Faces of Mexico - Museo Nacional de Antropologia

National Museum of Anthropology and History - Museo Nacional de Antropología e Historia - Museo de Antropología:

Designed in 1963 by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, helped by Ricardo de Robina, Jorge Campuzano and Rafael Mijares, its architecture alone is magnificent in an area of 79,700 square metre.

Opened in 1964, by President Adolfo López Mateos, the exhibition halls surround a patio with a small pond and a vast square concrete umbrella supported by a single slender pillar around which splashes an artificial cascade. The halls are ringed by gardens, many of which contain outdoor exhibits.

Some of the most fascinating exhibits are the Aztec calendar stone, giant stone Olmec heads from the jungles of Tabasco and Veracruz, treasures recovered from the sacred Mayan well in Chicen Itza, a replica of Lord Pacal's Mayan tomb from Palenque and ethnological displays of rural Mexican life as it is still lived today. It also has a very good model of the location and layout of Tenochtitlan, which puts present-day Mexico City in perspective.

The entrance from Reforma is marked by a colossal statue of the rain god Tláloc, the story goes that its move here from its original home in the east of the city was accompanied by furious downpours in the midst of a drought. As you come into the entrance hall there's a shop selling postcards, souvenirs, books in several languages on Mexican culture, archeology and history, and detailed guides to the museum, which provide full descriptions of most of the important pieces. Straight ahead is a small circular space with temporary exhibitions, usually devoted to the latest developments in archeology and often very interesting.

More of these lie to the right, beyond Rufino Tamayo's mural of a battling jaguar and serpent, where you'll also find the library and museum offices as well as the small 'Sala de Orientación', which presents an audiovisual overview of the major ancient Mexican cultures.

The ticket office, and the entrance to the museum proper, is by the huge glass doors to the right.

You can buy tickets here, too, for the regular guided tours free in Spanish, or for a fee in English, French or German. They're very rushed, but do get you round the whole thing with some form of explanation: labelling inside is rather hit-and-miss, and often in Spanish only. Instead of a real guide, you can also rent an English audio guides to carry around with you.

Every hall has at least one outstanding feature, but if you have limited time, the Aztec and the Maya rooms are the highlights: what else you see should depend on what area of the country you plan to head on to. The first floor is given over to the ethnography collections devoted to the life and culture of the various indigenous groups today: stairs lead up from each side. Downstairs, behind the hall devoted to the cultures of the north and west, is a very welcome restaurant.

The full tour of the 23 rooms museum starts on the right-hand side with three introductory rooms explaining what anthropology is, the nature of and relationship between the chief Mesoamerican cultures, and the region's pre-history. Skip or skim them if you're in a hurry. They're followed on the right-hand side by halls devoted to the pre-Classic, Teotihuacan and Toltec cultures. At the far end is the vast Mexica (Aztec) room, followed around the left wing by Oaxaca (Mixtec and Zapotec), Gulf of Mexico (Olmec), Maya and the cultures of the north and west.

If you have time to see only one museum in Mexico City, this is the one to choose! We have visited this museum every time we tour Mexico City. Each time it has something new to offer.

Allow at least four to five hours to visit. We prefer to allow at least seven to eight hours. There is a very nice resturant with excellent food and service at the museum.

If you plan to do photography. No flash is permitted. Use a digital or film camera with the ability to adjust exposures to compensate for low light. It helps if you have a lens for close up photography and another for wide angle. There is an extra charge for the use of a tripod or video camera.

We do not recommend the museum on Sunday as it is very crowded then.