Things to do — Central Mexico

The region's two anchors offer profoundly different experiences that complement each other beautifully.

In Mexico City, four priorities stand out. The Museo Nacional de Antropología in Chapultepec is the most important archaeological museum in the Americas: 23 rooms dedicated to pre-Columbian civilizations — the Aztec Sun Stone, Moctezuma's headdress, scale models of Tenochtitlán — a single day is not enough. The Centro Histórico and its Metropolitan Cathedral (the largest in Latin America), built atop the ruins of the Aztec Templo Mayor visible below, form the colonial heart of the city. Diego Rivera's murals at the Palacio Nacional (free entry, on the Zócalo side) are one of the great painted works of the 20th century: 1,200 square meters of Mexican history from prehistory to revolution. The Casa Azul of Frida Kahlo in Coyoacán — her home and studio, kept exactly as she left them — is one of the most-visited museums in the country, set in a colonial neighborhood that's worth lingering in.

The day trip to Teotihuacán (50 km, one hour by road or bus from the Terminal Norte) is essential: the Pyramid of the Sun (65 m) and the Pyramid of the Moon frame the Avenue of the Dead — the spine of a city of 150,000 people in the 1st century CE. Arrive at opening (8 a.m.) to climb the pyramids before the heat and the tour buses arrive. The Roma and Condesa neighborhoods deserve a slow afternoon: independent coffee shops, creative Mexican kitchens, bookstores and Art Deco architecture form a portrait of contemporary upper-middle-class Mexican life that few visitors expect.

In Oaxaca, the Mercado de Abastos (the largest traditional market in the region) is a total immersion in Zapotec and mestiza daily life: chapulines (grilled grasshoppers), tasajo (cured beef), quesillo (regional string cheese), moles sold in bulk, medicinal herbs. The Monte Albán site, 10 km from the city, is an ancient Zapotec capital perched on a plateau at 1,940 m with 360° views over the four valleys of Oaxaca — one of the most spectacular archaeological experiences in Mexico. The craft villages are the region's other anchor: Teotitlán del Valle for naturally dyed wool rugs, San Bartolo Coyotepec for the world-famous black pottery (barro negro), Atzompa for green ceramics. Oaxaca's dining scene stands alone in Mexico: Alejandro Ruiz's Casa Oaxaca, Levadura de Olla and the Mercado 20 de Noviembre (for tlayudas and tasajo grilled to order) rank among the country's best tables.