun god.
NOTICE
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