Mexico Guide
Mexico City
Museo Nacional de Historia
Opening time: Tues– Sun 9am–5pm
Price: M$45, free on Sun
Website: www.mnh.inah.gob.mx
Maximilian's castle atop Chapultepec Hill houses the Museo Nacional de Historia. The setting is very much part of the attraction, with many rooms retaining the opulent furnishings left behind by Maximilian and Carlota, or by later inhabitants with equally expensive tastes, notably Porfirio Díaz. Rivalling the decor is a small group of carriages, including the fabulously pompous Cinderella-goes-to-the-ball state coaches favoured by Maximilian. A collection of furniture, glassware and medals leads on to the main attraction of the lower floor, a series of ornate rooms viewed from a black-and-white tiled terrace that affords great views over the park and city. Peer into Maximilian's office, games room and drawing room, all gilt and dark wood, then move on to Carlota's bedroom and a gorgeous tiled bathroom.
The upper floor is arranged around a formal rooftop garden off which you can visit yet more sumptuous rooms and a magnificent Parisian stained-glass wall imported by Díaz and depicting five goddesses in a Greco-Roman setting. There are several murals here as well, including a number of works by Orozco and Siqueiros, but the ones by Juan O'Gorman most directly attract attention for their single-minded political message.