The only royal castle in the Americas, on a hill that was sacred to the Aztecs, holding the national history museum.
Chapultepec — “grasshopper hill” in Nahuatl — was sacred to the Aztecs, who kept a retreat here and drew the city’s water from its springs by aqueduct.
The castle was begun in 1785 as a viceroy’s residence and has been, in turn, a military academy, an imperial palace, a presidential residence and, since 1944, the National History Museum.
It is the only castle in the Americas to have housed sovereigns.
Maximilian and Carlota
In 1864, with France having invaded and installed a monarchy, the Austrian archduke Maximilian von Habsburg and his wife Carlota arrived as Emperor and Empress of Mexico. They lived here, remodelled it in European style, and laid out the Paseo de la Reforma as a boulevard running straight from the castle to the city centre so that Maximilian could see Carlota from the terrace.
The empire lasted three years. Maximilian was shot at Querétaro in 1867. Carlota went mad and lived until 1927 in Belgium.
Their apartments are preserved with the original furnishings, and they are the most affecting part of the building.
The Niños Héroes
During the US invasion of 1847, the castle housed the military academy. American forces stormed it on 13 September; six teenage cadets, according to the tradition, refused to retreat and died defending it, the last wrapping himself in the flag and jumping from the walls.
The story’s details are debated by historians; its place in Mexican national memory is not. The Monumento a los Niños Héroes — six marble columns at the foot of the hill — is where presidents lay wreaths, and 13 September is a national day of commemoration.
The Marines’ Hymn opens with “From the Halls of Montezuma”, which refers to this building.
The museum and the murals
Twelve rooms covering the conquest to the Revolution, with the Constitution of 1917, colonial paintings, carriages and arms.
Murals by Siqueiros (From Porfirismo to the Revolution), Orozco (Juárez and the Fall of the Empire) and Juan O’Gorman (Retablo of Independence).
The Alcázar upstairs holds the royal apartments and a roof terrace with a stained-glass corridor.
The view
From the terrace, the Paseo de la Reforma runs dead straight to the horizon — the axis Maximilian built — with the Ángel de la Independencia and the towers of the financial district along it, and the whole valley beyond.
Practicalities
Ticketed and modest; free for Mexican nationals and residents on Sundays, which makes Sunday extremely busy.
Closed Mondays. Allow three hours.
The climb from the metro takes fifteen minutes uphill; there is a paid shuttle from the base.
More Landmarks
The Zócalo and the Cathedral
One of the largest squares in the world, laid out on the ceremonial centre of Tenochtitlan, with a cathedral built from its stones.
Palacio de Bellas Artes
An Art Nouveau exterior around an Art Deco interior, with murals by Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros and a Tiffany glass curtain.
Torre Latinoamericana
A 1956 skyscraper on the soft bed of a drained lake in an earthquake zone, which is still standing because of how it was built.