Mexico City

A typical car in the city. Many of these still exist in Mexico. P.de Franqueville

The old capital of the Aztec empire, or the Mexican Babylon, is one of the most gigantic megalopolises of the planet, with 20 million inhabitants and worrying pollution and crime rates: its bad reputation is quite persistent. But its museums and palaces, archaeological sites, large handicraft markets, popular districts and thrilling night life make it a fascinating city. The discovery starts with the Zocalo, circled with key monuments in the country's history: the ruins of Templo Mayor, the ultimate witness of the old Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan; Palacio Nacional, seat of the presidency and the immense metropolitan cathedral (16th century), flanked by the beautiful baroque church of El Sagrario. Behind that, you will have to stroll around Plaza Santo Domingo with its public letter-writers and the old San Ildefonso Jesuit school with its walls covered with frescoes painted by the great Mexican mural painters (Clemente Orozco, David Siqueiros, Diego Rivera). For a 360° view of the capital city, make your way (preferably at sunset) to the panoramic viewpoint (41st floor) of Torre Latina Americana, opposite the Fine Arts Palace. The National Museum of Anthropology, a master-piece of contemporary architecture, is rightly considered one of the world's most fabulous museums. Its priceless collections, covering 30 centuries of Meso-American history, are the essential introduction to the discovery of Mexico and its pre-Hispanic sites. The most typical districts are still left to be explored: la colonia de la Zona Rosa, very lively after nightfall; Barrio Polanco and its wide, tree-lined avenues, bordered with embassies, posh restaurants, luxury boutiques and hotels ; the Xochimilco water gardens where you can board a trajinera - a long, brightly coloured boat, to have some lunch to the rhythm of the mariachis' music ; Coyoacán et San Angel's colonias and their picturesque cobbled streets, lined with convents and elegant colonial residences from the 16th and 17th century... In the neighbourhood, you should also see the archaeological sites of Teotihuacán and Tula as well as Tepotzotlán and Acolman monasteries.