Mexico City

The oldest capital in the Americas

Towering at nearly 8,000 feet elevation, Tenochtitlan was founded around Lake Texcoco by the Mexica in 1325. After being sieged and rebuilt by the Spanish, the city then served a major role in the Spanish colonial empire, lending some of the most famously ostentatious architecture the world has ever known. Following independence from Spain, the federal district was established in 1824. Today, Mexico City ("Distro Federal" or "DF", to locals) boasts the largest urban population in North America, decadent street food, a global conversation in fine dining, a bustling nightlife and an art scene tapped into history via some of the most well-renowned artists in the world.