Cuernavaca
Ciudad HistóRica / Patrimonio Mundial (Catedral) · Cuernavaca, Morelos
The capital of Morelos, about 85 km and ninety minutes south of Mexico City, nicknamed the City of Eternal Spring for its mild climate at 1,500 m. It has been a retreat for the powerful since Aztec emperors kept gardens here, and Hernan Cortes built a palace here in the 1520s. That palace today holds the Museo Regional Cuauhnahuac with Diego Rivera's mural of Mexican history, painted in 1929 and 1930. The fortress-like cathedral dates from the 1520s, the Jardin Borda is an eighteenth-century garden of fountains and ponds, and the Teopanzolco pyramids sit inside the city. The old centre is walkable but traffic-choked, and the city has grown into suburbs and walled villas, with a lot of the charm hidden behind high walls. Cuernavaca is a good short break from the capital and a gateway to Xochicalco, Tepoztlan and Taxco. Morelos has had security concerns, so check current state travel advice and keep to daytime plans in unfamiliar areas.
Palacio de Cortés, Centro, Cuernavaca, Morelos, 62000, Mexico
An open city - the Zócalo and the cathedral atrium are free. ⚠ THE CATHEDRAL COMPLEX IS THE UNESCO-INSCRIBED ELEMENT (1994, as one of fourteen early monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl) - the listing is that complex, not the city. It is a working cathedral, open through the day, and ⚠ ITS SIXTEENTH-CENTURY MURALS OF MEXICAN MISSIONARIES MARTYRED IN JAPAN ARE ON THE NAVE WALLS - most visitors walk past them. The Palacio de Cortés holds the Diego Rivera mural and keeps INAH daytime hours; it and the Museo Robert Brady generally close Mondays. INAH Sunday free admission applies to Mexican nationals and residents only. ⚠ 2017 EARTHQUAKE RESTORATION HAS CAUSED EXTENDED CLOSURES AT BOTH THE CATHEDRAL COMPLEX AND THE PALACIO - check before building a day around either. ⚠ COME MIDWEEK; this is Mexico City's weekend city. ⚠ MORELOS CARRIES A TRAVEL ADVISORY AND IT HAS RISEN - check current advice and do not travel highways after dark. ⚠ HOURS AND PRICES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.