It's a wonder Mexico City has even survived, being built on marshy land on a fault line, much less that it has turned into the biggest metropolis in North America. Each year, though, it gets livelier and more attractive in the tourist corridor, extending from the historic center to the upscale neighborhood of Polanco and the vast Chapultepec Park.
Mexico City is where the Spanish conquest got rolling more than 500 years ago, with conquistador Hernán Cortés versus Aztec emperor Montezuma II, but one of the region's greatest civilizations was based here before all that. Going back further, the ancient Mesoamerican imperial capital of Teotihuacán — about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of modern-day Mexico City — was also the largest city in the Americas in its heyday. Its giant pyramids went up around 300 CE.
Now, massive Mexico City is a media powerhouse, the seat of government, a foodie heaven, and a center for culture and the arts.
With more than 150 museums, the city can overwhelm you with choice. Start with the National Museum of Anthropology within 1,700-acre (688-hectare) Chapultepec Park. The museum contains such an extensive collection of items from the Olmecs, Aztecs and Maya people that it takes much of a day to peruse — and that's just the first floor. Head upstairs to get insight into clothing and handicrafts or back toward the historic center to the Museum of Folk Art to see toys, masks, musical instruments and all the traditional handicrafts associated with Day of the Dead.
Within the historic center, make your way around the city's giant main square, or Zócalo, to gawk at Diego Rivera murals or see the side-by-side display of history through the ages: the Metropolitan Cathedral, a colossal church built from the 1500s to the 1800s, right near the remains of the Aztecs' main temple, Templo Mayor.
Block out a day to venture to the ancient ruins of Teotihuacán (though preferably not on a Sunday when it's free for locals and extra crowded). If you have more time to explore beyond the center, head south to the Xochimilco neighborhood, where a colorful canal boat ride recalls the marshy city's pre-Columbian days.
The Frida Kahlo Museum, aka Blue House, is in the city's Coyoacán neighborhood and requires advance ticket purchases and waiting in a line. Crowds are thinner at Diego Rivera's Anahuacalli Museum or the Kahlo-Rivera twin house-studio built in 1932 in San Ángel.
To get a feel for local life and enjoy the best selection of restaurants and bars, visit stylish neighborhoods La Condesa and La Roma and the high-end Polanco.
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