Information about Mexico City

Mexico City, the City of Palaces, the ancient capital of the Mexica empire and the jewel in New Spanish Viceroys’ crown, is today one of the biggest, most complex and most beautiful cities in the world. The mere size of the urban spread makes it a city among cities. Mexico City is a modern, cosmopolitan city situated in an old lake basin that is surrounded by volcanic mountains.

The different cultures that inhabited the city during the course of the centuries left an interesting architectural legacy that comprises many different styles. Firstly, there are the pre Hispanic remains that tell of the greatness of the civilizations that settled on this land before the arrival of the Spaniards. Mexica art can be seen on the ruins of the Templo Mayor (The Great Temple), the site where the monolith of the goddess Coyolxauqui was found. Mexico City is a world class business and tourist place to visit, with a well worldwide connected & International Airport and great offer of hotels for all types of budgets.

Mexico City Hotels
One of the world’s great cosmopolitan capitals, México City offers visitors an extensive variety of hotels, many operated by leading Mexican and international hotel chains. Rooms total over 45,000, of which some 11,000 are in the tourist category: five star and grand tourism. Located in some of the finest neighborhoods, a number of the hotels are housed in beautifully preserved historic buildings, while others feature the latest in contemporary architecture and design. All are renowned for their excellence, professionalism, and quality of service.

Architecture to see in Mexico City
Architectural works in varying styles were built in the city during the pre Hispanic, colonial and modern eras. The period of the Spanish colony was when sober, baroque style mansions, palaces and sumptuous churches were built, and some of the houses belonging to famous counts and marquises were decorated with carvings and ornaments that reflected their owners’ social status. Great palaces, such as the National Palace, were built as offices for the Vice Regal government and Catholic churches were constructed for the faithful, including one of the most important in America: the Metropolitan Cathedral. Even hospitals, such as the Hospital de Jesus (the Hospital of Jesus), were built in an artistic style that gave them a lofty grandeur.

After the country gained its independence, the neoclassic style took over and changed the look of many of the buildings, thus giving the city an air of elegance. A case in question is the Palacio de Minería (The Mining Palace) and the current Museo Nacional de Arte (The National Art Museum). A “Frenchified” architectural style and (a short time later) art deco came into fashion in the new Roma and Juarez residential districts during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz, enriching the city center with such buildings as the Palacio de Bellas Artes (The Palace of Fine Arts) and the Post Office building. During the modern era, skyscrapers went up in the Polanco, Anzures and Santa Fe districts and along great avenues such as Avenida Insurgentes where the World Trade Center is located.

Some tips of locations
The traditional centre of the city is the Zócalo, or Plaza Mayor; the heart of ancient Tenochtitlán and of Cortes city, it's surrounded by the oldest streets, largely colonial and unmodernized. To the east, the ancient structures degenerate rapidly, blending into the poorer areas that surround the airport. Westwards, Madero and Juarez Avenues lead to the Alameda, the small park that marks the extent of the old city centre. Here are the Palacio de las Bellas Artes, the main post office and the landmark Latinoamericana Tower. Carry straight on past here and you get into an area, between the ugly bulk of the Revolution Monument and the train station, where you'll find many of the cheaper hotels.

Turn slightly south and you're amid the faded elegance of the Paseo de la Reforma, which leads down to the great open space of Chapultepec Park, recreation area for the city's millions, and home of the National Museum of Anthropology and several other important museums. Off to the right as you head down Reforma is a sedate, up market residential area, where many of the long-established embassies are based, while on the left is the Zona Rosa with its shopping streets, expensive hotels and constant tourist activity. To the south, the Zona bleeds into Condesa, which in the last few years has become the fashionable place to eat, drink and party. To the west, the northern flank of Chapultepec Park is lined by the flashy high-rise hotels of Colonia Polanco, among the city's “chic” districts and home to many of the finest shops and restaurants.

The Avenida de los Insurgentes crosses Reforma about halfway between the Alameda and Chapultepec Park. Said to be the longest continuous city street in the world, Insurgentes bisects Mexico City more or less from north to south. It is perhaps the city's most important artery, lined with modern commercial development. In the south it runs past the suburb of San Angel and close by Coyoacán to the University City, and on out of Mexico City by the Pyramid of Cuicuilco. Also in the southern extremities of the city are the waterways of Xochimilco, virtually the last remains of the great lagoons. In the outskirts Insurgentes meets another important through-route, the Calzada de Tlalpan, which runs due south from the Zócalo past the eastern side of Coyoacán and past a couple of fine museums - Diego Rivera's Anahuacalli, and the wonderful Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño.

To the north, Insurgentes leaves the centre past the train station, and close by the northbound bus station, to sweep out of the city via the basilica of Guadalupe and Indios Verdes . The northern extension of Reforma, too, ends up at the great shrine of Guadalupe, as does the continuation of the Calzada de Tlalpan beyond the Zócalo.