Templo Mayor Museum

The Templo Mayor was one of the most important temples in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec empire's ancient capital. The edifice was dedicated to two Aztec deities, Huitzilopochtli, the deity of battle, and Tlaloc, the god of rain and agriculture, sometime after 1325 CE. The temple is supposed to be built on the precise site where the Aztecs saw their symbolic eagle perched on a cactus in its beak - Mexico's current emblem.

The temple, like other religious structures, was rebuilt multiple times, with each restoration followed by the sacrifice of captive warriors. The entrance to the temple site and museum is east of the cathedral, across the busy Plaza del Templo Mayor, where most of the exterior of the Templo may be seen without entering. Authorized tour guides are available at the entry.

A model of Tenochtitlan is included in the site's entry charge. The huge wheel-like stone of Coyolxauhqui, best viewed from the top level, takes center stage. She is depicted beheaded, the consequence of her death by Huitzilopochtli (her brother, the god of battle, the sun, and human sacrifice), who also murdered his 400 brothers on his way to becoming top deity.

A newer entrance hall open to the public displays objects discovered over four years of the hall's excavation about funerary objects, bones. Colonial-era fine china and pre-Hispanic structures of Cuauhxicalco, keeping Templo Mayor continually intriguing even for return visitors. The Templo Mayor Museum is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Location: Seminario 8, Cuauhtémoc, 06060 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Opening hours: 9 AM - 5 PM
Phone number: +52 55 4040 5600
Rating: 4.5/5, 4380 Tripadvisor reviews
Website: https://templomayor.inah.gob.mx/english