University City

Lonely Planet review

About 2km south of San Ángel, the main campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). With over 280,000 students and 31,000 teachers, it is Latin America's largest university. Five former Mexican presidents are among its alumni, as is Carlos Slim Helú, ranked the world's richest man in 2007.

Founded in 1551 as the Royal and Papal University of Mexico, UNAM is the second-oldest university in the Americas. It occupied various buildings in the center of town until the campus was transferred to its current location in the 1950s. Standing upon part of a vast dried-up lava field called El Pedregal, it was constructed by a team of 150 young architects, sculptors and technicians headed by José García Villagrán, Mario Pani and Enrique del Moral. With its buildings covered in optimistic murals linking Mexican and global themes, the university is a monument to national pride. An architectural showpiece, it was placed on Unesco's list of World Heritage Sites in 2007.

Although it is a public university open to all, UNAM remains 'autonomous,' meaning the government may not interfere in its academic policy. It has often been a center of political dissent, most notably prior to the 1968 Olympics, held in Mexico City, when protests culminated in the tragic massacre at Tlatelolco.

In normal times during the school semesters, the campus is busy with student life; out of term, when its libraries, faculties and cafés are closed, it's very quiet but still open to visitors.