Sunday, August 31, 2014

The Palace on the Hill

Today we walked through Chapultepec park, within which is a hill and, on top of it, the Castillo de Chapultepec. It's not really a castle, more a palace, with commanding views of the city, not least east along the broad avenue that is now Paseo del Reforma. The building dates from 1775 but there were stops & starts along the way - the War of Independence from Spain (1810-21), the war with the United States (1847), a brief sumptuous period when Emperor Maximilian and his wife, Empress Carlota occupied it, then a period of disuse, before a number of presidents made it their home... until finally it became a museum in 1939. 
Lovely interiors, including elaborate stairways, stained glass windows and the inevitable murals, but what I liked most was the roof garden (see pic).  

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