Alas, we have come to the last post in my 2018-2019 Mexico City trip review. This post will be a little shorter than the last few because I will just do a simple overview of the few museums we went to while on our trip. While many of the sites I reviewed in the past posts are historic and an educational experience in and of themselves. We also stumbled upon some really neat museums that I would also recommend. The first museum we went to was the National Museum, it was not far from Zócalo. The same street as the Cathedral and Temple Mayor followed down a short ways (past the street vendors) has a free museum. There is a no bag or water bottle policy, but they have security that gives you a marker for your items. They did allow me to bring my camera. There were some exhibits that were in both Spanish and English, but some were only in Spanish. There was quite a lot to see and it was much larger than I expected it to be. There were also random rooms and hallways that were empty and it took some walking around to find the next exhibition. Overall, it was a good place to get away from the crowded Zócalo streets and learn a little about a variety of topics as each room had a different theme from art to Dia de los Muertos to archaeology to China. You can also see it during the middle of the day to have a safe place to store your bag (giving your shoulders a break) while also learning at the museum. We also saw Temple Mayor, which was a fascinating place! It was another location I had learned about in my archaeology class and was excited to go see. It is in Zócalo and right beside the cathedral. Admission was not very expensive (you can keep your bags) and if you have a credit card you can pay at the self-pay kiosk and skip the long lines to pay at the counter. Once you walk through the gate there are artifacts and diagrams of the history of the Temple (all signs were in both Spanish and English). Then you were able to walk through parts of the temple. It is not covered (for visitors) in most places so if it is extremely hot or other inclement weather you may want to go on a different day. What has been preserved is well done and well explained so you can have an understanding of the religion that was practiced and their values and beliefs. To see such important features in person was really amazing. After the temple there is a very large museum that explains even more of the religion, the area, and houses more artifacts. Between the temple and the museum you could easily spend the entire day visiting Temple Mayor. We also visited the Museo Nacional de Antropologia (The National Museum of Anthropology) which I will tell you is a beautiful and *extremely* large museum. They had a free exhibit on the right side of the museum that we saw the first time we went there (as the museum was only open for another 2 hours when we arrived) that was very interesting and educational. It was on classical Greek and Roman art. The next day we came back - with a full day to spend in the museum. We again paid at a self-serve ticket kiosk and skipped the line to pay, you must have a card as cash is not accepted at the kiosks but they are far faster and easier to use. They also have a security area where you can leave all your belongings so as to not carry them around all day. Once inside we then realized how big this museum actually was. It is shaped like a horse-shoe/square with the classic pillar and waterfall near the middle. Each entrance leads to a different era of Mexico's history, which is as vast and in-depth as any European country! We only spent about 6 hours in the museum and really only saw or took in a very small portion of what the museum has to offer. To truly see it all would take close to a week. There are life-sized recreations of important archaeological finds both inside and outside (on the backside of the horse-shoe/square) and many artifacts, diagrams, life-style recreations and more. It was an absolutely stunning museum with so much to offer anyone who wants to learn more about the history, religion, way of life, and more throughout the area's past. I did see at least one restaurant within the museum, so you do not need to leave to find food. But I did not look at the prices to see how much it cost. Admission was not very expensive (for a Westerner) so I don't imagine the food would be either. Overall, it was an absolutely beautiful museum with so much to offer. If you have a day...or two...or more to kill and want to learn more about Mexico I would highly recommend this museum. That concludes the museum reviews and my reviews of our trip to Mexico City! I hope you were able to glean something useful from these blog posts and are inspired to visit Mexico someday! The country is beautiful, has put some major effort into becoming a coveted vacation place on peoples lists. There are many wonderful places in the country to explore and I hope you can cross one off your list someday. Tourism is an important life-line for many places in the world and can fuel the local economy (if done correctly and the local government also takes proper care of its resources). My next review will be of an all girls trip taken to the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado that was taken in May this year. I also have 2 big trips coming up this year that I can't wait to share with you all! Much Love, Jess
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AuthorJessica Marie Cunningham - Intentional lifestyle blogger, aspiring author, and podcast host. All things Slow Living, Books, Writing, Art, creativity, Christianity, and personal stories. Archives
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