We really enjoyed Mexico City; we spent seven nights here split into two batches, yet still felt there was more we could see.

Perhaps our highlight came on our first night, fresh off the plane we went for a stroll from Paseo de la Reforma into the historic centre. It was a Saturday night between Christmas and New Year as such we seemed to have been joined on our amble around the world heritage site by every other inhabitant of this massive metropolis. The incredible family friendly atmosphere was really special; the glorious ambience in Alameda Park even managed to upstage the beautiful Palacio Bellas Artes.

The next day was mostly devoted to murals, a most astonishing artistic response to the political climate after the Mexican Revolution. There are innumerable examples around the city; the staggering quantity in the department of education impresses, the quality at San Ildefonso is very high, with Diego Rivera's early 'Creation' in the theatre being my wife's undoubted highlight of the whole genre.

For me it was the incomparable Palacio Bellas Artes that really had me giddy with excitement. It is a building that could comfortably be an excellent world heritage site by itself, especially if you include its sibling across the road the Palacio Postal. The architecture and finishing details are magnificent, and the murals were exceptional. The highlights were Siqueiros' Torment and Apotheosis of Cuauhtemoc, a glorious artistic piece of nation building, though even that was over awed by Rivera's 'Man, Controller of the universe'. A wonderful take on early 20th century politics, even if you may view some of its ideas as naive it is pretty hard not to be impressed by its energy.

Just when I thought I had covered all the best bits I paid a visit to Templo Mayor. The archaeological remains of the Aztec temple were pretty impressive, but the story told by the brilliant onsite museum elevated this to something really special. There aren't many cities that have such significant remains of two distinct cultures in such a central location.

The bulk of the central streets of the Historico Centro may just seem like a grey grid of department stores and windswept plazas but having the time to delve a little deeper really opened it up. I even started to see parallels with bits of Chicago in the store fronts, and hidden stained glass gems.

On top of these sites Mexico City also had wonderful food, from the budget treats of Taquería Los Coyuyos, specialising in nose to tail meat tacos or slightly more standard empanadas from Pastelería Madrid to the higher end dining of Azul Historico, the food really impressed. My wife also pulled her special trick of hunting out some lovely districts to while away the evenings with Roma and Condesa being our favourites.

Mexico City ended up being much more enjoyable than I had expected, the sheer depth of attractions from multiple periods of multiple cultures really rewarded an extended exploration. The Aztec remains when twinned with the twentieth century murals provided two world class attractions on top of each other.

[Site 10: Experience 8]