Sprawling across a valley encircled by ice-capped volcanoes and mountains, atop an ancient Aztec civilisation, Mexico City is North America's highest city, and one of the worlds most densely populated. With a long and fascinating history that runs from ancient native civilisations through to the invasion of the Conquistadors and subsequent colonial rule, Mexico City has a vast number of fascinating sights and attractions.

In the city centre, constructed out of the stones of the ancient palaces and temples, is the vast open space of the Zocalo - Mexico's city square - said to be the second largest in the world after Moscow's Red Square. At La Merced you'll discover the city's largest and most vibrant market, with a vast array of bizarre and exciting stalls, while the huge expanse of the Bosque de Chapultepec park houses the National Museum of Anthropology, with a fascinating collection of pre-Hispanic artefacts. At Teotihuac visitors will discover one of the most impressive and mysterious archaeological sites in Mexico, constructed by an ancient, and long forgotten culture.

The sprawling capital is a place to both love and hate, with everything you'd anticipate in a large city. It has world-class museums and galleries, a remarkable architectural legacy and elegant buildings, palaces and cathedrals, green open spaces and colonial suburbs, historical ruins, attractive squares, modern skyscrapers and great economic, cultural and political importance. It also has poverty, overcrowding and slums, incredible pollution, traffic congestion, crime, unemployment, and a constant cacophony of people and noise. It is exhilarating, frenetic and fascinating, an unabated reserve of vibrancy and life.

Despite its problems and somewhat bewildering energy Mexico City is a magnet for Mexicans and tourists alike: a modern, cosmopolitan and ever growing city that is attractive in so many ways. Despite its renown for the appalling, throat-rasping levels of pollution, Mexico City's skies often remain remarkably clear, and it does make for incredible sunsets.

El Zocalo

Address: Mexico City

Templo Mayor

Address: Seminario 8, Historical District Mexico City

Admission: The museum charges a fee for adults, but children under 13 are free. Tuesday to Sunday 9am-5pm.

Telephone: +52 55 4040 5600

Palacio de Bellas Artes

Address: Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas and Av. Juárez Mexico City

Admission: Tuesday to Sunday 10am-6pm

Telephone: +52 55 5512 2593

Bosque de Chapultepec and the Museo Nacional de Antropologia

Address: Avenida Paseo de la Reforma and calzada Ghandi, Chapultepec Park, Mexico City Mexico City

Admission: Museum: $51 (adults), children under 13 free. Free admission on Sundays to Mexican citizens. Tuesday to Sunday 9am-7pm.

Telephone: +52 55 5553 6332/6266

San Angel

Address: Southwest of Mexico City Mexico City

Zona Rosa

Address: Mexico City

Teotihuacan

Address: Mexico City

Admission: Tuesday to Sunday 9am-5pm.

Telephone: +52 59 4956 0276/0052

Guanajuato

Address: Mexico City

Candlemas Day

Where: Streets and churches throughout the city,Mexico City

When: 2 February 2012

Festival of Mexico

Where: Various,Mexico City

When: March 2012 TBA

Xochimilco Festival

Where: The canals of Xochimilco,Mexico City

When: March 2012 TBA

Independence Day

Where: Zocalo and city streets,Mexico City

When: 15 - 16 September 2012

Day of the Dead

Where: Various,Mexico City

When: 1 - 2 November 2012

Festival Cultural de la Mariposa Monarca (Migration of the Monarch Butterflies)

Where: The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve,Mexico City

When: End of February and beginning of March 2012

Cinco de Mayo

Where: Puebla, east of Mexico City,Mexico City

When: 5 May 2012

Izote

Address: 513 Av. Presidente Masaryk, Polanco Mexico City

Food Type: Mexican

Café de Tacuba

Address: 28 Tacuba, Centro Histórico Mexico City

Food Type: Mexican

Cantina La Guadalupana

Address: 2 Higuera and Caballo Calco, Coyoacán Mexico City

Food Type: Mexican

La Opera

Address: 10 Cinco de Mayo, Centro Histórico Mexico City

Food Type: International

Restaurant Danubio

Address: 3 República de Uruguay, Centro Histórico Mexico City

Food Type: Spanish