Mexico City’s downtown is packed with sights and activities and you should definitely spend one or two days going around its pre-hispanic, colonial and contemporary buildings. It hosts a wide variety of restaurants, hotels, museums and shopping opportunities, each embedded in a historic building! Here are six must do’s that you could easily cover during a day trip. Great photo ops and a large chunk of Mexico’s history await you in these spots.

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Palacio de Bellas Artes

 Palacio de Bellas ArtesEjido del Centro, MexicoThe Palace of Fine Arts is the maximum house of art in Mexico. In its interior we can admire spectacular murals of artists like Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo and Siqueiros. It houses some of the best temporary exhibitions that come to the country, as well as great music, dance and theater shows.

National Art Museum

 National Art MuseumCentro, MexicoThis amazing museum has over 3,000 pieces of art, mainly paintings made from the 16th century to the first half of the 20th century. It is located in one of the most beautiful buildings in Mexico City’s downtown.

Metropolitan Cathedral

 Mexico City Metropolitan CathedralCiudad de México, MexicoThe Metropolitan Cathedral was built in the mid-16th century and is the largest cathedral in Latin America. It’s considered one of the most beautiful religious complexes on the continent, both for the beauty and originality of its architectural design, and for the artistic treasures that it houses.

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The National Palace

 National PalaceCiudad de México, MexicoThe interior of the National Palace houses amazing murals from renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

Madero Street

 Calle MaderoCiudad de México, MexicoTo walk through this pedestrian street is a must in Mexico City’s downtown. Full of shops, historic buildings and a couple of beautiful temples, it’s a great promenade that connects the Palace of Fine Arts with the Zócalo (main square).

Templo Mayor Museum

 Templo Mayor MuseumEjido del Centro, MexicoIn this place was situated the main temple of the Aztecs. Today we can still observe some vestiges and the museum houses an important collection of pre-Hispanic art.