Historic center of Mexico City
Centro
Centro, Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico
Highlights
Historic heart with Aztec ruins, museums, and bustling pedestrian streets
Centro, Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico Get directions
Historic heart with Aztec ruins, museums, and bustling pedestrian streets
Centro, Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico Get directions
"Amsterdam’s historic center radiates from Dam Square, where a dam kept the city from flooding in the 13th century. Now a stage for celebrations, street entertainment, and social activism, it’s also where Atlas hoists the universe atop the Royal Palace, symbolizing the city’s 17th-century world dominance. Once occupied by Napoleon, it’s the only palace in the Netherlands that’s both open to the public and still used for royal receptions. De Nieuwe Kerk (The New Church), where King Willem-Alexander married Maxima in 2002 and was crowned the Netherlands’ first king in a century following his mother’s abdication in 2013, sits on one side of the square.On the opposite edge, the 800-year-old Oude Kerk (Old Church) presides over windows showcasing sex workers and the rowdy bars of De Wallen, known to tourists as the red-light district. The oldest and one of the most beautiful parts of the city is punctuated with coffeeshops and peep shows, interspersed with fine restaurants, a craft brewery, and Ons’ Lieve Heer Op Solder (Our Lady in the Attic), once a secret Catholic church that’s now a museum.At Red Light Secrets, gain insight about sex work in the Netherlands. Learn more at the Prostitute Information Center, established by a former sex worker. Nearby is Zeedijk, Amsterdam’s Chinatown, home to Asian restaurants, gay bars, eclectic shops, and the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist temple." - MATADOR_NETWORK
"Centro, as it’s called by the locals, is the heart of CDMX. It is the oldest neighborhood in the city and was the site of the ancient city of Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec empire before it was razed by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. The neighborhood is therefore loaded with historical buildings (from colonial architecture to pre-Columbian ruins to pyramids), and amazing museums. Grab a free map at one of the multiple tourist kiosks and roam the streets and Zócalo, the main square, at your leisure. Madero and Regina are the two main walkable streets in Centro, but most of the neighborhood and the surrounding areas are closed to traffic on Sunday mornings. If you’re looking for a place with an unbeatable view of Centro Histórico, head to the top of the Latin American Tower or to the bell towers of the Metropolitan Cathedral." - MATADOR_NETWORK
