National Palace (Palacio Nacional)
Every September 15, the president rings the exact bell Father Hidalgo rang to call for rebellion against Spain — from this balcony, over this square.
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The red tezontle facade stretches over 200 metres along the Zócalo's east side, built partly from stones of Moctezuma II's original palace. The area next to the northern door was once a prison with courtrooms and torture chambers; it is now occupied by the Finance Ministry. The same site has been the seat of Mexican power since the Aztec Empire.
What to look for
- The bell above the central balcony — Hidalgo's original, relocated from the church of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato
- Two sculpted knights flanking the bell niche: an Aztec eagle knight and his Spanish counterpart, by Manuel Centurion, representing the synthesis of both cultures
- Baroque arches encircling the main patio, visible through the central door
Enter through the central door on the Zócalo; the southern door leads to the Patio of Honor and presidential offices with no public access.
National Palace (Palacio Nacional) is one of 29 sights worth the detour in Mexico City, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Mexico City pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Mexico City
- Mexico City Metropolitan CathedralTwo hundred and forty years of construction, built on top of the Aztec sacred precinct — every generation of New Spain left something inside.
- National Museum of AnthropologyThe stone that defined how the world pictures the Aztec calendar is here — and 3.7 million people came to see it last year.
- Autódromo Hermanos RodríguezA 4.3 km ribbon of asphalt where two brothers gave their names — and their lives — to Mexican motorsport.
- Aztec Sun StoneA 24-tonne disc of olivine basalt that spent centuries buried under Mexico City's main square — then mounted on a cathedral wall — before anyone called it art.
- Palacio de Bellas ArtesStarted in 1904, halted by revolution and a sinking city, finished in 1934 — thirty years of delay show in every detail.
- University Olympic Stadium (Estadio Olímpico Universitario)This is where Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists to the sky in 1968 — one of sport's most charged political moments, in a stadium that held 83,700 people.