depending upon who you ask, Mexico City is either chaotic, fast-paced as well as dangerous, or it’s chaotic, fast-paced, dangerous… as well as exciting! With a population of approximately 22 million people, this sprawling city can be perceived in many ways.
For the inhabitants of the city, many of whom are required to deal with poverty, pollution, criminal offense as well as kidnappings (it’s believed that around 76 people were nabbed every day in 2013), there are more inherent dangers than there are for tourists only exploring the historical center.
Regardless, the city is a melting pot of culture, creativity, crime and cuisine as well as its electrifying vibe is undeniable. This is one city that you won’t want to miss, it’s definitely one of the very best locations to go to in Mexico.
In order to make the most out of your visit, you’ll want to select a great area to stay in to ensure that you’re close to the primary sights as well as great restaurants, yet far sufficient away that it’s not as well noisy while you’re sleeping. To figure out which area is right for you, inspect out this neighbourhood guide to Mexico City.
Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral – historical center Downtown
Note: For Gringos there are some things to be careful about, however there’s no requirement to be paranoid about safety. The biggest concern is pickpocketing as well as snatch n’ grab robberies, many of which can happen in hectic markets, or on the train (metro) late at night. If you’re just enjoying the sights, checking out the historical center as well as not getting yourself included in anything illegal, you’ll have a risk-free as well as enjoyable time in this thriving metropolis.
During our stay, we checked out a couple of museums, however not being museum people, we quickly grew tired of reading plaques as well as examining art as well as artifacts. We were nevertheless blown away at the enormity as well as immensity of the Museo Nacional de Antropología (National Anthropology Museum), a world-class museum that can take some visitors a full day or even a number of days to explore. We were overwhelmed, however impressed as well as satisfied after just 2 hours.
Our go to to Mexico D.F was a comfortable one. We lazily walked down the busy streets, excitedly navigating our method past lots of street hawkers, performers as well as enthusiastic restaurant touts.
We took in the primary sites of the museums, churches, the Zocalo as well as the Palacio de Bellas Artes, all the while having a hard time to keep our cameras secured at our sides. It was as if every building, balcony, basilica and boardwalk was posing for our photos. The entire city was to life as well as its energy pulsated with us, seemingly triggering a twitch in our shutter fingers.
Palacio de Bellas Artes
Walking down La Calle Francisco I. Madero, the primary pedestrian pathway as well as buying thoroughfare, was exhilarating, exhausting as well as frustrating all at the exact same time. At peak hours, people were shoulder to shoulder, deeking as well as dodging each other to make it to their respective destinations.
Street performers twirled hoops, spun balls, played music as well as danced, all effectively catching the interest of walkers by. music echoed against the stone carved buildings as well as the scents of freshly brewed coffee, grilled meats and vehicle emissions all mixed in the awesome as well as familiar metropolitan air.
Crystal sphere street Performer
At night the historical center truly came to life, with the amber lamplight bringing new colour as well as clearness to the antiquity of the faded facades around the city. Each preserved, brought back as well as crumbling edifice proudly displayed centuries of decay, while somehow retaining much of their beauty as well as intricate detail.
Under the scrutiny of the evening city lights, Madero had its own character, separate from the buzz of the rest of the city. people were out to be seen, money was altering hands as well as the shops were all congested with people.
A awesome chill came over the high altitude metropolis at night, however everybody was somehow kept warm by the constant activity that surrounded them. At the core of Mexico City, the vibrance was palpable as well as yet, somehow not overwhelming. We liked it.
Market Food tour with eat Mexico
Aside from days (and early evenings) spent walking the streets, Dariece as well as I enjoyed a Market Food tour with eat Mexico as well as we decided to do someday trip outside of the city. A short 1 hour bus trip took us to the colossal Mesoamerican pyramids of Teōtīhuacān, a Nahuatl-Aztec name meaning “birthplace of the Gods”. We are still amazed that wehad never heard about this location before our arrival to Mexico City (although we most likely discovered about it in high-school).
The Pyramid of the sun is what put Teōtīhuacān on the map as well as it is the third largest pyramid in the world. With a base perimeter of almost 800 square meters as well as a height of 71 meters, the sun Pyramid is almost unimaginably grand, particularly when thinking about the ancient tools as well as methods that were utilized to develop it almost 2,000 years ago.
The Pyramid Of The Sun
The 5 kilometer long, 40 meter wide “Avenue Of The Dead” runs the length of the ancient city, which, at its peak, housed over 100,000 residents, making it the most populated city in the entire pre-Columbian American continent.
The broad pathway made it simple to go to the site with a remove view of what lay ahead. about a kilometer to the north of the entrance, on the right hand side, was the Pyramid of the sun as well as adjacent to that enormous structure was the smaller, however more intricate, Pyramid of the Moon.
These Pyramids were so big that they appeared surreal, their pale grey bricks shining in the mid-day sun. They towered towards the sky, with a constant flow of tourist web traffic scrambling up as well as down their steep, stone-stepped sides like ants in a colony.
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We climbed to the top of the sun pyramid as well as by the time we reached the top we were hot as well as out of breath, however the views of the rest of the ruins as well as the surrounding valleys made everything worth while. From the top of those ancient pyramids, we thanked the Aztec gods, grateful that we were able to see such an outstanding site in Mexico.
For sheer size as well as awe-factor, these are the very best ruins we’ve seen in the Aztec world.
After 5 days in the world’s 6th largest metropolis, we were prepared to leave. Our eyes ached from darting back as well as forth, or throats scratched from the dry, sometimes polluted air, as well as our legs tired from days of walking on pavement. It was time to move to warmer climates as well as softer terrain. The white sands as well as balmy weather condition of the Yucatan were calling us as well as on our last day we headed to the flight terminal as well as boarded a flight to Cancun.
Caribbean beaches, right here we come!
A special thanks to: AeroMexico for flying us to Cancun on their comfortable as well as spacious Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet, as well as for the return flight on the Embraer 190. The airline personnel were friendly as well as welcoming. whatever went extremely smoothly, we were even served some snacks which we haven’t had on a short distance flight in a long time!
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