Catedral Metropolitana

The Metropolitan Cathedral fills the north side of the Zócalo and is the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. Building began in 1573, partly over the sacred precinct of the Aztec capital, and it went on in stages until 1813. Because it took nearly two and a half centuries, the cathedral mixes Gothic, Plateresque, Baroque, Churrigueresque and Neoclassical styles. The original plan was by Claudio de Arciniega, and Manuel Tolsá completed the dome, the clock section and the statues on the facade at the end of the colonial period.

Inside, the great sight is the Altar of the Kings behind the main altar, a carved and gilded cedar retablo by Jerónimo de Balbás, built between 1718 and 1737 and about 25 metres high. It is the oldest Churrigueresque work in Mexico. The choir, built at the end of the 17th century, holds two large 18th-century organs that were damaged in a fire in 1967 and restored. Around the nave are side chapels full of paintings and altarpieces. The towers hold 25 bells, the largest of which, Santa María de Guadalupe, weighs about 13 tonnes.

The cathedral stands on the soft clay of the old lake, and it has been sinking since it was built. Look at the floor and the columns and you can see the tilt. Between 1993 and 1998 engineers drove concrete shafts into the ground to correct the movement of the towers, and the building was repaired again after the 2017 earthquake. Next door, and joined to it, is the Sagrario Metropolitano, built by Lorenzo Rodríguez between 1749 and 1760, with an ornate facade in red tezontle and pale chiluca stone.

The cathedral is a working church, so dress modestly and keep quiet during services; visiting is generally easier outside mass times. Thirty to forty-five minutes is enough for a look round, longer if you study the chapels. The building faces south across the Zócalo, so the facade is best photographed from the middle of the square.

The cathedral makes a natural starting point for a morning in the historic centre. The Templo Mayor, whose sacred precinct the cathedral partly covers, is right next to it, and its site museum explains what stood here before 1521. The Sagrario connects with the cathedral through the Chapel of San Isidro, and it still serves as the parish church and baptistery.