Don’t underestimate Mexico City and its ability to surprise, because people coming here with preconceptions about North America’s most populous metropolis often leave bewildered and baffled and amazed. Prepare yourself instead for a buzzing cocktail of Latin life and American boisterousness; earthy peoples and visceral human energy; where steaming taco plates meet super-chic worldly cuisine, sprawling shanty towns rub shoulders with historical centres laden with post-colonial wonders to boot, and everything ticks over to the festive off-beats of samba, Spanish salsa and Mexican mariachi.
There’s so much to see in this endless, high-perched city 2,400 metres up on Mexico’s central plateaus that it can be difficult to know precisely where to begin. But first-time visitors should be sure not to miss the fascinating Centro Historico, with its colossal Zocalo, sun-kissed colonial facades and ancient Templo Mayor—a testimony to the long history of this aged town. Then ask your Mexico City tourist guide about the superlative greenery of Chapultepec, with its hilltop castles and deep lakes, the posh joints of San Angel, or the bohemian centres of Roma and Condesa. The possibilities are endless!