Viceregal administrative offices, prominent homes, cathedrals, and chapels replaced the palaces and temples of the dispossessed Mexico in the nucleus of the new city. Having weathered the centuries and survived the region’s intermittent earthquakes, many still fulfill their original purpose; others house bookstores, jewellers, pawnshops, museums and restaurants. Cosmopolitan and chaotic yet eager to please, downtown D.F. is a synthesis of ancient and modern Mexican culture.

A good place to begin exploring the city is the 4 hectare zocalo, or central plaza, built form the rubble of Tenochtitlan. It is the world’s second largest square. On the north side of the square, the Catedral Metropolitana, the first cathedral in New Spain, was ordered to be built by Hernan Cortes, but later razed and replaced with the present church finished in 1813. The dignified baroque façade is dominated by tin eighteenth century bell towers.