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Centro Histórico
Centro Histórico (Historic Centre) brims with fine colonial buildings and historic sites. Its nerve centre and the heart of Mexico City is Zócalo, the Plaza de la Constitución, which is home to the powers-that-be.
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Centro Nacional De Las Artes
The National Arts Center, just east of Calzada de Tlalpan, is a modern hothouse of the arts. It's home to the Auditorio Blas Galindo, the Teatro de las Artes and two other theaters, the national music conservatory and the schools of theater, dance, cinema, painting, sculpture and engraving. Even if you're not here for a performance, it's still interesting to stroll through the grounds amid the modern architecture and browse the center's excellent bookshop and art materials shop.
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Cinco Clásicos
This small gallery in an exquisitely restored 1930s dollhouse of a building deals with mainly contemporary Latin American and Mexican art. The painters include Francisco Toledo, Sergio Hernandez and Rafael Coronel. The congenial owner, Simón Alkón, speaks excellent English.
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Círculo Azul
The picturesque courtyard, with its tiles and 16th-century fountain, is a fitting introduction to this fine gallery, with its classic and contemporary artwork and sculpture. There's an original painting signed by Diego Rivera, plus some stunning charcoal and ink drawings by contemporary Mexican artist, Raquel Chávez Lanz.
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Cuicuilco
One of the oldest significant remnants of pre-Hispanic settlement within the DF, Cuicuilcoechoes a civilization that stood on the shores of Lago de Xochimilco as far back as 800 BC. In its heyday in the 2nd century BC, the 'place of singing and dancing' counted as many as 40,000 inhabitants and rivaled Teotihuacán in stature. The site was abandoned a couple of centuries later, however, after an eruption of the nearby Xitle volcano covered most of the community in lava.
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El Caballito
A couple of blocks west of the Alameda Central is El Caballito, a bright yellow representation of a horse's head by the sculptor Sebastián. It commemorates another equestrian sculpture that stood here for 127 years and today fronts the Museo Nacional de Arte.
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El Zócalo
The heart of Mexico City is the Plaza de la Constitución, though city residents began calling it the Zócalo, meaning 'base,' in the 19th century when plans for a major monument to independence went unrealized, leaving only the pedestal. Measuring more than 220m from north to south and 240m from east to west, it's one of the world's largest city squares.
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Estadio Azteca
The country's largest stadium (capacity 114,000) is home to both the América and Atlante clubs. Presided over by an enormous sculpture by the late American artist, Alexander Calder, games are played on weekend afternoons; check the website for kickoff times. Take the Tren Ligero from metro Tasqueña to Estadio Azteca station.
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Estadio Azul
The stadium is next door to the Plaza México bullring. Cruz Azul home games kick off at on Saturday.
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Estadio Olímpico
Home of the UNAM Pumas; games start at noon on Sunday and are always well attended and entertaining; the exuberant university fan clubs are well known for their raucous chants.
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Ex-Convento De Churubusco
Scene of a historic military defeat, the 17th-century former Monastery of Churubusco stands within peaceful wooded grounds, 1.5km northeast of Plaza Hidalgo.
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Foro Sol
This stadium seats 26,000 spectators and is located to the east of the city. Games usually start at . Ticketmaster sells tickets and the Afición sports paper details upcoming games. The league's website is www.lmb.com.mx. From the Ciudad Deportiva station, on metro Línea 9, it's a five-minute walk to the ballpark.
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Galería De Arte Mexicano
The first contemporary art gallery to open in Mexico City (way back in 1935). Since this time, the gallery has held close to 1000 shows, with exhibitions of smock-and-beret masters like Diego Rivera, Miguel Covarrubias, Rufino Tamayo and Frida Kahlo. The gallery continues to promote established and emerging Mexican artists and remains one of the most exciting and extensive in the city.
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Galería De Nuestra Cocina Duque De Herdez
This modest museum, sponsored by Mexican canned-food giant Herdez, follows the history of the country's renowned cuisine. You'll find out what Mexicans were eating before the Spanish conquest and how the two traditions fused to yield all those wonderful tacos, tamales and salsas. Probably the most useful feature is the gastronomic library downstairs.
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Galería Juan Martín
A welcoming two-story gallery with a light, airy feel and an exciting permanent collection of paintings, pottery and photography by Mexican and international artists, as well as regular temporary exhibitions. The variety and combination of styles and themes contributes towards the appeal of the place.
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Galería Nina Menocal
Established in 1990, this sophisticated Cuban-owned gallery became initially famous for representing legendary Cuban artists like Félix González and still represents several Cuban artists, as well as Mexican and European contemporary artists and sculptors. The gallery's setting is a classic colonial-style '40s building with galleries situated around a central ivy-flanked courtyard.
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Gallery 13
This is a young dynamic gallery that typically displays up-and-coming artists and photographers under the age of 30. The exhibition spaces are spread over two floors with five well-lit galleries. Definitely one to watch.
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Garash
A gregarious toddler on the contemporary art scene, Garash was established in 2003 in this classic early 20th-century building, complete with original columns. Exhibitors are mainly Mexican and Japanese and tend to be in the innovative genre of Hisae Ikenaga, the Madrid-based sculptor famed for transforming mass produced modular furniture into startlingly contemporary sculpted forms and who has had a successful solo exhibition here.
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Iglesia Del Convento De San Francisco
The temple is just a remnant of the vast Franciscan monastery erected in the early 16th century over the site of Moctezuma's private zoo. In its heyday it extended two blocks south and east, and its atrium could hold 60,000 worshippers. The monastic complex was divvied up under the post-Independence Reform Laws, then returned to the Franciscan order, in a deplorable state, in 1949, and subsequently restored.
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Iglesia Y Panteón De San Fernando
At the top of the garden-lined Plaza de San Fernando stands the handsome 18th-century church of the same saint, with baroque carved doors and an impressive altar. Next door is the Panteón de San Fernando, a cemetery containing the tombs of illustrious 19th-century Mexicans such as Benito Juárez, Vicente Guerrero, Ignacio Zaragoza and Melchor Ocampo.
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Isla De Las Muñecas
For a truly surreal experience, hire a trajinera to the Island of the Dolls. Whatever festive mood you may have set out with will turn to dread approaching this remote spot, where thousands of dolls, many partially decomposed or missing limbs, hang from trees and rafters. The installation was created by recently deceased island resident Don Julián, who fished the playthings from the canals to mollify the spirit of a girl who had drowned nearby. The best departure point for the four-hour round-trip is the Cuemanco landing, near the Parque Ecológico de Xochimilco.
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Jardín Botánico
Gardening is an ancient pastime in this part of the world - Nezahualcóyotl was planting cypresses here six centuries ago for their sheer aesthetic value - and the recently opened Botanical Garden, 300m east of the anthropology museum, carries the tradition forward. Highlighting Mexico's plant diversity, the 4-hectare complex is divided into sections that reflect the country's varied climate zones, with a special emphasis on the plants and trees of central Mexico.
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Jardín De La Solidaridad
The little park-like plaza in front of the Museo Mural Diego Rivera is the Solidarity Garden, created in 1986 on the site of the old Hotel Regis to commemorate the struggle of Mexico City's residents to rebuild their city after the earthquake of 1985. People gather here to play and watch open-air chess.
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Jardín Del Arte
A small art market, between Sullivan and Villalongín, and also known as the Sullivan Market, has a large selection of paintings and art supplies, plus some food.
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La Diana Cazadora
At Reforma's intersection with Sevilla is the monument commonly known as La Diana Cazadora (Diana the Huntress), a 1942 bronze sculpture actually meant to represent the Archer of the North Star. The League of Decency under the Ávila Camacho administration had the sculptor add a loincloth to the female figure, which wasn't removed until 1966.
