Mexico City

When the Spanish founded Mexico City in the 16th century they built everything on top of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. In the city’s Historic Centre there are Baroque monuments constructed with recycled pre-Columbian blocks, and the excavated ruins of the Templo Mayor sit beside the cathedral and National Palace. This sums up Mexico City, as a fusion of European and indigenous culture, visible in the art of Frida Kahlo who was born and died in Mexico City, and the magical murals by her husband Diego Rivera. The Palacio de Bellas Artes has pre-Columbian motifs rendered in an Art Deco style, while if you want to immerse yourself deeper in these historic roots head straight for the National Anthropology Museum and the monumental city of Teotihuacan just beyond Mexico City’s limits.