Welcome to Mexico, one of the most interesting countries in the world!  With 26 world heritage sites, charming colonial towns and dozens of thrilling cities, there's plenty to explore in this country of 109 million.  One of the most popular destinations in Mexico is Mexico City.  Referred to by some as the "palace city", a trip to Mexico's capital will be filled with unique buildings and Mexico City history.  The task of getting acquainted with all the corners of Mexico City is almost impossible.  There is so much to see, so much to visit, that the days and nights are too short.  There always remain something to be done.  However, during your stay in Mexico City, you cannot leave without visiting the following places:  Palacio Nacional (National Palace), Museo Naciona de Antropologia (National Museum of Anthropology), Templo Mayor, and Zocalo (Plaza de la Constitucion). 

    Today we are going to start our tour off at Palacio Nacional (National Palace).  The whole of the east side of the main square (Zocalo) is occupied by the National Palace (Palacio Nacional), with a facade over 200 m (650 ft) long. Built of reddish tezontle stone, it is the official residence of the President and houses various government offices. Originally built by Cortés on the flattened site of Moctezuma II's "New Palace", it was the seat of the Spanish viceroys during the colonial period and thereafter that of the President of the Republic. Much changed and developed over the years and partly destroyed during the 1692 uprising, it is one of the oldest and finest buildings in the city. The third storey was added in the 1920s, under the rule of President Calles.  The most notable feature of this courtyard is the fresco on the staircase and first floor by the muralist Diego Rivera, "Historia y Perspectiva de Mexico" (History and Perspective of Mexico). Covering a total area of 450 sq. m (4837 sq. ft), and painted between 1926 and 1945, it outlines the history of Mexico from Indian times to the period after the revolution. In portraying this wide span of historical events and their principal actors Rivera gives expression to his own very "Indian" social and political attitudes; this is shown perhaps most clearly of all in the picture "La Lucha de Clases" (The Class Struggle) at the foot of the staircase. In the gallery on the first floor can be seen "La Gran Tenochtitlan", another of Rivera's famous murals.  The rooms once occupied by Benito Juarez off the northern inner courtyard are now a museum open to visitors. Some of his furniture and personal belongings can be seen in the room in which he died in 1872. Also open to the public are some large halls and the parliamentary chamber in which the Reform Constitution of 1857 was drawn up. The latter and the Constitution of 1917 are on display.  The National Palace also houses the main State Archives, with many interesting historical documents, and the Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, one of the largest and most important libraries in the country.

    Next stop is Museo Nacional de Antropologia (National Museum of Anthropology).  The National Museum of Anthropology, one of the most important of its kind in the world, is to be found in the northern section of Chapultepec Park. At the entrance stands a huge monolithic figure identified as the rain god Tlaloc but in fact, according to the latest theories, more probably his sister, the water-goddess Chalchiuhtlicue (Nahuatl, "she of the jade-rock"). This colossal unfinished figure, weighing 167 tons, was found near San Miguel Coatlinchan and transported to its present site with the greatest difficulty.  The Museum was designed by Pedro Ramirez Vazquez and built in 1963-64. A strikingly successful example of contemporary architecture and of notably harmonious effect, it is one of the world's finest museums, with its old Indian art treasures magnificently displayed.  A notable feature is the Central Patio, part of which is roofed over by a kind of gigantic stone umbrella, sculpted by Jose Chavez Morado and borne on a column 11 m (36 ft) high. From the top a continuous curtain of water falls into the basin below, symbolizing the eternal cycle of life.  The Museum is divided into two completely separate sections dealing with different aspects. On the ground floor twelve rooms provide an introduction to anthropology and display archaeological finds from extinct Indian cultures, while the upper floor documents the life-styles of contemporary Indian inhabitants of Mexico. Each room is devoted to one centre of culture or group of people.

    That ends our tour for today.  Tomorrow we will continue with Templo Mayor and Zocalo (Plaza de la Constitucion).

    Now we are here at Templo Mayor.  Behind the Cathedral, at the corner of Calles Argentina and Guatemala, lie remains of the Temple Precinct of Tenochtitlan which were discovered some years ago and left in situ. In February 1978 workers building the Metro found a carved stone, a round disc 3.25m (nearly 11ft) in diameter and weighing 8500kg (8.5tons), finely sculpted with a relief of the beheaded and dismembered goddess Coyolxauhqui.  This find stimulated other excavations. Until then it had been assumed that the Gran Teocalli, the principal pyramid of Tenochtitlan, lay buried under the Zocalo, but these latest excavations showed the religious and political centre of the Aztec kingdom to have been here, further to the north-east. This temple pyramid had been the dominant building of the holy precinct; on the top, pointing south, stood the temple to Huitzlipochtli, god of war, and to the north that of Tlaloc, the god of rain. Together these symbolized the chief Aztec deities of war and death, life and water. 

    We have made it to the end of our tour.  Our last stop is Zocalo (Plaza de la Constitucion). The central feature of Mexico City is the Zocalo (Plaza de la Constitucion), where Mexico's first Constitution was proclaimed in 1813. Measuring some 240 m (780 ft) each way, it is one of the largest squares in the world. The Spaniards began to lay out the square immediately after the conquest of Tenochtitlan, with its northern half overlying the southern part of the demolished Aztec temple precinct, the Teocalli. In the early colonial period the square served a variety of purposes, as a bullfighting arena and a market, among other things. Today the square is one large empty space, which is used for festivals, parades and demonstrations. A huge flag is hoisted every morning. In the Metro station below the square models are on display illustrating the city's development. Dominating the square are the National Palace and the Cathedral, with the Templo Mayor site behind it. The Majestic Hotel roof terrace offers a fine view over the square.