Alameda Central: Alameda Central is Mexico City's only sizeable downtown park and is surrounded by some of the city's most interesting buildings and museums.

Metropolitan Cathedral: Engineers have reinforced the Cathedral's foundations to stop it from sinking into Mexico City's soft foundations (the city was built on top of Lake Texcoco, now drained), which means that scaffolding has had to be erected inside while this work continues, but the Cathedral is a must-see on a tour of Colonial Mexico City.

Chapultepec Castle: Once the home of Emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlota, the castle is now a museum showing magnificent coaches, beds, sofas and other traditional furnishings from their reigning period.

Did You Know?... Mexicans eat chili on everything, and loads of it. Be prepared.

Museo de San Carlos: Housed in a Colonial mansion built in the late 18th-early 19th centuries for the Conde de Buenavista, the Museo de San Carlos has a vast collection of European art from the 14th to early 20th centuries, including works by Van Dyck, Goya, Rubens and other Renaissance artists.

Independence Day: If you go, don't take anything valuable, and wear old clothes - eggs and other party-pieces are thrown liberally at this party!

Pyramids of Teotihuacan: "City of the Gods" home of the Teotihuacano culture. The Pyramids of the Sun and Moon and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl are impressive vestiges of this culture which predated the Aztecs and is linked to the Toltecs and Mayas.

Did You Know?... There are more than 14,000 archaeological sites in Mexico.

Zihuatanejo: Nice place to stick around for a couple of days. The beaches are beautiful, although the Playa Municipal is quite dirty. Luckily there are four other beaches on Zihuatanejo's bay, of which Playa Las Gatas is most secluded and most beautiful.

Weather: The hottest time of the year runs from May to September (especially on the coasts), and it gets cooler from October to April.

Day Trips: It is possible to visit the ancient city of Tula, with its enormous Atlantean stone statues on a day trip from Mexico City.

Templo Mayor: This is the site of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlán, ancient capital of the Aztecs. Excavations were begun in 1978, when workmen discovered the Coyolzauhqui stone disc, weighing eight tonnes and marking the foot of the stairs of the temple. You can see some of the site from railings around the pedestrianised road to the east of the Sagrario, but it’s better to pay the small entrance fee and walk around the excavations.

The Zócalo: A visit to Mexico City is incomplete without a look at the Zócalo, the heart of the city since the Aztecs’ rule. At the time of Moctezuma I this area was surrounded by palaces and temples, now it’s the second largest public square in the world (after the Red Square in Moscow). It’s official title is the Plaza de la Constitución; the word ‘zócalo’ means base or plinth and arose after a monument to Independence in the square was constructed only to that stage - then the name stuck.

History: Within around two hours drive are the cities of Puebla, famous for Talavera pottery and many beautiful churches featuring colorful local tiles, and nearby Cholula, where you can find the largest pyramid in the world. Puebla and Cholula can be combined on a day trip and many travel agencies offer this excursion.

Living: Oaxaca is a busy but pleasant town with nice colourful buildings, the big and abundantly decorated church Santo Domingo, and best of all with a number of markets where you can find just about everything: from cheap food, to weaving women in traditional clothing, to chapulines - fried grasshopper-like insects which are considered a local delicacy.

Tourists: A lot of travellers come to Puerto Escondido for some surfing because the waves are great, especially at Playa Zicatela where the ocean is just brutal.