Mexico Guide
Mexico City
Bosque de Chapultepec
Opening time: Tues– Sun 5am–4.30pm
Price: free
Chapultepec Park, or the Bosque de Chapultepec, is a vast green area, about a thousand acres in all, dotted with trees, scattered with fine museums – among them the marvellous Museo Nacional de Antropología – boating lakes, gardens, playing fields and a zoo. Ultimately, it provides an escape from the pressures of the city for seemingly millions of Mexicans, with the result that the most visited areas get a heavy pounding and some areas are occasionally fenced off to allow the plants to recover. On Sundays, when many of the attractions are free, you can barely move for the throng, but note that on Mondays the entire park and many of the museums are closed.
The park is divided into three sections: the first and easternmost is home to the points of greatest interest, including the Anthropology, Modern Art and Rufino Tamayo museums and the zoo; the Second Section is mostly aimed at kids, with an amusement park, technology museum and natural history museum; and the Third Section contains aquatic and marine parks open at weekends.