Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology

The Museo Nacional de Antropologí­a in the Bosque de Chapultepec is a 22-hall behemoth of an institution with the modest goal of detailing the archaeological and anthropological history of Mexico from the migration of humans into the Americas to the present. As such, it is expansive and there is a lot to take in, but it’s also a pleasant building, with a seriously impressive fountain, Paraguas (“umbrella”), in the courtyard and lovely gardens adjoining each of the halls that contain artifacts and replicas and which are a nice break from hermetically sealed museum-world:

The Mexica Hall sits at the head of the table, and is the centerpiece of the lower-level archaeology halls:

The Mexica are better known as the Aztecs, but that name isn’t accurate, though this is the famous Aztec Sun Stone, which, the interpretive information says, is not actually a calendar:

Here are some temple offerings:

The second floor is devoted to the anthropological side of the story, as opposed to the archaeological record, and details the various folkways:

Even if you’re running out of steam, the second floor is nice to at least wander through: