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The Best Art, Architecture & Museums
Museo Nacional de Antropología: Among the world's most outstanding museums, the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City contains riches representing 3,000 years of the country's past. Also on view are fabulous artifacts of still-thriving indigenous cultures. The award-winning building, designed by architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, is stunning.
Palacio Nacional: Mexico's national center of government overlooks one of the three biggest public squares in the world (the zócalo) and was originally built in 1692 on the site of Moctezuma's "new" palace, to be the home of Hernán Cortez. The top floor, added in the late 1920s, holds a series of stunning Diego Rivera murals depicting the history of Mexico.
Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City: The country's premier venue for the performing arts, this fabulous building is the combined work of several masters. The exterior is early-20th-century Art Nouveau covered in marble; the interior is 1930s Art Deco.
The Templo Mayor's Aztec Splendor: The Templo Mayor and Museo del Templo Mayor constitute an archaeological excavation and museum with 6,000 objects on display. They showcase the variety and splendor of the Aztec Empire as it existed in the historic center of what is now Mexico City.
Catedral Metropolitana: This towering cathedral, begun in 1567 and finished in 1788, blends baroque, neoclassical, and Mexican churrigueresque architecture, and was constructed primarily from the stones of destroyed Aztec temples.
Santa Prisca y San Sebastián Church: One of Mexico's most impressive baroque churches, completed in 1758, this church in Taxco has an intricately carved facade, an interior decorated with gold-leafed saints and angels, and paintings by Miguel Cabrera, one of Mexico's most famous colonial-era artists.
La Parroquia in San Miguel de Allende: Inspired by European gothic, but lighter and more cheerful; this fanciful church is like a fiesta captured in stone -- especially at night when it's illuminated.
Murals of José Clemente Orozco in Guadalajara: Of the great Mexican muralists of the Revolutionary period, Orozco is perhaps the most technical and the most expressive of his generation's concerns. To see his image of Hidalgo bearing down on you from the ceiling of the grand staircase of the Palacio de Gobierno is to understand almost instantly what he and his compañeros were striving to accomplish.
Museo Virreinal de Guadalupe: Six kilometers (4 miles) southeast of Zacatecas in the small town of Guadalupe, this Franciscan convent and art museum holds a striking collection of 17th- and 18th-century paintings by such masters as Miguel Cabrera and Cristóbal de Villalpando. The expressive, dramatic works will fascinate art lovers.
Morelia's Cathedral: Sober lines, balanced proportions, a deft blending of architectural styles, and monumental height -- Morelia's cathedral is the most beautiful in the country. It's built of brownish-pink stone that turns fiery rose in the late-afternoon sun.
Museo Pantaleón Panduro in Tlaquepaque: The peoples of Mexico have always placed a high value on pottery as a field of artistic achievement. It's a cultural continuity that spans from pre-Columbian times to the present. And this museum is perhaps the greatest single expression of this love for pottery. Its collection holds prized pieces from the yearly national ceramics competition.
Museo Antropología de Xalapa: Along with the finest examples of Olmec and Totonac sculpture and ceramics, this museum includes the best collection of the Olmec megalithic heads.
Puebla's Capilla del Rosario: In the church of Santo Domingo, this chapel is a tour de force of baroque expression, executed in molded plaster, carved wood, Talavera tile, and gold leaf. The overall aim is to overpower the senses.
Puebla's Museo Amparo: This museum contains a magnificent collection of pre-Columbian and colonial art, which is beautifully displayed.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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