Jun 29, 2024 • 8 min read
6 places to find Aztec history in and around Mexico City
26.06.2024 - 21:59 / lonelyplanet.com
Jun 26, 2024 • 4 min read
One of the most cosmopolitan cities you’ll find on Earth, Mexico City brims with exciting restaurants, world-class museums and ultra-modern architecture. It’s become a must-visit destination for savvy travelers for good reason.
So it’s not surprise that this amazing city has been a world capital for centuries – long before the arrival of the Spaniards. And though you’ll have to use a bit of imagination to conjure its prior incarnation in your mind, you won’t have to look too hard to find traces of its stint as the capital of the Aztec civilization.
Scratch the surface of the skyscrapers and sprawling neighborhoods, and you’ll discover the seams of a rich and vibrant history. Here’s where to seek out Mexico City’s Aztec past.
With an estimated population of 140,000, Tenochtitlan, which occupied an island in Lake Texcoco, served as the the capital of the Aztec empire. After conquistador Hernán Cortés and his Spanish forces laid siege to the city in 1519 – leaving a trail of destruction in their wake – they erected colonial monuments where Aztec edifices once stood. As the city grew, the elaborate, extraordinary system of manmade waterways that had defined Tenochtitlan were drained, and the modern metropolis of Mexico City took shape.
In 1978, archaeologists working just off the Zócalo in the historic heart of the city discovered a large pyramid, now known as Templo Mayor. In the literal shadow of Mexico City’s magnificent cathedral, these ruins, along with the excellent, extremely thorough museum that showcases even more objects, bring to life better than any other site Mexico City’s Aztec heritage.
The main square in the neighborhood of Tlatelolco, the Plaza de las Tres Culturas illustrates the three broad divisions that define the history of Mexico: the Aztec period, the Spanish colonial era and the (current) post-independence moment. In the center of the square are the ruins of the temple of Tlatelolco as well what was once the largest market in the entire region. Beside it sits a Spanish-built church, Templo de Santiago, constructed using stones from the Aztec temple.
The square has a tumultuous past: in 1968, students demonstrated agains the government here, and security forces opened fire on the protestors, killing hundreds.
Teotihuacán is the most famous Mesoamerican attraction in greater Mexico City. The origins of the astonishing site, constructed between the 1st and 7th centuries CE, are shrouded in mystery, and scholars continue to debate the culture that raised its giant pyramids. Yet archaeologists are certain that the Aztecs were inhabiting the city by the 13th century.
As you arrive at the UNESCO-listed site, you’ll spot the enormous Pyramid of the Sun – at 210ft, the
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