Local information and activities
Below is a simple guide of what is available in Mexico City.
Please contact the concierge at the Presidente InterContinental Mexico City Hotel for further details.
Attractions
Metropolitan Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral (or to give it its full title, the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven) is not only one of the most treasured architectural masterpieces in Mexico, but also one of the largest and oldest cathedrals in Latin America. Work began shortly after the Spanish conquered the city of Tenochtitlan – which stood on the same land as modern-day Mexico City – replacing an Aztec temple. It took three centuries to build, from 1573 to 1813, so it makes sense that the architecture is an amalgamation of the three distinct styles that dominated during its construction: baroque, neo-classical and neo-renaissance. But not even three centuries of development could ensure the foundations were sufficiently resilient. The cathedral – much like the rest of Mexico City – gradually sinks into the shifting lake upon which it was built.
Chapultepec Forest
Chapultepec Forest is one of the most important urban forests in the world. Located in Mexico City, it consists of 678 hectares organized in four sections among which we can find gardens, monuments, three artificial lakes and museums, among which are two of the most visited in the country.
https://www.chapultepec.org.mx/
Monument to the Mexican Revolution
As part of a titanic effort to rescue this significant building, the City of Mexico designed and implemented major improvements to Plaza de la República and the surrounding streets, the National Museum of the Revolution and the Monument to the Mexican Revolution, were brought back to life – in a symbolic, but also in a physical sense – as a vital node within the city’s grid.
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Basilica of Guadalupe is one of the most visited Catholic Shrines in the world and it is the National Shrine of Mexico. Located in the north of Mexico City it is considered the second Catholic Shrine in importance after Vatican City. It houses the cloak containing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
https://virgendeguadalupe.org.mx/en/
Xochimilco
Xochimilco is characterized by a system of canals, which measure a total of approx. 170 km2. These canals, and the small colorful boats that float on them among artificially created land called chinampas, are internationally famous. These canals are popular with Mexico City residents as well, especially on Sundays.
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan is a vast Mexican archaeological complex northeast of Mexico City. Running down the middle of the site, which was once a flourishing pre-Columbian city, is the Avenue of the Dead. It links the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun, the latter two with panoramic views from their summits. Artifacts in the Museum of Teotihuacan Culture, on-site, include pottery and bones.
Museums
Museo de Antropología e Historia
This important museum, houses archeological and anthropological testimonies forged by multiple cultural groups during hundreds of years of history; at the same time, it pays homage to the indigenous peoples of today's Mexico through a rich collection that rescues the uses, representations, expressions, knowledge and traditions that are intangible heritage of the nation and a legacy that belongs to all humanity.
Templo Mayor
The museum of the Templo Mayor was built in 1987 to house the Templo Mayor Project and its finds—a project which continues work to this day. In 1991, the Urban Archaeology Program was incorporated as part of the Templo Mayor Project whose mission is to excavate the oldest area of the city, around the main plaza.
https://templomayor.inah.gob.mx/english
Museo Mural Diego Riviera
The Diego Rivera Mural Museum (Museo Mural Diego Rivera) houses Mexico’s most famous work of art by perhaps the nation’s most beloved artist. Rivera painted “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central” in 1947, and the mural depicts famous people and events in Mexico’s history, passing through downtown Mexico City’s Alameda Central Park.
https://inba.gob.mx/recinto/46/museo-mural-diego-rivera
El Museo Nacional de Arte
The National Museum of Art (MUNAL), founded in 1982 and located in the historical center of Mexico City, hosts the most important collection of Mexican art in the country. At present the MUNAL’s collection consists of more than 3,551 works, including among them magnificent examples of painting, sculpture, engraving and drawing, as well as folk art and photography, some of which are veritable masterpieces. Moreover, the museum hosts works from María Izquierdo, José María Velasco, Saturnino Herrán, Gerardo Murillo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, seven of those nine artists whose works are considered to constitute an “Artistic Monument”.
Palace of Fine Arts Museum
The Palace of Fine Arts is Mexico City’s grandest and most important performance space. It is one of the many public buildings begun during the government of Porfirio Díaz, who was in office from 1876 to 1911. The building features murals that were executed by some of Mexico’s finest artists, including Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Roberto Montenegro, and houses exhibition halls for sculpture and painting. It is also home to the National Museum of Architecture, and the National Theater.
https://www.wmf.org/project/palace-fine-arts-palacio-de-bellas-artes
Museo Memoria y Tolerencia
MYT is a museum with the goal of promoting tolerance, zero violence and human rights through the study and understanding of historic memories, especially those related to genocides and crimes against humanity. Filled with uncanny sculptural works and breathless architecture and spaces, MYT is a space to find inspiration and re-think our value and role in this society.
Frida Kahlo Museum
La Casa Azul is the Intimate Universe of Frida Kahlo. In this beautiful residence, the artist lived most of her life; initially with her family and years later, with Diego Rivera. Likewise, interesting Mexican and foreign visitors stayed in this place, attracted by the captivating couple of artists. Frida wanted to leave her home as a museum, to be enjoyed by her beloved Mexico. For this reason, after her death, Diego organized here, the Frida Kahlo Museum.
https://www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/en/the-blue-house/
Shopping
Antara Polanco
The incredible Antara Fashion Hall shopping center offers its visitors a place full of quality in its shops, restaurants and much more in a fabulous area that will give you a unique experience while you enjoy the experience while you enjoy the wonderful Polanco neighborhood in Mexico City. The Antara Polanco shopping center has been characterized over the years for being a point of reference for those looking for fun, entertainment, a Saturday stroll or shopping without losing sight of the luxury that only Polanco can offer in Mexico City.
La Ciudadela – artisanal market
An array of colors unfolds at your every step in this artisanal market, which is over 50 years old. Lose yourself in the shelves of skulls, jugs, jaguar heads made with black mud, wood, or with a Huichol decoration, traditional games, baskets made of palm leaves, saddlery, vases, pots, and talavera plates; alebrijes (Oaxacan-Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures) and replicas of pre-Hispanic pieces of art.
Mercado de Artesanías de Coyoacán
This market is very good, a very spacious place, it has two floors and is very varied and spacious, a great variety of products, colorful, crafts in cloth, wood, metal.
Without a doubt, it is a place to visit and buy souvenirs and gifts from a wide variety of products.