City tour and visit to Teotihuacan

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: National Palace (Palacio Nacional), Avenida Pino Suarez, Corregidora esquina Guatemala Zócalo, Mexico City 06060 Mexico

The first palace on this spot was built by Aztec emperor Moctezuma II in the early 16th century. Cortés destroyed the palace in 1521, rebuilding it as a fortress with three interior courtyards. In 1562 the crown purchased the building from Cortés’ family to house the viceroys of Nueva España, a function it served until Mexican independence.

As you face the palace, high above the center door hangs the Campana de Dolores, the bell rung in the town of Dolores Hidalgo by Padre Miguel Hidalgo in 1810 at the start of the War of Independence. From the balcony underneath it, the president delivers the grito (shout) – ¡Viva México! – on the evening of September 15 to commemorate independence.

Pass By: Museo del Templo Mayor, Seminario 8 Centro Histórico, Mexico City 06060 Mexico

In 1978, utilities workers digging in Mexico City unearthed a colossal stone relief, depicting an unmistakable figure: the Aztec goddess Coyolxauhqui, naked, dismembered and decapitated, after being slain by her brother, Huitzilopochtli, the god of sun and war. Archaeologists realized the carving must be part of Templo Mayor, the Great Temple of the Aztec Empire, known to lie somewhere below the city center based on colonial-era accounts and previous limited digging projects.

Pass By: Palacio de Bellas Artes, Avenida Juarez y Eje Central s/n Centro Histórico, Mexico City 06050 Mexico

Immense murals by world-famous Mexican artists dominate the top floors of this splendid white-marble palace – a concert hall and arts center commissioned by President Porfirio Díaz. Construction on the iconic building began in 1905 under Italian architect Adamo Boari, who favored neoclassical and art nouveau styles.

Stop At: Teotihuacan Pyramids, San Juan Teotihuacan 55800 Mexico

Located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of modern-day Mexico City, Teotihuacan was one of the largest urban centers in the ancient world. No one knows who built it. The city flourished between 2,100 years ago, when construction began, and about 1,400 years ago, when it went into a period of decline, including a fire that caused great damage. However, even with the decline, the city was never truly “lost” — the Aztecs made regular pilgrimages to the site in later periods.

Duration: 1 hour