The Long Trip Home: Archives

Archives

Landscapes/
Cityscapes

Digging Through Mexico City's Museums
by Robert Craig

Family Fun in the Forest
by Rosalie Robison

Hotel Palacete de Cázulas—A Mansion of Memories
by John Towler

Old Orchard Beach
by Marie Logan

Playa Del Carmen, Mayan Riviera
Riu Playacar Resort
by Daphne Wilson

Nantucket: Nice Pants and an Attitude to Match
by James Lairdo

A Glimpse of Hell
by Calum Harvie

Parangtritis—A Beach Not Too Far
by Barrie Lie-Birchall

Shanghai Surprise
by Catherine Skrzypinski

return to main
Archives

Landscapes/Cityscapes

Digging Through Mexico City's Museums
by Robert Craig

If your idea of travel is riding a tour bus to the Loire Valley's wineries in France and sipping bitter coffee at Vienna's sidewalk cafes, then Mexico City isn't for you.

Mexico's capital, or the United Mexican States as it calls itself officially, is considered by many to be the biggest city in the world and has pollution, crime and congestion to match. But people keep going back, and why they do is a question that deserves an answer.

The short answer is museums. The obvious attractions in Mexico City are the museums. This modern city, with all the aches and pains of a mega-metropolis, knows its history. The museums chornicle the city's history and offer a good understanding of the Mexican people.

The biggest draw is the National Museum of Anthropology and History (MNAH), a world-class museum that showcases the most important and interesting remains from thousands of years of indigenous civilization. This is not a museum for dilettantes, those stylish vacationers who amble among objets d' arte in sumptuous surroundings, casting glib eyes over aristocratic trifles. No, what the MNAH holds instead is a pre-history to Mexico City. This pre-history includes a vast record of buried cultures and the main collection of artifacts from the Aztec empire that fell to Cortes. People who go to the MNAH all know the stories of the Olmeca, the Maya, the Tolteca, along with the cultures with magic-sounding names: Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Tarascan, Mixtec, Totonac, Chichimeca.

The MNAH stands next to the breathtakingly huge and massively popular Chapultepec Park, where you can find a museum of a different kind. The Castle, built atop a tall hill, is a grand building that has served alternately as presidential mansion and military academy. Now the Castle shows the lifestyle of the rich and powerful of a century ago, while displaying threadbare souvenirs from Mexico's wars.

Want more? The heart of the city is the Plaza de la Constitucion or Zocalo. Mexico City is built over the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. Archaeologists have dug up the foundation of Templo Mayor, the Aztecs' main temple. The main attraction is the modern museum built for the astonishing treasure of unearthed artifacts. The archaeologists did not finish excavating the Templo Mayor because it is overlaid by the Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest church in Mexico. A squat, ponderous building, the Cathedral huddles on the corner of the square to remind people of the historic bloody conflict between church and state.

In a different conflict, (the U.S. invasion of Mexico 1846-1848), American troops defeated the defenders—including American deserters—at the Convent of San Diego in the Churubusco district. Now the convent houses the Museum of the Interventions, with the usual displays of battle mementos, along with graphics that show the conflicts as they occurred. A visit there is essential to understanding Mexico's attitude toward involving itself with foreign powers.

Within the city are scores of special-interest museums, ranging from small archaeological sites to art galleries. But there is one place just a bus ride out of town that is a must-see. Teotihuacan is one of Mexico's most important reconstructed pre-Columbian ceremonial centers. It ruled over an empire that controlled the politics of kingdoms as far away as Guatemala, and even today you can feel the power as you study the alien architecture of that ancient culture.

Getting around in the world's largest city is easier than you might think, thanks to the Metro, a modern and elaborate subway system. You can even travel to the airport that way. If you have too much baggage for the subway, only board taxis at an officially-controlled taxi stand or one reserved by your hotel.

Try to avoid the Metro or taxis during rush hour periods—early morning, early afternoon, and early evening. For security, don't wear any jewelry, avoid carrying documents or large amounts of money where pick-pockets can get to them, especially on the subway. Consider carrying a dummy wallet or purse stuffed with waste paper.

Most importantly, research your trip before you go and read up on pre-Columbian cultures. Take a guidebook with you and a good city map. Then the only problem you'll have is that there simply is too much to see.

GETTING AROUND
MNAH. Metro: Auditorio Station. Use the north exit (Salida Norte) to avoid crossing La Reforma.
ZOCALO. Metro: Zocalo Station.
MUSEUM OF THE INTERVENTIONS. Metro: General Anaya Station. Go a long block west on 20 de Agosto Street.
TEOTIHUACAN. Metro: Terminal Autobuses del Norte Station. Find the window for Autobuses Teotihuacan. Say "A los Piramides (ah lohs pee-DAH-mee-days)" to the clerk to be sure the bus goes to the archaeological site as well as the town.