Sights—The Zocalo (main plaza, with its surrounding Historic Center); the magnificent pyramids of Teotihuacan, a short ride from the city; Ballet Folclorico, a spectacular presentation of Mexican music and dance.

Museums—The outstanding Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Chapultepec Park; Museo Dolores Olmedo Patino, containing works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera; Museo Frida Kahlo, located in the famous blue house in which Kahlo grew up and later lived with Diego Rivera; Museo de Franz Mayer, housed in a restored 16th-century hospital.

Memorable Meals—Mole and mescal at La Guelaguetza; regional folk music and spicy huachinango a la Veracruzana (red snapper, Veracruz-style) at Fonda del Recuerdo; Oaxacan-influenced cuisine and a hip setting at Los Danzantes; fine French food and celebrity sighting at Au Pied de Cochon; prime rib and romance at Del Lago Chapultepec.

Late Night—Hot salsa nights at Mama Rumba's Cuban bar; the mind-altering mescal of La Botica; margaritas and a piece of history at La Opera Bar downtown.

Walks—Chapultepec Park, a delightful place to walk, although no one should try to cover all its 2,100 acres/850 hectares at one time.

Especially for Kids—The Zoologico (the zoo) and the Papalote Museo del Nino (the Children's Museum).

Mexico City lies in Mexico's central valley, roughly in the middle of the country. The heart of the city is the Zocalo, a large plaza flanked by the Cathedral and the National Palace. Surrounding it is the Centro Historico (Historic Center), which is where you'll find the heaviest concentration of sights, including the Aztec Templo Mayor and an abundance of Spanish colonial buildings. The park just west of the Zocalo, Alameda Central, is lined with museums, and the Palacio de Bellas Artes is at its northeastern corner. Paseo de la Reforma, the city's most famous and elegant boulevard, runs near the western edge of the Alameda Central. From there it travels southwest to Chapultepec Park, the site of several museums and the zoo.

There are many points of interest in other colonias (neighborhoods) southwest of the Historic Center. About halfway between the Historic Center and Chapultepec Park is the Zona Rosa, a commercial neighborhood of restaurants, shops and nightspots. Just south of Zona Rosa is Condesa, a nice residential area that also has its share of trendy restaurants. North of Chapultepec Park is Polanco, a posh neighborhood with many fine hotels, restaurants and shops. About 6 mi/9 km south of the city center are Coyoacan and San Angel, both with lovely colonial buildings housing museums, galleries, cafes and shops. There are many other colonias in the city, and knowing them by name is often essential in finding your way to an address. You'll often see them noted with the abbreviation Col., as in Col. Roma.

Its size and complexity make Mexico City difficult to navigate, at least for the newcomer. If you want to explore it in its entirety, consider buying a comprehensive map such as the Guia Roji, available in bookstores and newspaper stands in the city center.

Mexico City's history holds more than 600 years of destruction and rebirth. It began as Tenochtitlan, the clean, well-ordered capital of the Aztec empire. In 1521, it was razed by Hernan Cortes and his conquistadors to make room for a European-style colonial capital, with an enormous central plaza and a neo-Gothic cathedral. For the next 300 years, the Spanish rulers prospered while the Aztecs and mestizos lived in poverty, marginalized by the ruling elite.

In 1810, resentment toward the Spanish exploded into war. After 11 years of fighting, Mexico won independence from Spain, then plunged into almost a century of political violence. During this period, the city was invaded first by the U.S. and then the French, who left behind an Austrian archduke as monarch Maximilian II. Maximilian and his wife, Carlota, refurbished and lived in the castle of Chapultepec, and Maximilian laid out the grand Paseo de la Reforma before he was executed in 1867 by forces loyal to reforming President Benito Juarez. The unrest came to an end only after strongman Porfirio Diaz took the presidency in 1877. The 33-year presidency of Diaz was a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity for the city, much of which was rebuilt. But Diaz's rule was oppressive; he banned political opposition, democratic elections and a free press, and the city's prosperity was enjoyed by an elite minority.

The Mexican Revolution of 1910-20 finished all that. During the fighting, parts of the city center were leveled, and residents lived in constant fear. When it ended, Alvaro Obregon, a revolutionary leader from Sonora, became president for a four-year term of national reconstruction. His successor, Plutarco Elias Calles, angered Catholics by closing churches and convents and passing laws against public religious displays. This led to more violence, known as the Cristero Rebellion, which lasted until 1929.

At that time, Calles organized the National Revolutionary Party (PNR), a precursor to the Institutional Revolution Party (PRI), which ruled the country—with sometimes despotic methods—for the seven remaining decades of the 20th century. (Mexicans still recall 2 October 1968, when perhaps as many as 400 protesting students were massacred by police near the main plaza.) Prosperity returned for a time, thanks in part to the discovery of large oil deposits in the country's south. Development focused on the capital, and the poorer suburbs swelled with migrants from the countryside who sought work in the new factories. Growth could not be sustained, however, and a series of currency devaluations spread a pall of neglect over the once-elegant city center. In 1985, an earthquake killed more than 10,000 people and leveled dozens of buildings, many of which have only recently been rebuilt.

In 1997, Mexico City held its first mayoral elections. The new political plurality has revitalized the city, and political activism flourishes. In 2000, Mexican voters broke the PRI's seven-decade lock on the presidency when they elected Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN). The PAN triumphed again in 2006, when Felipe Calderon narrowly defeated former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). In protest of the election result, Lopez Obrador and his followers camped out in the central Zocalo plaza and along the Paseo de la Reforma for months, snarling traffic and angering some residents.

Construction in Mexico City proceeds at a breakneck pace, and in the historic center, efforts are ongoing to refurbish the colonial buildings, clean up parks, improve lighting and safety, and attract new investment. One symbol of this wave of modernization is the Torre Mayor, which was built in 2003. It's Latin America's tallest building and overlooks Chapultepec Park. The Centro Banamex convention center, opened in 2004, represents further economic development—as well as an effort to entice more foreign investment.

Locals refer to Mexico City as simply "Mexico" or, to differentiate it from the country or state, "el D.F.," which stands for Distrito Federal. You'll sound in the know if you refer to the city by the latter, pronounced deh EFF-eh in Spanish.

The word zocalo, commonly used to refer to Mexico City's central plaza, Plaza de la Constitucion, literally refers to the base or pedestal of a statue or sculpture. Legend has it that in 1843, then-president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna ordered the architect Lorenzo de la Hidalga to build a monument in the plaza to honor the heroes of Mexican independence. But because of the political instability of the time, the architect had to cease construction after building only the base to the monument. Locals have referred to the plaza as the Zocalo ever since.

The pedestrian alleyway that borders the Casa de Azulejos (House of Tiles), near the Palacio de Bellas Artes, is known as the Callejon de la Condesa (Alley of the Countess). It is said that the alley was once reserved for the royal carriages. Yet another legend has it that once, many years ago, two noblemen entered the alley in their respective coaches, from opposing ends. Upon meeting in the center and realizing there wasn't enough room to pass, each insisted the other retreat to the other end of the alley—and each refused, unwilling to cede any noble pride. Supposedly their impasse lasted three days, until it was ended by the viceroy himself, who ordered each to retreat from the alley simultaneously.

According to city authorities, some 500,000 unlicensed vendors operate on the capital's streets, representing roughly 40% of local economic activity. They sell just about anything, from pirated software to clothes to electronics. Certain areas, such as the swath of streets just south of the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Torre Latinoamericano, are so clogged by vendors that there's practically no room for pedestrians to pass through.

The city's metro network, with 11 lines, 175 stations and 110 mi/177 km of rail, may seem daunting for newcomers, but many residents swear it's the best way to get around. It's one of the world's busiest subway systems, serving nearly 4 million passengers daily, and the cost is heavily subsidized: For just M$2, passengers can travel from one corner of the city to the other, including most transfers. Lines are color-coded, and each station has its own unique symbol.

If traffic is hopelessly snarled and it's not rush hour, especially on Paseo de la Reforma, chances are that a demonstration is under way. Protests are a part of daily life in Mexico City—don't be surprised to see people shouting and waving banners, especially near the center. The demonstrations are sometimes colorful or strange—one group of farmers annually strips to their underwear in front of national monuments, for example. Don't expect Mexican friends or contacts to have much information on what's going on—most city residents have trouble keeping track of the dozens of protests that take place during any given week.