What Places Would Kids Enjoy in Mexico City?

Mexico City has many attractions, a lot of them linked to her rich culture and history. Our kids were 5 and 2 years of age then, and they could not appreciate history as much as us, so we had to plan our itinerary to cater to everyone's interest.

The places that the kids liked best are described at the end of this article.

WHEN THE KIDS ASKED "ARE WE DONE YET?"

We visited the important attractions that most tourists to Mexico City would go to. Here are the attractions that could be visited first thing in the morning, before the kids get tired and restless. We toured these over a couple of days.

National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

It is one of the biggest universities in the world, with 120 000 students studying there now. It was the first university in Latin America. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of how 20^th century modernism is integrated with urbanism, architecture, engineering, landscape design and fine arts with reference to local traditions and Mexico's pre-Hispanic past. The stadium is where the 1968 Olympic Games was held.

The kids were impressed with the Library building, as it was totally covered with mosaic tiles. Many important artists helped with the design of the University's many buildings at the time it was constructed.

Palacio Nacional

This houses the President's Office and Finance Ministry. It was also where Hernan Cortes' headquarters were, during the time of the Spanish Conquest. It contains many wall murals by the famous Diego Rivera.

Templo Mayor/ Plaza de la Constitucion (Zocalo)

The Great Temple of the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

Metropolitan Cathedral/ Basilica of Guadalupe

The Basilica is supposedly the most visited Catholic shrine in all the Americas.

WHAT THE KIDS TOLERATED

These places are where the kids enjoyed themselves part of the time, and so we were able to linger longer than those attractions mentioned above.

Museum of Anthropology

This museum's exhibits and descriptions are mainly in Spanish, so a guide or guidebook would be useful if knowledge of Spanish is limited.

They have some interesting exhibits that the kids were curious about, like the skeletons and the Aztec Sun Stone (widely known as the calendar stone).

Outside the museum, the kids were enthralled and amazed by the performance of the "Flying Men" who first did a tribal dance, blowing on a flute and beating on drums, then climbed up a pole to a platform more than 100 feet above the ground. Hanging by a rope tied to just one leg, four men will jump off the platform and spin around the pole, "flying" along to the music still played by one of the men perched on the platform.

This was a very worthwhile visit. The admission fee was just 48 pesos (US$4.80) and there was so much to see and learn.

Teotihuacan

The Pyramids of the Sun and Moon and the Avenue of the Dead can serve as a good work-out for the kids. My older son managed to climb up and down both the Pyramids by himself and he enjoyed the view at the top a lot.

They were not interested in the ruins and the ancient houses (Tepantitla), so we had to walk through those in a short time.

Visits to colonial and historically-important neighborhoods, and craft markets

We visited the quaint neighborhood of San Angel, and the craft markets at San Juan and La Ciudadela. As we browsed through all the exquisite and very interesting handicrafts, the kids very quickly got bored. However, there were many stalls that sold knick-knacks and hand-crafted toys for kids, so we made sure we stopped at those stalls too. We bought a Jacob's Ladder, a spinning top, and some native percussion instruments for them, at very good prices.

PLACES THAT KIDS WOULD LOVE

The following places are very child-friendly and they are definitely the kids' favorites.

Chalputepec Park and Zoo

The Park is simply huge - 2100 acres. There was no way we could see everything there. The area near the Zoo was where we spent most of our time.

The Zoo has a big collection of animals, and they are famous for their breeding of the Pandas. There are hands-on exhibits and signs in English as well. My kids seemed to like every single animal there, so we spent a long time walking around the whole zoo. There is a Children's area and a petting zoo as well. Admission is free.

On weekends, the Park would be even more crowded and the many performers and artists around contribute to a festive atmosphere. Many families would be paddling boats in the lake, and children would have their faces painted, get sculpted balloons and eat ice cream cones.

Xochimilco ("Floating Gardens")

The extensive network of water canals here, the fanciful and colorful trajineras (boats) and the lively music were very attractive to the kids.

They enjoyed the 45 minute boat ride too, which cost 160 pesos per boat, so if more people are on the board, the price becomes even more reasonable. The boat is powered by a friendly guy and the kids kept trying to mimick him and learn how he propelled the boat with his single wood paddle/ pole.

Other boats have food, drinks, craft and cloth that can be hooked up to our boat, and then we could buy anything we wanted from them. On weekends, boats with mariachi bands would be present, and you can have them play your favorite songs for a fee.

The boats have colorful painted flowers and ladies' names on them, and the kids were also very excited to see names of friends and even their grandmother on other boats passing by.

Aztec drummers and other performances at the Zocalo/ Alameda Park

The kids enjoyed the tribal dances, Aztec drumming and various other musical performances at the Zocalo and Alameda Park. The Aztec drummers are at Zocalo everyday, and the dancing we saw at Alameda Park was on a Saturday.

The drumming had such an infectious rhythm that it made most of the kids watching the performance boogie too. There were several adorable toddlers who were dancing to the beat and thus attracted a lot of attention too.

Papalote Children's Museum/ La Feria amusement park

These are at Chalputepec Park as well. We did not manage to visit them but they are highly recommended.

The Children's Museum is one of the best and biggest in Latin America and has educational hands-on activities and interactive exhibits of every topic and subject that is interesting for kids. However, all the signs are in Spanish, so some knowledge would be good. Although many parents who don't know any Spanish brought their kids there and everyone still had loads of fun.

Kids know how to have fun indeed, language barriers would not hinder them at all.

The amusement park is a typical one with rides and games that kids would enjoy.

Have fun!