Mexico City

General Facts about Mexico City

• Mexico City is built on a lake called Texcoco.
• The city is constantly sinking and has sunk more than nine meters in some areas over the last 100 years.

• Population Facts about Mexico City

• More than 20 million people live in Mexico City.
• The population of Mexico City has grown by more than 20 million people in just over 110 years, from 500,000 in 1900 to 21.2 million people in 2012.
• Mexico City is the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world.
• Over 600,000 U.S. Americans live in Mexico City; the largest concentration of Americans living outside of the USA.

• Transportation Facts about Mexico City

• Mexico City’s Metro is the largest in Latin America and the cheapest in the world at only 3 pesos per journey ($0.23 USD/ Euro 0.18)!
• More than 4-5 million people use the metro everyday.
• The city is so big and the traffic so bad that the super rich have taken to using helicopters to get from one place to another. You can often see them landing on the tops of buildings.
• Taxi’s in Mexico City are as distinct as those found in New York, painted red and gold.
• Green ‘hippie’ vans are used as local buses throughout the city.
• Avenida de los Insurgentes is one of the longest avenues in the world.
• Mexico City International Airport is Latin America’s largest and busiest airport.

• Cultural Facts about Mexico City

• Mexico City has the most museums in the world, with more than 160, almost all of which are free on Sundays!
• The city also has over 100 art galleries, and 30 concert halls.
• Mexico City has the fourth highest number of theatres in the world after New York, London and Toronto.
• The Museo Soumaya, was donated to the city by the worlds richest man; Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim.
• The 10,000-seat National Auditorium in Mexico City was named the Best Venue in the World.
• Mexico City is also home to the largest amusement park in Latin America, Six Flags Mexico. It also has La Feria Chapultepec Mágico amusement park in the city center, it’s rollercoasters visible from various points around the city.
• The city’s famous Zócalo (large square in the city center) turns into one of the worlds biggest ice skating rinks every winter.
• Mexico City has the most IMAX theatres in the world.
• Mexico City has two of the S.Pellegrino ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants in the World’ list compiled by British magazine ‘Restaurant’.
• Mexico City has been the only city in Latin America to host the Olympic Games, with the Summer Olympics in 1968. (Brazil will take this title away from Mexico as it hosts the 2016 Olympic Games).
• Mexico City is home to the oldest university in the Americas; the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The University is the largest university in all of North, Central and South America. The majority of Mexico’s former presidents have attended this university.
• UNAM is also the highest ranked Spanish-speaking University in the world.
• Mexico City is the capital of the media industry in Latin America.
• There are over 60 radio stations in Mexico City, as well as a huge amount of local transmissions.
•  Just in case you were thinking about visiting.