Mexico City Hotels

Mexico City is the political, financial and cultural nerve center of Mexico, and to understand the country one should spend some time here. Perhaps more than any city on earth, it is at the intersection of the first and third worlds, with all the ills, thrills and surprises that suggests.

One moment the city is all latin beats, glamor and excitement; the next it's drabness, poverty, suffocating crowds and rancid smells. In spite of the negatives, Mexico City is a magnet for Mexicans and visitors alike. You certainly won't be bored in this complex, historic city.

Mexico City's climate is temperate year round, though it can get a little nippy at night from November to February. Because of thermal inversion, air pollution is often at its heaviest during this period. Jacarandas bloom from February to March, and either month would probably be preferable to April, when the city can get unpleasantly dusty and polluted. Though Mexico City will sweep you up at any time of the year, the holiday periods of Semana Santa and Christmas to New Year are particularly jovial, busy times to visit. October may be the pick of the months: the rains of summer have abated, everything is still green, smog is at its lowest levels, and the Day of the Dead provides a real highlight. Many Mexicans do their holidaying in July or August.