The Mexico City metropolitan area has a population of around 22 million, which makes this the western hemisphere's largest - and the world's second largest. Mexico City saw a population explosion in the second half of the 20th century, growing from a population of around 3 million to around 18 million by the year 2000.

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Revolution Day

Nov (annual)

Only a Mexican can appreciate the importance of Revolution Day held each year on the 20 November. The day itself has long been an institution and grants a holiday for all of Mexicans. Thousands of Mexicans attend special military parades in the Z?calo. The President of the Nation also attends.

Revolution Day commemorates the beginning of the civil war in 1910, starting with Francisco Madero's call to arms against the ruthless rule of General Porfirio D?az. Today the chants of Tierra and Libertad resound in Mexican hearts as they recall the revolutionary support that Maderos won from names such as Emiliano Zapata, Pascual Orozco and Pancho Villa that brought the spirit of change to a land stifled by the ancient regime.

Mexico City Blues Festival

Nov (annual)

Mexico City's Blues Festival attracts national and international musicians to the Teatro de la Ciudad de Mexico. A special emphasis is put on Chicago blues and previous performers have included the John Lee Hooker Jr Band and the Otis Taylor Band

Spring Night Festival

Mar (annual)

During the Spring Night Festival, known as Noche de la Primavera, the streets and plazas of Mexico City's historic centre fill with music and dancing til dawn, welcoming the new season in true Latino style.

The roads in the historic centre of the city centre are closed off to cars, and dance shows, music, street theatre and opera take their place. Acrobatics, alternative music (funk, ska and reggae) and projections of children's animations are just some of the festivities that start at 5pm and 8pm in various central locations, such as the forecourt of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Plaza de Santo Domingo, Teatro de la Ciudad and Plaza de la Constitucion.

Mexico Festival

Apr (annual)

Performances by national and international musicians, actors and dancers fill the city's squares, patios, palaces, cloisters and temples in Mexico City's historic centre at the yearly Mexico Festival, Festival de Mexico. Around the Zocalo square is where it all happens.

The programme features a variety of musical genres, theatre, dance, fine art, literature, guided tours, academic events and children's activities. Musical highlights last year included the larger-than-life Goran Bregovic with his Gypsy brass band playing traditional songs for weddings and funerals, while on the theatrical side, Gael Garcia Bernal performed in a play called Together.

FEMACO Mexican Contemporary Art Fair

Apr (annual)

Over 80 Mexican and international art galleries exhibit work at the annual FEMACO Mexican Contemporary Art Fair in the huge Centro Banamex. A number of the capital's top museums also put on special exhibitions during the fair. The fair comprises four sections entitled Galleries, New Proposals, Institutions and finally Publications, devoted to contemporary art. Vistors are also able to buy art work at FEMACO and selected artists are awarded prizes such as the Great Centenary Prize for an Emerging Artist and the Perrier Creativity Prize

Flowers and Plants Festival

Mar ; Fri, Sat, and Sun only (annual)

The first of spring's buds and blooms are proudly showcased at the Flowers and Plants Festival on the Paseo de la Reforma, between the Diana the Hunter fountain and the Angel of Independence statue (el ?ngel de la Independencia).Honey and rich organic coffee are also on sale alongside the flora. The produce comes from all over Mexico, but principally from the Federal District areas of Milpa Alta and Xochimilco.

Mexico City International Festival of Documentary Cinem

25 Sep - 4 Oct (annual)

Spain, Canada, Brazil, Finland and countries further afield screen their cinematic offerings at venues all over the city at the Mexico City International Festival of Documentary Cinema. Venues include the Cinemania Plaza Loreto cinema and the Cinemex Casa de Arte.

The festival awards prizes for the best overall documentary, the best Latin American documentary, the best Mexican documentary and the best documentary for television, among others.

Aguila y Sol

Cuisine Mexican Haute Cuisine

One of Mexico City's most sophisticated and acclaimed restaurants is also one of the best Mexican restaurants you will find in the world. Chef-owner Martha Ortiz's enchanted cuisine matches indigenous and pre-Hispanic ingredients to contemporary creations, leaving you the sense that an outing to Aguila y Sol is as much an artistic as a dining experience (Ortiz has designed a number of excellent cookbooks on sale at the restaurant). Among the delectable selections are duck mole, salmon in a maize crust, pork loin with gingered mango, and seared tuna with smoked chile. An outstanding wine list accompanies the exotic menu. Dishes are carefully presented but not overly big. The beautiful space reflects soft Mexican colors and is casually elegant, and the clientele includes some of the city's best-known personalities.

Tezka

Cuisine Spanish, Mexican Haute Cuisine

The sister of the Michelin three-star restaurant Arzak in Spain's Basque country, Tezka earns rave reviews of its own with innovative contemporary Spanish cuisine with Mexican influences. The atmosphere is spacious and relaxing, with several dining rooms, including one table for four on its own level. Some tables sit next to French windows that open to the street, one level below. Starters include an amuse-bouche of ceviche -- raw tuna slivers and strawberries on tiny tostadas -- and a mousse of foie gras wrapped in sliced mango. Entrees include sea bass in a pistachio sauce and lamb with a peanut sauce, served with peanuts and leeks, in thin slices of melon. For dessert, try the sweet-and-spicy chocolate-chile ice cream, or for more traditional palates, coconut soup with lemon ice cream. The $50 (?28) tasting menu is a great bargain for epicures

Chez Wok

Cuisine Haute Chinese

Opened in the fashionable Polanco area in 1992 with five chefs from Hong Kong and their incredible recipes, Chez Wok immediately became the place to feast on Chinese food. Years later, it hasn't lost its popularity, especially for power lunches. It's generally packed at lunch, although often quieter at night. The dining area, with large and small sections, has a combination of booths and tables with an elegant but simple yellow, black, and beige decor. Main courses include Cantonese, Peking, Szechuan, and Mandarin selections, such as steamed red snapper with white-wine sauce, chicken in shrimp paste with sesame and crab sauce, and the house specialty, Peking duck

Casa Bell

Cuisine International Mexican

A longtime favorite of Mexico City's political and business elite, Casa Bell is probably the capital's key power-lunch venue. The lovely terrace begins to fill up around 2pm, as birds chirp from strategically placed cages around the patio. Exceptionally well-trained waiters move attentively around the tables as lunch unfolds and are likely to recommend dishes such as the duck tacos, filete Chemite (filet mignon), or robolo (sea bass) prepared any way you like. Diners typically come dressed in suits and tend to linger over their meals and perhaps a few margaritas. Finish off with a delectable pastry from the dessert cart

L'Olivier

Cuisine Country French, Bistro

This bright, bustling bistro would be reminiscent of an authentic French cafe -- were it not for the fact that its patrons tend to be business professionals and sophisticated socialites rather than bohemians. Opened in 2000, L'Olivier packs in a crowd, and with good reason -- the food is superb. Choices range from p?t?s to souffl?s (definitely plan ahead and save room for a chocolate souffl?!). There's an excellent representation of country French fare, including steak frites, cassoulets, and fricassees. The restaurant lies 12 blocks from the Polanco Metro station. You could venture in without a reservation, but depending on the night, you might not get in without one. There is no bar to wait in.

Cantina La Guadalupana

Cuisine Mexican

Opened in 1928, this cantina lies in Coyoac?n, the southern neighborhood that was once the home of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and the revolutionary Leon Trotsky. From the entrance -- off a narrow, cobblestone, colonial street -- to the antiquated bar, a sense of nostalgia permeates the comfortable, jovial cantina. The operation is as traditional as the menu. For those who are only drinking, waiters bring the customary small plates of complimentary snacks that range from crisp jicama slices with lime and chile to pigs' feet in a red sauce. It's easy to imagine the communist conversations that must have bounced off the walls here in Frida and Diego's day.

La Opera Bar

Cuisine International

La Opera Bar, 3 blocks east of La Alameda, is the most opulent of the city's cantinas. Slide into a dark wood booth below gilded baroque ceilings, patches of beveled mirror, and exquisite small oil paintings. Or opt for a linen-covered table with a basket of fresh bread. La Opera is the Mexican equivalent of a London gentlemen's club, although it has become so popular for dining that fewer and fewer men play dominoes. In fact, you see people enjoying romantic interludes in cavernous booths -- but tables of any kind are hard to find. Service is best if you arrive for lunch when it opens or go after 5pm when the throngs have diminished; the jacketed waiters cater to regulars at the expense of unknown diners. The menu is unimpressive, but the atmosphere and drinks are excellent. Try the incredible Aperital Batido -- the bartender's special aperitif -- or a classic tequila. Specialties include Spanish tapas, Caesar salad, and Veracruz-style red snapper with olives and tomatoes. While you wait for your meal, look to the ceiling for the bullet hole that legend says Pancho Villa left when he galloped in on a horse. It's half a block toward the z?calo from Sanborn's House of Tiles.

Restaurant Danubio

Cuisine Spanish, International

Danubio has been a Mexico City tradition since 1936, and it remains an excellent choice for dining in the Historic Center. Photos of celebrity diners line the walls of the classically European-style room. The Basque-inspired menu offers a range of selections emphasizing seafood, and the house specialty is langostinos (baby crayfish). A five-course tasting menu with matching wines is available. Many dishes are prepared on an old coal and firewood stove. Danubio, which lies south of La Alameda, is also noted for its excellent wine cellar

Fonda El Refugio

Cuisine Mexican

More than 40 years of tradition have shaped the service, food, and atmosphere here, making it a special place for authentic Mexican dining. It's small and unusually congenial, with a large fireplace decorated with gleaming copper pots and pans. The restaurant manages the almost impossible task of being both refined and informal. The menu runs the gamut of Mexican cuisine, from arroz con pl?tanos (rice with fried bananas) to enchiladas con mole poblano, topped with the rich, thick, spicy chocolate sauce of Puebla. Try chiles stuffed with ground beef or cheese, and for dessert have some coconut candy or the mouth-watering flan. The tortillas are handmade, and the margaritas potently delicious. Fonda El Refugio is very popular, especially on Saturday night, so get here early.