Highlights
Why Our Insiders Chose This Tour
Visit the only castle in all of Mexico and feel like you have the whole place to yourself on this early morning tour. Be one of the first to stroll around the top of Chapultepec Hill and snap unobstructed panoramas of Mexico City.
What You Can Expect
Beat the crush of crowds on this morning tour of Chapultepec Castle and experience one of Mexico City’s most visited sites in relative solitude. Your 6-hour Viator Exclusive begins at Chapultepec Park as you take a train ride with your guide up a hill and reach the 18th-century Chapultepec Castle (Castillo de Chapultepec) as one of its first visitors of the day.
Chapultepec started as a retreat for Aztec rulers before it was partially torn down and rebuilt into the palace of Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg. It then turned into the residence for Mexico’s presidents before most of the castle was converted into the National History Museum.
Follow your guide along marble staircases, peer into royal apartments and admire the state carriages of Emperor Maximilian and Benito Juárez. Pass murals of battles painted by famous artists, including José Clemente Orozco and John O'Gorman, as well as the sword wielded by independence fighter José María Morelos.
As you explore the 12 halls, learn about the country’s history, from the pre-Columbian period through Spanish colonialism, to Mexico’s revolution and its independence. After about two hours, enjoy a lunch break at a nearby location offering traditional dishes like chapatas and chilaquiles, sandwiches, salads, along with tea and coffee (at own expense).
Next, head to Mexico City’s most visited museum, the National Museum of Anthropology, also part of Chapultepec Park. Follow your guide on a 2.5-hour tour of some of the most impressive pre-Columbian and Mexican artifacts, including Olmec carved heads and the Aztec Stone of the Sun. Your tour ends in the afternoon so you have the rest of your day to enjoy at your leisure.