Going to Mexico City for the first time as an adult meant that just about everything I was going to…read moreexperience was going to be new.
Going to Castillo de Chapultepec was definitely one of those things.
Visiting this historic place was not even on my radar, if not for the wife's insistence that visiting this place was a "non-negotiable" -- I probably would've skipped it.
I'm so glad I didn't as I would say after my visit to the Anthropology museum, also located in Chapultepec, this was my second most favorite spot I visited on my wonderful trip to Mexico City.
The castle is located at a top of a pretty decent hill in Chapultepec, so be prepared to walk a bit to get to the castle.
The fee to get into the museum is pretty low, it's about 210 pesos/$12 USD for foreign visitors and about half of that cost for locals.On Sundays locals get in for free.
They have a pretty strict bag policy as backpacks aren't allowed, though they do provide lockers at the entrance for 10 pesos for rent.
Now let's talk about the castle inside.
It's amazing.
It's so full of art pieces from so many famous Mexican artists.
It has many famous Mexican historic murals.
It is also full of many Mexican historic decorative art pieces from the 19th century.
What I think I liked the most is the vast amount of beautifully crafted stained glass throughout the castle.
It's breathtaking.
The pure history of this castle is just out of this world.
The hill the castle was built on was sacred to the Aztecs.
This was the residence for Emperor Maximilian.
Many presidents of Mexico called this castle home.
It has served as a military academy and was the site to one of the most famous battles in Mexican history, Ninos Heroes.
For a short time it was even an observatory.
Those are just some of the many fascinating facts you learn while visiting this incredible historic place.
There is so much history, art, architecture and culture packed into Castillo de Chapultepec that it's almost impossible to take it all in during one visit.
I went because my wife insisted.
I left wondering why I had never put this place on my radar in the first place.
No trip to Mexico City would be complete without a visit to Castillo de Chapultepec.