This urban park in Mexico City has been around for almost five centuries, welcoming different visitors to its well-paved paths and lush greenery. Five centuries is certainly no mean feat, and the park has made it through floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and even wars! At its inception, the park was not as big as it is today. A plain plaza that once stood where the park is now was the location where witches and others convicted during the Inquisition were burned at the stake.

In the late 18th century, when the Inquisition flickered out, a new viceroy commissioned the expansion of the park and it became a nobility-only area. Poplars (álamos) were planted here, giving the park its namesake (Alameda), but the park eventually opened up to the public. Today, you can walk down the winding paths and gaze up at the trees, some of which have plentiful purple flowers in bloom. The sight is truly stunning. You can enjoy people-watching as you sit at one of the benches, or watch the dancing fountains. Speaking of fountains, it’s said that President Lopez de Santa Anna ordered the fountains to be filled with alcohol in the mid-19th century in celebration of the Mexican Independence!