Not to miss

Catedral Metropolitana

Construction of this cathedral began in 1573 and took two and a half centuries to complete. Because of its placement atop the ruins of an Aztec temple complex, the massive building has been sinking unevenly since its construction, resulting in fissures and cracks in the structure. While visitors may wander freely, they are asked not to do so during mass.

The cathedral's chief artistic treasure is the gilded 18th-century Altar de los Reyes (Altar of the Kings), behind the main altar. It's a masterly exercise in controlled elaboration and a high point of Churrigueresque style. Also worthy of admiration are the Capilla de los Santos Ángeles y Arcángeles (Chapel of the Holy Angels and Archangels), the gilded Altar de Perdón (Altar of Pardon), the dusky Christ figure of the Señor del Veneno (Lord of the Poison)and the intricately carved late-17th-century wooden choir stalls by Juan de Rojas in the central nave and sacristy, featuring a pair of enormous painted panels.

Museo de Arte Moderno

The Museum of Modern Art exhibits work by Mexico's most noteworthy 20th-century artists. Four skylit rotundas house canvasses by Dr Atl, Rivera, Siqueiros, Orozco, Kahlo, Tamayo and O'Gorman, among others. You can also see Las Dos Fridas, possibly Frida Kahlo's most well-known painting. Temporary exhibitions feature prominent Mexican and foreign artists.

Palacio Nacional

The National Palace is home to the offices of the president of Mexico, the Federal Treasury and dramatic murals by Diego Rivera. Above the central entrance 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 Mexican War of Independence. The first palace on this spot was built by Aztec emperor Moctezuma II in the early 16th century, but Cortés destroyed it in 1521.

The Diego Rivera murals along the main staircase, painted between 1929 and 1935, depict Mexican civilization from the arrival of Quetzalcóatl (the Aztec plumed serpent god) up to the post-revolutionary period. The nine murals covering the north and east walls of the first level above the patio deal with indigenous life before the Conquest; Rivera's vision of Tenochtitlán is incredibly detailed.