Visiting Capital of Mexico, Mexico City

Mexico city is one of the most ideal destinations for art-lovers with its hundreds of museums and galleries; foodies with its restaurants that serve mouth-watering dishes; and tourists who want to be amazed with its rich and highly-diverse culture.

Because the city boasts many historic landmarks and beautiful places, travelers should extend their stay for a couple of weeks to see all these.

The best place to see the rich and diverse culture of Mexico is by visiting its capital which has maintained its warmth and romantic ambiance while emanating its magical past with its ancient ruins of the early civilization.

Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

Xochimilco is a place of extended canals, with its lake beds turned by early inhabitants into artificial islands, often referred as Floating Gardens, allowing them to grow vegetation. According to scholars, this method of Mesoamerican agriculture was created by layering mud, decaying vegetation, and sediments until it reached above the water level.

The Floating Gardens, which has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is not just popular because of its vegetation, but also with its vibrant and multi-colored Trajinera boats which are the Mexican version of gondolas in Venice.

Centro Historico

Also declared as a World Heritage Site, this center covers other famous landmarks such as the Aztec ruins of Templo Mayor which was built for gods of the rain and war; Plaza de la Constitución (also known as Zocalo) which is the main square that used to be a gathering site for Mexicans since the Aztec period; Metropolitan Cathedral which is the oldest and largest church in Latin America; and the National Palace which is the seat of government.

Places of Fine Arts

The city has more than 160 museums and 100 galleries that will allow art-lovers to see and marvel with the rich and diverse Mexican culture. Also, the capital has the fourth highest number of theaters in the world.

Frida Kahlo, probably the most famous South American painter of all time, lived in the city. Today, several of her houses and studios were converted into public art galleries.

Meanwhile, the most popular museum is the Castle of Chapultepec which used to be the imperial residence until the fall of the Mexican kingdom in 1867. Nowadays, the museum has an extensive collection of artifacts.

Flavorful and Colorful Mexican Cuisine

The best place to see and taste the city’s culture is by going at a local restaurant that serves Mexican cuisine which is known for its spices, colorful ingredients, and flavorful taste.

While there are many restaurants that serve mouth-watering dishes, most of these serve Spanish- or Portuguese-inspired dishes. To have an authentic Mexican cuisine, one of the most recommended for foreign tourists is the Casa Merlos in Obsevatorio which also serve exotic dishes such as “chapilines” which is a fried insect.

 

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