Mexico City Historic Downtown

Visiting Mexico City main square or Zocalo represents a nice experience for tourists. There they have the possibility to know the second largest square in the world, together with beautiful historic buildings such as the Cathedral, the National Palace, and the City Hall.

The history of the city is well reflected in its architecture, from its foundation in the fourteenth century, passing through the Colonial period of the centuries sixteenth to nineteenth, to the present day. Therefore, UNESCO declared in 1987 Mexico´s City Historic Downtown, a Humanity Cultural Heritage.

The Historic Center is the most ancient zone of Mexico City. At the same time, the most appreciated artistic treasures of the city are found here.

Many architectural jewels can be admire in this zone of the city. For example, the cathedral, constructed along three centuries, reflects styles of these 300 hundred years: renaissance art, neoclassical, and baroque.

If you visit the interior of the National Palace you will be amazed by its gardens, murals, yards, and halls.

The marvelous Fine Arts Palace is one of the most beautiful concert halls of the world. In its exterior, astonish Art Nouveau sculptures can be admired, whereas in its interior, the Art Deco details stand out.

To get a beautiful view of the city, the Latinoamericana Tower, built in the fifties, and at that time the tallest in the sub-continent, offers at its cuspid a viewpoint that can be visited every day.

Dating from pre-Columbian times, the Aztec ruins of the Templo Mayor, now a museum, is a place that you ought to visit. However, Mexico City has the largest number of museums in the world and most of them are located in this zone. Among them are the National Museum of Art, the Franz Mayer Museum, the Postal Museum, the National Museum of the Cultures, the San Carlos National Museum, the Jose Luis Cuevas Museum, the San Ildefonso Museum, the Mexico City Museum, the Cartoon Museum, the Mexican Medicine Museum.

Besides, prestigious department stores first open their doors in downtown, growing later with many branches. But the spaces where these stores are located are historical, indeed. Among them are Sanborns House of Tiles, Liverpool, or the Palacio de Hierro.

Shopping in Mexico city downtown is an interesting experience. There are huge street markets such as Tepito and La Lagunilla, as well as specialized streets where diverse products can be bought. For instance, Republica del Salvador Street specializes in electronics, whereas, Republica de Cuba Street focuses on printing and bookstores.

However, it is better to go by day and never alone.

Among the most known places to eat, Cafe La Opera, Cafe La Blanca, and Cafe Tacuba are worth visiting. Really close to downtown, on Lazaro Cardenas Street, is Garibaldi Square, which is famous because it is the meeting point of mariachi bands. Besides, famous bars or "cantinas" here, like Tenampa, is a "must" for tourists who want to know authentic Mexican ambiance. More authentic does not get anywhere else.