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Everything Old is New Again: Mexico City Savings on Air, Hotel and Culture

Travel pundits say that Mexico City is a 'museum' in itself with over 2,000 historical buildings and active archeology digs searching for Aztec wonders, most of them near the largest public square in the world called the El Zocalo. All those sites, along with ancient cities just an hour away and the nearby mountain city of Cuernavaca, where Mexico City's affluent crowd has weekend homes, make Mexico City a vacation unto itself, not just a layover for Mexico's beach regions.

Mexico City is the most ancient capital in North America. Dating back to the Aztec period, the city has a current population of over 20 million people. An excellent subway system transports the large citizenry around the massive metropolitan area that rises almost 8,000 feet above sea level and is surrounded by mountains. The highlight of the city's sites might be the Metropolitan Cathedral, a large square that rivals Vatican Square in size and scope and is the largest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere.

To learn more about Mexico City, start your search at www.go2mexicocity.com. In Mexico, the city goes by the name of the Distrito Federal, and nationals refer to it in the shorthand, DF. It's the second largest city in the world behind Tokyo in the population department. The climate is enjoyable all year round with fall and winter temperatures in the 70s during the day and only as low as the high 50s in the evening. Travel pundits say that Mexico City is a "museum" in itself with over 2,000 historical buildings and active archeology digs searching for Aztec wonders, most of them near the largest public square in the world called the El Zocalo. All those sites, along with ancient cities just an hour away and the nearby mountain city of Cuernavaca, where Mexico City's affluent crowd has weekend homes, make Mexico City a vacation unto itself, not just a layover for Mexico's beach regions.

Caravan Tours (tel. 800/227-2826; www.caravantours.com) offers an eight-day trip that starts off and spends the first few days in Mexico City before making a beeline through inland towns known for their colonial Mexican splendor and finishing up in Puerto Vallarta. Cost of the land-only trip starts at $995. Included in the package price are all accommodations at first class hotels, most meals, all of the activities, airport transfers, tips to hotel porters and restaurant staff during group meals. A Caravan tour director will accompany you for the duration of your trip. In some cases, local guides will lead area tours. This tour visits Mexico City, Guadalajara, San Miguel Allande, and Puerto Vallarta.

Tour by Mexico (tel. 777/318-6541; www.tourbymexico.com) has a four-day, land-only Mexico City special good until December 15, 2005. The tour includes airport transfers, plenty of free time, a six-hour tour of the city, a full-day tour visiting ancient Aztec ruins including the Aztec pyramids, and nights off to enjoy Mexico City's great café culture and club scene. The price for this tour with double occupancy hotel accommodations is $167 for a tourist class hotel, $217 for first class accommodations and $260 for deluxe lodging at a choice of two hotels. The tour does not include airfare and meals.

For inexpensive airfares, Intratours (tel. 800/334-8069; www.intratours.com) has some very low fall and winter fares to Mexico City. These fares are good through February 15, 2005 for roundtrip travel with a Saturday overnight stay required during a midweek departure (weekend departures are extra) and a maximum stay of 90 days. Arguably, these airfares are some of the lowest around to Mexico City. Air security fees and departure taxes are not included in the price of these roundtrip fares.

  • Atlanta: $234
  • Boston: $230
  • Chicago: $206
  • Denver: $237
  • Dallas: $276
  • Los Angeles: $294
  • New York: $245
  • Raleigh/Durham: $244
  • Seattle: $270

In recent years, Mexico City (like the rest of the world) has seen an increase in boutique hotels, and there's an excellent website at www.mexicoboutiquehotels.com with rates, hotel details, e-mail addresses, manager names and plenty of photographs of hotel rooms and grounds in DF and across the country. One such property, La Casona (tel. 800/728-9098; www.mexicoboutiquehotels.com/lacasona), is a very chic property located a short walk from one of the city's most bustling avenues, Passeo de la Reforma; it's housed in the refurbished remains of Mexico City's old colonial-era mansions. The hotel has 29 rooms, a business center, a restaurant, a spa, and is registered as an artistic monument by Mexico's National Institute of Fine Arts. Rates start at around $135 per night from Friday to Sunday. Located forty minutes from Mexico City's international airport, the hotel can arrange transportation for arrivals for approximately $70 roundtrip for one to three people. Once at the there, shops, theatres, restaurants, museums and nightclubs are very nearby.

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