| Mexico City |
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Mexico City is the biggest city on the planet. It should have about 26 million inhabitants or more, but no one seems to be really sure. What is sure is that when you visit the city you will be stunned by the sheer size of the place. The descent into Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport is unforgetable. After hours of flying over empty desert plains, you cross a ridge and...though you're still at reasonably high altitude...the city beneath you extends off into the distance as far as the eye can see. For the next quarter hour the end remains out of sight...in fact, the end is NEVER in sight. Nighlife in Mexico City is amazingly diverse and covers just about every form of entertainment imaginable. Within this huge metropolis area you will find many museums, parks, colonial buildings, modern high rise buildings, an Aztec pyramid, affordable and world class restaurants, the longest street/avenue in the world, the biggest University in the world with about 500,000 students and the largest stadium in the world. Mexico City is simply a world onto itself. To be short: the climate here is nice... you are sure to enjoy yourself if you can stand the foul air, the traffic jams and being surrounded by millions and millions of friendly Mexicans, 24 hours a day, everywhere. AttractionsThe canals of Xochimilco.Not really a park but still a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. Bo Andersson: Fun place, you can eat and drink on the small boats, listening to mariachi music!Templo Mayor and Museo del Templo MayorThe Museo del Templo Mayor (Museum of the Great Temple) opened in 1987. To enter it, take the walkway to the large building in the back portion of the site, which contains fabulous artifacts from on-site excavations. Inside the door, a model of Tenochtitlán gives a good idea of the scale of the vast city of the Aztecs. The rooms and exhibits are organized by subject on many levels around a central open space. You'll see some marvelous displays of masks, figurines, tools, jewelry, and other artifacts, including the huge stone wheel of the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui ("she with bells painted upon her face") on the second floor. The goddess ruled the night, the Aztecs believed, but died at the dawning of every day, slain and dismembered by her brother, Huitzilopochtli, the sun god.Templo MayorJust east of the cathedral are the remnants of the Templo Mayor, the Aztecs' principal temple, and the stunning museum that houses the artifacts discovered at the site.Centro HistoricoCentro Historico (downtown Mexico City) is a good area to visit for things such as pirated DVDs, VCDs, X-Box, PS2 games and etc. Easily reachable by Metro stop San Juan de Letran on Linea 8 (Green line), it's basically a street full of vendors of all sorts.Palacio NacionalPalacio Nacional (National Palace), built on the site of an Aztec palace it now houses the offices of the president, a museum as well as murals of Diego Rivera.AlamedaThe Alameda, which was once an Aztec marketplace, is now a pleasant and verdant park. The streets around the Alameda are lined with colonial mansions, skyscrapers, lively cafés, restaurants, shops and markets. |
