Mexico City’s Centro Historico Wonderland

If you’ve seen pictures of Mexico City, they are usually of the Metropolitan Cathedral and the UNESCO historical centre.  I was really looking forward to to checking it out…. after coffee, of course.

I headed to Cucurucho Roma for a much needed cappuccino.

It’s such a relaxing scene.

And the coffee was amazing again.

I even found some free WIFI, so I could call an Uber downtown.

It was a nice drive to the centre, and it only took about 15 minutes.

Traffic was pretty light.  Mexico City has the most bizarre assembly of buildings. The city looks like an abstract art piece.

I decided to jump out at Alameda Central Park, next to the Palacio de Bellas Artes. It was funny to watch the kids playing with the fountain.  Everyone just seemed so chilled.

It was such a beautiful building.

I crossed the road to head down Av 5 de Mayo.

It was exciting finally being in the historical centre.

There was so much to see.

Templo de San Felipe Neri

I spotted the Templo de San Felipe Neri, a Roman Catholic Church established in the late 16th Century.

Only 2 blocks further down Av 5 de Mayo, is the famous Plaza de la Constitucion and the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral

It is next to the National Palace (Palacio Nacional).

It is a grand, imposing building.

Being “Constitution Day” – a public holiday, I thought it might be quieter downtown, but it seemed not to be the case.

The buildings glowed such bold and bright colours in the afternoon sun.  Especially the Antiguo Palacio Del Arzobispado.

Suddenly, I found myself in a market.  Department Stores and posh clothing stores are quite pricey in Mexico City, and it seems this is where a lot of locals get what they need.

It also looks like all ages of the community sell, meet others and sit out on the street in the day.

I followed the street all the way to the Iglesia de la Santisima Trinidad.

There were some great street art pieces nearby.

At this point I was pretty hungry so I looked to see where the locals are eating.

There was a busy local restaurant nearby.

As it turns out, if you are not a big meat eater, you run into some trouble in Mexico City.

It was after I had eaten, that I remembered that many Mexican people do not look healthy.  Especially the ones eating tacos and quesadillas all day.  I decided to start to look for healthier options after this, or just not eat!

Headed off for some more exploring after lunch, and bumped into a very grumpy looking Jesus.

I wondered how the locals actually try on the clothes?

Seeing the multi-coloured bras in the streets almost looked like art.

Templo de Jesus Maria

This Church, with its dark red facade, was perfect in the afternoon sun. The angels looked magical.

I started to head back to Constitution Plaza.

Soon I turned a corner, and saw it from a completely different angle.

Plaza de la Constitucion

I headed onto the Plaza, and saw a small military demonstration.  I guess it is for the public holiday.

I watched some children playing on the CDMX.

I started to head towards Alameda Central Park again, to catch an Uber home.

I saw all these people heading into a bakery, so I went in for a look.

I have never seen so many biscuits in my life.  And the queues to buy biscuits, cakes, bread and pastries was so long I decided not to buy anything.

I was already trying to walk-off my lunch :-).

The park was still quite busy.

Alameda Central Park

People were chatting, sitting around, playing musical instruments and skating.  It was like a weird, happy, alternative universe before smartphones existed.

You can even see the facade of the 1724 Corpus Christi Church, which was destroyed in the 1985 earthquake.

And the Hemiciclo a Benito Juarez monument.

There are other statues scattered around the park as well.

My feet were killing me, so it was time to call an Uber.

It was a smooth journey home, with more beautiful buildings to see.

It was a lovely pinkish-blue sunset.

I’m so glad I finally came to Mexico City, and got to see all of this.

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