Zócalo and cathedral
The largest square in Latin America, built on the Aztec ceremonial centre.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Best time
In the morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The square stands on the exact site of the ceremonial centre of Tenochtitlán, razed by Cortés in 1521 and rebuilt with its stones. It is one of the largest squares in the world, entirely empty in the middle, with the national flag raised every morning.
The cathedral, begun in 1573, took two and a half centuries to finish. It is sinking: the city is built on a drained lake, and the ground settles by several centimetres a year. A plumb line hung in the nave makes the tilt visible.
Getting there
Metro line 2, Zócalo station; the exit comes out directly onto the square. The historic centre is walkable from there.
Rules on site
The square is regularly taken over by demonstrations or stage builds, which close it without notice. The cathedral towers can only be climbed with a guide and in dry weather.
Other places in Mexico City
- Templo MayorThe great temple of Tenochtitlán, found under the colonial city while digging for electricity.
- TeotihuacánThe Pyramid of the Sun and the Avenue of the Dead, a city abandoned a thousand years before the Aztecs.
- Coyoacán and the Casa AzulThe colonial quarter where Frida Kahlo was born, lived and died, in a blue house.
- Chapultepec ParkThe largest urban park in Latin America, with the anthropology museum inside it.