Mexico City tours and excursions

Bus tours

Innumerable half and full-day Mexico City tours pick-up and drop-off at major hotels. Most centre on the Centro Histórico and the Museo Nacional de Antropología and are accompanied by an English-speaking guide. TURIBUS, operated by the Ministry of Tourism, covers 130 places of interest along the Reforma-Centro Historico corridor and includes museums, monuments, galleries and parks. At 15-30 minute intervals, TURIBUS buses connect 25 access points where passengers can hop on and off. An electronic translator service is available and it operates from 0900-2100 every day except Christmas and New Years' day. Tickets are available for one, two or three days.

Walking tours

Many of Mexico City's prime places of interest are concentrated in small easily walkable pockets, so sightseeing on foot is a breeze. Due to the dizzying effects of altitude, it is important to acclimatise for a few days after arrival in the capital. Even a gentle stroll can cause breathless fatigue, so care should be taken to ease into walking over short distances. The government-run cultural agency INAH (National Institute for History and Archaeology) runs walking tours in Mexico City and beyond. INAH's tours are cheaper than most and led by English-speaking guides. Other walking tours can be booked via tour operators and travel agencies.

Xochimilco

About 20km (12 miles) south of Mexico City's Zócalo is a network of canals lined by gardens and agricultural plots known as the 'floating gardens' of Xochimilco (the name means 'Place where the Flowers Grow' in the Aztec language of Nahuatl). Within the network of canals, the Pre-Hispanic inhabitants constructed little islands known aschinampason which fruits, vegetables and flowers could be grown. These formed one of the economic bases of the Aztec Empire.

Some 180km (112 miles) of canals remain today and the area has become a favourite destination for Mexico City's inhabitants to come for a bit of fun and relaxation. Hundreds of colourfultrajineras(small, flat-bottomed barges similar to gondolas) are punted along the canals with parties of revellers on board. As well as the passenger boats, there are waterborne bands ofmariachisormarimbasready to play requests (for a price), vendors selling tacos, soft drinks and flowers, photographers and souvenir sellers adding to the general cacophony. Xochimilco only springs to life on Sundays and public holidays so the rest of the week can be a disappointment, as it appears a quiet, drab place with only the odd boatload of bemused tourists taking to the water.

Transport to Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage site, from Mexico City is by buses marked Metro 'Tasqueña', or by taking the metro to Tasqueña and then thetren ligero(overground train) to Embarcadero.

For more information, visit Xochimilco Tourist Office, Embarcadero Nativitas.

Teotihuacán

Situated 50km (30 miles) north of Mexico City is the archaeological zone of Teotihuacán, a UNESCO World Heritage spot. This site is thought to date from around 300-600 BC but the identity of those who built the 'place of the gods' still remains a mystery. Teotihuacán was once a functioning city and one of the largest in the pre-industrial world. It was also one of the more politically dominant cities, owing to its strategic location in the Valley of Mexico, which provided easy access to trade routes and communication. In the seventh century AD, a fire and subsequent looting caused a great exodus of its inhabitants and Teotihuacán was left abandoned.

There are three main site areas: the Ciudadela (Citadel), Pirámide del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun), Pirámide de la Luna (Pyramid of the Moon) - all connected by the Calzada de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead). To see the site properly takes between five and eight hours and it is open daily 0800-1700.

Buses marked 'Los Pirámides' depart from Gate 8 of the Terminal del Norte and take about an hour.