Overview
Aztec dancer, El Zocalo
Sprawling across a valley encircled by ice-capped volcanoes and
mountains, atop an ancient Aztec civilisation, Mexico City is North
America's highest city, and one of the worlds most densely
populated. With a long and fascinating history that runs from
ancient native civilisations through to the invasion of the
Conquistadors and subsequent colonial rule, Mexico City has a vast
number of fascinating sights and attractions.
In the city centre, constructed out of the stones of the ancient
palaces and temples, is the vast open space of the Zócalo -
Mexico's city square - said to be the second largest in the world
after Moscow's Red Square. At La Merced you'll discover the city's
largest and most vibrant market, with a vast array of bizarre and
exciting stalls, while the huge expanse of the Bosque de
Chapultepec park houses the National Museum of Anthropology, with a
fascinating collection of pre-Hispanic artefacts. At
Teotihuac´n visitors will discover one of the most
impressive and mysterious archaeological sites in Mexico,
constructed by an ancient, and long forgotten culture.
The sprawling capital is a place to both love and hate, with
everything you'd anticipate in a large city. It has world-class
museums and galleries, a remarkable architectural legacy and
elegant buildings, palaces and cathedrals, green open spaces and
colonial suburbs, historical ruins, attractive squares, modern
skyscrapers and great economic, cultural and political importance.
It also has poverty, overcrowding and slums, incredible pollution,
traffic congestion, crime, unemployment, and a constant cacophony
of people and noise. It is exhilarating, frenetic and fascinating,
an unabated reserve of vibrancy and life.
Despite its problems and somewhat bewildering energy Mexico City
is a magnet for Mexicans and tourists alike: a modern, cosmopolitan
and ever growing city that is attractive in so many ways. Despite
its renown for the appalling, throat-rasping levels of pollution,
Mexico City's skies often remain remarkably clear, and it does make
for incredible sunsets.
