Showing 1-8 of 8 results
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Alameda Central
Alameda Central is Mexico City's only sizable downtown park and is surrounded by some of the city's most interesting buildings and museums. Created in the late 1500s by then-Viceroy Luis de Velasco, the park took its name from the álamos (poplars) planted over its rectangular expanse. It's particularly popular on Sunday, when families congregate.
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Bosque de Chapultepec
Chapultepec, which means Hill of Grasshoppers in the Aztec language (Náhuatl), once served as a refuge for the wandering Aztecs before eventually becoming a summer residence for their noble class. In the 15th century, Nezahualcóyotl, ruler of nearby Texcoco, gave permission for the area to be made a forest reserve.
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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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Parque México
A main focus is the peaceful, beautifully kept Parque México, full of trees, well-maintained paths, benches with cute little roofs, and signs exhorting everyone to demonstrate their ecoconsciousness and treat their parque nicely. Amsterdam, which runs in an oval loop one block outside the park's perimeter, was originally a horse-race track. When the track was handed over to developers in 1924, it was stipulated that a certain area inside it must be kept green - hence Parque México.
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Parque Nacional Fuentes Brotantes
A national park built around natural springs. At the top of the trail, about 1km southwest of Av Insurgentes, is a large reservoir inhabited by ducks.
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San Ángel Inn
Across the way from the Diego-Frida home, the San Ángel Inn is in the former Hacienda de Goicoechea, an 18th-century pulque plantation with a beautiful verdant courtyard, a fountain, a chapel and colonial gardens. It is historically significant as the place where Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata agreed to divide control of the country in 1914. If your budget won't run to a meal here at the prestigious restaurant you can still stroll in the gardens and perhaps have a drink in the cocktail bar.
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Viveros De Coyoacán
A pleasant approach is via the Viveros de Coyoacán, the principal nurseries for Mexico City's parks and gardens. The 390,000-sq-meter swath of greenery, 1km west of central Coyoacán, is popular with joggers and perfect for a stroll, but watch out for belligerent squirrels! From metro Viveros, walk south (right, as you face the face) along Av Universidad and take the first left, Av Progreso; or enter on Av México near Calle Madrid.
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Showing 1-8 of 8 results
