Whether you’re the kind of person that enjoys learning new things or you just want to know where to visit on your next trip to the city. Here are 20 Mexico City Facts that might prove not only interesting but could also be quite useful when trying to impress someone you like… or don’t like.

1. Bosque de Chapultepec is the biggest city park in America.

Credit: Bosque de Chapultepec. Digital Image. Inspirato Destinations. April 5, 2017.

It has an area of 1,695 acres making it twice the size of Central Park, which is 840 acres.

2. Mexico City is America’s oldest city.

Credit: Templo Mayor Archeological Site. Digital Image. TripSavy. January 31, 2018.

It was founded in 1325, which makes it over 700 years old.

3. Castillo de Chapultepec is the only Royal Castle in America.

Credit: Chapultepec Castle. Digital Image. Branipick. March 22, 2018.

The castle was built in 1788 as the Spanish Viceroy’s summer house and then later used by Emperor Maximilian I and his wife Empress Carlota in 1864.

4. Many Hollywood movies were filmed in the city.

Credit: Romeo + Juliet. 20th Century Fox

The most famous of all was Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, some of the locations for the film were Castillo de Chapultepec as the Capulet Mansion and the Parish of the Most Pure Heart of Mary as Saint Peter’s Church. Other more recent blockbusters include James Bond’s Spectre and Elysium.

5. It’s the 2nd most populated city in Latin America and 7th in the world.

Credit: Mexico City. Digital Image. SkyScraperCity. March 24, 2013.

It has 21.4 million people placing it after cities like Tokyo (38.3M), Delhi (27.9M), Shanghai (25.8M), Beijing (22.8M), Mumbai (22M) and Sao Paolo (21.7M).

6. It will be the 8th richest city in the world by 2020.

Credit: Paseo de la Reforma. Digital Image. SkyScraperCity. September 1, 2016.

With an estimated GDP of $608 billion dollars it will reach #8 and be placed after Tokyo ($1,602B), New York ($1,561B), Los Angeles ($886B), London ($708B), Chicago ($645B), and Paris ($611B).

7. The subway system is the 2nd largest in America and the 9th most used in the world.

Credit: Rush Hour. Digital Image. Publimetro. December 11, 2017.

Only topped by the New York City Subway. The Mexico City Metro has 12 lines, 195 stations, covers over 140 miles and it’s used by 5.5M people per day.

8. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is one of the biggest in the world & it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Credit: UNAM. Digital Image. SkyScraperLife. July 19, 2016.

Within its 30.2M sq. foot of constructed area, you’ll find several murals made by famous Mexican artists like Diego Rivera. The University has over 300,000 students and has an acceptance rate of only 8%.

9. La Alameda Central was the 1st urban park in America

Credit: Alameda Central. Digital Image. AltoNivel. November 9, 2017.

It was built in 1592 and it’s adjacent to the Palace of Fine Arts.

10. Between 10 to 13 million people visit Mexico City per year.

Credit: Día de los Muertos Parade. Digital Image. AltoNivel. October 30, 2016.

Over 20% of those are international tourists. Mexico as of 2016 is the 9th most visited country in the world with approximately 35M international per year.

11. It’s one of the cities with more museums in the world.

Credit: Museo Soumaya. Digital Image. Centro Urbano. May 27, 2015.

There are approximately 151 officially recognized museums and over 200 unrecognized ones. According to TripAdvisor, it’s on place no. 11 worldwide.

12. It’s in the Top 5 of most sustainable cities in Latin America.

Credit: Via Verde. Digital Image. Expok. July 12, 2016.

It’s placed at #4 (after Sao Paolo, Rio, and Santiago) and #58 worldwide.

12. The city is sinking.

Credit: Sinking Buildings. Digital Image. Plumas Atómicas. February 20, 2018.

Mexico City is sinking an average of 2.5 to 40cm per year, depending on the area of town. This is happening because the city is built on top of a lake and the because of the extraction of water from the city’s aquifers due to the fast increasing of human consumption.

14. La Basílica de Guadalupe is the 2nd most visited Catholic sanctuary after the Vatican.

Credit: Basílica de Guadalupe. Digital Image. El Universal. December 12, 2014.

It receives over 14M visitors per year. Just in 2017, for Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe (Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe) they reach a new record of 7M visitors in just 1 day.

15. There are at least 9 archeological zones in the city.

Credit: Tenayuca Pyramid. Digital Image. Wikipedia Photo Library. May 1, 2008.

The most important are El Templo Mayor, Tlatelolco, Cuicuilco, Pirámide de Ehecatl, Santa Cruz Acalpixca, Tenayuca, Cerro de la Estrella, Mixcoac, and Mazatepetl.

16. In ancient times, the city was already one of the most populated cities in the world.

Credit: Tenochtitlán. Digital Image. Mexican Routes. October 17, 2017.

Having as much as 350,000 people by the early 1500s. At the time, Its population was only comparable with European cities like Paris or Venice. It was also speculated that it was 5 times the size of London during the reign of Henry VIII.

17. The city has won over 400 Guinness Records.

Credit: Spencer Tunick. Digital Image. The City Paper. May 8, 2016.

A few of the most notable ones are: The Biggest Flower Carpet in the World, The Largest Group of People Dancing Thriller, The Largest Group of Naked People in Public, The Biggest Vintage Cars Parade, The Largest Group of People Kissing.

18. It has the 3rd largest soccer stadium in the world.

Credit: Estadio Azteca. Digital Image. Goal.com. October 19, 2017.

Estadio Azteca Stadium has a seating capacity of 95,500 people, placing it at #3 after Rungardo May Stadium in North Korea with a capacity of 150,000 and Camp Nou in Barcelona with a capacity of 99,300.

19. Mexico City is 2.25 KM above sea level.

Credit: Cerro del Ajusco. Digital Image. Goal.com. March 2, 2017.

The city’s highest peak is el Cerro del Ajusco with an altitude of almost 4 KM above sea level.

20. The Axolotl can only be found in Mexico City.

Credit: Cerro del Ajusco. Digital Image. Goal.com. March 2, 2017.

The Axolotl is 100% Mexican as can only be found in Lake Xochimilco. This endangered creature is known worldwide due to its weird looks and because of its ability to grow back its limbs after they have been cut off.

Source: wearemitu

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