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Flights to Mexico City

Destinations in Mexico

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Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico, in Central America. Mexico City is an absolutely vast city, both in terms of land area and population with over 8.8 million people living in the city and 22 million living in the Metro area. For this reason the city is renowned for being very busy and often with bad air quality, so it’s unlikely to appeal to all travellers!

Mexico City welcomes international flights to the Benito Juárez International Airport (airport code: MEX). Flights to Mexico City from the UK are indirect and available through numerous airlines. Iberia, Continental Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Aeromexico, Mexicana, Air Canada, Air France, and United Airlines are among the airlines offering travellers one stop flights to Mexico City from the UK. Flight routes differ according to the airlines but most fly via their home country.

The Tourist Attractions of Mexico City

If you can look past the concrete sprawl that is Mexico City, the city actually sits in attractive surroundings located in the Valley of Mexico at a high elevation of 2,240 metres (7,349 feet). Although the valley is a scenic location it can add to the pollution problems because pollution from all the traffic tends to get stuck inside the valley.

Old Mexico City

Old Mexico City is where many visitors will spend the majority of their time. Known as Centro Historico in Spanish, this area has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list since 1987, and includes a large number of historical buildings and attractions.

Many old buildings date back to the 16th century, though if it weren’t for destruction of the city by the Spanish in 1521, it’s likely there would still be parts of the city dating back to its original founding, in 1325. When the Spanish destroyed what was here, the Mexicans set about rebuilding the city.

There are several options for getting around the old city, including the tourist trolley, called Tranvia, or the hop on hop off red double decker tour buses, called Turibus, and whilst these are good if you don’t have much time to spare, getting around old Mexico City on foot is said to be the best way to see everything.

There are vast numbers of things to see in the old city, but highlights include…

Plaza de la Constitucion – the second largest square in the world (after Red Square)

The Metropolitan Cathedral, sitting on the northern side of the square, is the largest cathedral on the American continent. It took over 300 years to build, starting in 1573!

The National Palace (Palacio Nacional), built in 1693.

Templo Mayer – this was the site of the main Aztec temple from the city which stood here before Mexico City. The Spanish destroyed the temple in 1521 and built a cathedral almost exactly over the top. In 1978 the remains of the temple were re-discovered along with remains of six even older temples, which you can see here today. The Museum gives further insight.

Latinoamericana Tower – Not exactly as old as many of the buildings in the centre of Mexico City, but this was the first skyscraper, completed in 1956. It has an observatory on the 42nd floor with good views.

Palacio de Iturbide is one of the oldest buildings in Mexico City, whilst the Postal Palace (Palacio Postal) is probably the most beautiful.

When Should You Visit Mexico City?

The climate of Mexico City is classified as being temperate highland. This means that despite its high elevation, its tropical latitude keeps the city quite warm and there is not much variation in temperature across the year. The rainy season is from June to October when the most rain falls; the rest of the year rainfall is minimal. The hottest month is March with an average high of 26C, whilst December and January are the coolest when the average high is still a pleasant 19C.