Introduction

Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988, the four-square-mile (10-square-kilometer) Centro Historico, or historic downtown area, radiates out from the city’s main square. It is home to important constructions from pre-Hispanic times to the present, including ruins of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan dating from the 14th century, colonial-era churches and mansions built over 300 years, between the time of the Spanish Conquest (1521) and Mexico’s Independence from Spain (1821), and lavish European-style homes and monuments built during Mexico’s industrial boom.