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Mexico

Mexico City: History, Art, Culture and Politics

Program No. 13964RJ
Immerse yourself in the cultural heart of Mexico and learn from experts as you explore renowned museums and national monuments while gaining insight into its neighborhoods and politics.
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Start
Small GroupMost Popular
Length
8 days
Rating (4.94)
Activity Level
Starts at
2,849

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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
8 days
7 nights
What's Included
18 meals ( 7B, 6L, 5D )
4 expert-led lectures
11 expert-led field trips
1 performance
An experienced Group Leader
7 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
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Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously).
Afternoon:
After checking in to the hotel and getting your room, take some time to freshen up and relax before dinner.
Dinner:
In the hotel restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow participants, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Activity Note
Walking up to 2 miles throughout the day; flat terrain, busy sidewalks; periods of standing up to 1/2 hour at a time.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Orientation: 8:30 a.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. All transportation will be provided via bus unless specified otherwise. An instructor will conduct all sessions in the classroom; a certified expert will lead field trips and excursions. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Next, we’ll be joined in our private meeting room by our instructor. The focus of our first lecture today will be on famous Mexican muralists. Leaving the hotel, we’ll walk to the Templo Mayor, which was the site of the main temple of Tenochtitlan and regarded as the center of the world by the Aztecs. Here we’ll be led by a local expert.. It was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, and Tlaloc, the god of rain and agriculture. After seeing the ruins, we will then walk to the Templo Mayor Museum, which holds some 7,000 pieces recovered during excavations of the site.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will walk to the San Ildefonso School Museum, known locally as the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso. Currently a cultural center in downtown Mexico City, the college is the most important of the many founded by the Jesuits in the late 16th century, offering both a secular and religious education until the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Spanish territories in 1767. The building was renovated in the 1990s to serve as a public center and to promote local culture, businesses, and a museum. Back at our hotel, we will have a social hour with an opportunity to know more about each other.
Dinner:
At the hotel restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Walking up to 1.5 miles throughout the day; periods of standing and walking in museum up to 1 hour; flat terrain, city sidewalks.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will meet with our instructor to hear the first in a series of lectures on the history of Mexico City. Founded as Mexica-Tenochtitlan by the Mexica people in the early 14th century, it is commonly referred to as Tenochtitlan. According to Mexica mythology, they were signaled by their principal god Huitzilopochtli to build their home where they saw an eagle resting on a cactus with a snake in its beak. For nearly two centuries, the city prospered and expanded as the capital of the Aztec empire, until falling to Spanish conquest in 1521. Next, we’ll head to the exhibition rooms of one of the most visited museums in México accompanied by our local expert, the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, or the National Museum of Anthropology. Built in the 1960s, this large and prestigious museum houses over 52,000 pieces in 23 exhibition rooms. Among its collections are pieces from the Teotihucans, Toltecs, Mexicas, Mayans, and other cultures. One of the most important items we will see is the Aztec Calendar carved in stone.
Lunch:
At the Anthropology Museum restaurant.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will have some time to explore the museum independently. Then, we'll set out for our field trip continuing to explore more of México City: The Alameda, Museo Mural Diego Rivera. Once the Aztec market, the Alameda was dedicated as a greenspace by Viceroy Luis de Velasco on the western edge of the city in 1592. The park became the blueprint for the traditional Mexican park, inspiring others around the country. We will make a stop at the Museo Mural Diego Rivera to admire the famous mural “Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central,” or “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central.” Painted between 1946 and 1947, the 51-foot-long mural depicts famous individuals and events in Mexican history. We’ll then return to the hotel.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a bus; driving about 30 miles, approximately 1.5 hours riding time one-way. Walking up to 2.5 miles throughout the day; periods of standing; dirt paths.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Departing the hotel via bus, our field trip will begin with a visit to the Basilica de Guadalupe where we will learn about the old and new Basilica, as well as the Capuchinas Convent, and stand on the Atrio of the Americas. The basilica is the most visited sanctuary in Latin America housing the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. While here, we’ll also learn the story of St Juan Diego and the apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1531. Originally the site of a shrine to a mother goddess, the conquistadors destroyed the chapel and adapted the location into the parish, eventually building the Old Basilica that was completed in 1709. Due to a sinking foundation, the New Basilica was constructed next to it from 1974 to 1976, creating a dichotomy of old and new. Our field trip will continue to the Teotihuacan Pyramids and its archaeological site where our local expert will introduce us to Teotihuacan and how it became the sixth largest city in the world between 150 BCE and 450 CE. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the pyramids are the centerpiece of the holy city that once hosted a population of at least 125,000 people. Some of the most famous temples include the Temple of the Plumed Serpent and the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
We’ll then return to the hotel to continue our lecture series on the history of México City, focusing on the colonial period as the capital of New Spain.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Walking up to 1.5 miles total throughout the day; periods of standing in museum, flat terrain. Getting on/off a bus; driving about 35 miles each way, approximately 1.5 hours total riding time.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Setting out via bus with our local expert, we’ll ride to the Chapultepec Castle, one of the best museums in Mexico City. This is the only castle that housed royalty in North America. It is a place that has as much historical significance within its walls as the building itself does. Having been an imperial and presidential residence, the Castle houses the National History Museum.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
We’ll continue our ride to the Carcamo de Dolores Museum, is a hydraulic work built by the engineers Eduardo Molina Arevalo and Guillermo Torres, and the great muralist Diego Rivera, between 1943 and 1951. Diego Rivera painted the “Water, Origin of Life” mural. Diego Rivera painted more than 200 square meters, all underwater, making it the only such mural in the world. After returning to our hotel, we will have the last presentation in our series of lectures, this time covering 20th-century Mexico.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening:
At leisure
Activity Note
Walking up to 2 miles total throughout the day; flat terrain. Getting on/off a bus; driving about 22 miles, approximately 1.5 hours total riding time. Extent and duration of walking and other activities during independent exploration according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Setting out via bus, we’ll ride to the neighborhood of Coyoacán. Once an independent village on the shore of Lake Texcoco, Coyoacán welcomed the Spanish and served as the headquarters of Hernan Cortes and the conquistadors. Its name comes from a Nahuatl word of which the exact meaning is unknown but most likely means “place of coyotes.” While here, we’ll visit the Frida Kahlo Museum, also known as Casa Azul, with our expert. The museum is housed in the building where Kahlo spent most of her life and was donated, along with its contents, to be a museum in her memory by her husband Diego Rivera. Here, we will admire many exhibits for Frida’s work, as well as some personal items that are on display. The museum displays works of art by the couple and other artists, in addition to displaying the lifestyle of Mexican artisans and bohemians in the first half of the 20th century. We will also be able to enjoy some of Rivera’s work and, during some time for independent exploration after visiting the museum, you can walk on the beautiful gardens on the property.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant in San Angel.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will walk through the neighborhood of Colonia San Angel and visit the Bazar del Sabado where local artists show and sell their work. With a local expert, we’ll see much of Mexico’s native art. We’ll then return to the hotel.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Walking up to 1.5 miles total throughout the day; periods of standing in museum; flat terrain. Extent and duration of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll set out on foot for our field trip to the Palace of Fine Arts (Palacio de Bellas Artes), built in the place of the first National Theater of México in the early 1930s. Here, we will have the opportunity to enjoy a presentation of the Ballet Folklorico of Amalia Hernandez. This piece reflects the various genres and art forms from across the country through both dance and music. After the performance, we will explore the marvelous interior. Primarily a combination of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles, the grand building is divided into a main hall with smaller exhibition rooms, the theater, and the institute’s offices. On the way to the restaurant, we will walk to Casa de los Azulejos, or House of Tiles; this is an 18th-century mansion known for its exquisite blue and white tilework from the state of Puebla. Our next stop is the Postal Palace, also known as Main Post Office. Built in the early 20th century by the original architect of The Palace of Fine Arts, the building features a variety of architectural styles creating a unique masterpiece. We’ll move on to the Palace of Iturbide for today’s final stop. Constructed between 1779 and 1785, the palace was a prominent count’s wedding gift for his daughter featuring three floors, a mezzanine, and two fortified towers. The Palace has been renamed the Palacio Cultural Banamex to promote the culture of México City.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for departure in the morning.
Activity Note
Hotel check-out by 12:00 Noon. See your program’s “Getting There” information regarding transfers.
Breakfast:
At the hotel. This concludes our program.
Morning:
If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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