A foreign visitor has only one day to spend in your country. Where should this
visitor go on that day? Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your
choice.
Visiting and knowing a new place is always an interesting and exciting experience but it is even more
when you travel abroad and know another culture and customs.
If I have to recommend to a foreign visitor a place to go in my country, first I ask her/him the following
questions: What kind of place does he/she like to visit? Does he/she prefer to visit a city or a beach?
Knowing the answer of the last questions I would recommend the following places:
If the option is a city I would recommend her/him visiting Mexico City.
Mexico City is the capital and the seat of the Federal powers of Mexico. Mexico City is the biggest city in
the country and the biggest city too in Latin America. It is a city that offers the tourists a mix between
the current culture and the European colonial architectural inherited from Spain specially, the history
and the inheritance of Mexico-Tenochtitlan besides the architectural modernity of the city. Mexico City
has too lots of traditional and full of history neighborhoods, museums, religious sites, cultural events,
important monuments that are part of the history of Mexico and one of the most visited attractions of
the city are the archeological ruins.
One of the things that a tourist has to do is take the “Turibus” that is a bus that travels around the city
visiting lots of the most important places with great tourist attraction. The Turibus is a red two floors
bus and the second floor doesn’t have ceiling. The fare is paid when you board the bus. The fare is valid
the whole day, so if you go down in one place you can board the Turibus again with your ticket. The
Turibus has two routes, one that goes over Chapultepec, Paseo de la Reforma and Centro Historico
(Historical Centre) and another that goes over throughout the south of the city.
Centro Historico de la Ciudad de Mexico (Historical Centre of Mexico City). It is the original core around
of which Mexico City was developed and grew up. Here there are lots of historical monuments and
places that are part of the Centro Historico:
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La Catedral (The Metropolitan Catedral) that was built for about of three ages and it includes in
itself the different styles of The Viceroyalty. It’s a very interesting place because of its
architectural structure.
Palacio Nacional (National Palace) is the seat of the Executive Power of Mexico that represents
to the President of Mexico. Every year on September 15th the President from “Palacio Nacional”
celebrates with all the people gathered in the “Zocalo” the Mexican Independence. In the night
of September 15th the President goes out and stands in a Palacio National’s balcony, he
remembers and mentions all the heroes that participated in the Mexican Independence and he
shouts: “Viva Mexico!” And then he waves the Mexican flag. Throughout the month of
September the “Centro Historico” (Historical Centre) is adorned and illumined with the Mexican
colors green, white and red and with the figures of all the Independence heroes and the
Mexican flag. It’s a very beautiful spectacle.
El Zocalo it’s located in the heart of the “Centro Historico” (Historical Centre) and it’s a big place
where some national events and concerts are held.
The Beistegui Hospital now an archeological monument because of its baroque style frontage.
Museo Nacional de Arte (National Art Museum). This is a museum in which we can find the
representative collection of Mexican art from the Colonial Era till the 1950’s.
Palacio de Mineria (Mining Palace). It’s a neoclassical architecture masterpiece. Nowadays it is a
museum.
Palacio de Bellas Artes (Beautiful Arts Palace). It’s the maximum home of the expression of the
country’s culture. It is considerate the most important centre dedicated to the arts in Mexico. It
is built with white marble in the frontage and with marble of different colours in its interior. In
there you can find artworks from big Mexican muralists like David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera,
Jose Clemente Orozco just to name a few.
Torre Latinoamericana (Latinamerican Tower). It is the first skyscraper in the history of Mexico
City. It counts with a gazebo that in sunny days allows admire the beautiful views of the city.
Templo Mayor (Major Temple) and Museo del Templo Mayor (Major Temple Museum). The
Templo Mayor was the symbolic centre of the Mexica Empire where all the sacred offerings and
the funerary deposits were gathered. It was a place to adore the war and the rain Gods. It was a
symbol of the achievements of the Aztecs against its enemies.
The following image is a panoramic view of the Centro Historico of Mexico City.
If the option is a beach I would recommend him/her visiting Playa del Carmen located in La Riviera
Maya.
Playa del Carmen is located in the south of Cancun. It belongs to the touristic zone called Riviera Maya.
This beach is beautiful place that is rounded with the marvelous blue Caribbean waters. That is why
Playa del Carmen is one of the best tourist places in Mexico to visit. Every year Playa del Carmen
receives millions of tourists. Also it’s a key place to explore the Maya World secrets.
There are lots of activities to do in Playa del Carmen, besides of enjoy of the beautiful beaches the
tourists can enjoy their time in Playa del Carmen doing the following activities:
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Swim in beautiful cenotes.
Take ecological tours in quad motorbikes.
Explore archeological places of the Maya culture.
Practice aquatic sports.
It’s recommendable to walk through “La quinta Avenida” (the fifth Avenue) the most famous
street of Playa del Carmen because of its craft stores, restaurants and bars.
Or you can expend the whole day resting in the beach having a time of peace, a time to rest, a
time to meditate and enjoying yourself.
Whichever the visitor choose, I think that the two places above are very good and beautiful places to
expend a whole day and enjoy.