Chapultepec Castle, Castle and history museum in Chapultepec Park, Mexico
Chapultepec Castle is a palace and history museum atop Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City, Mexico, combining neoclassical and Gothic Revival design elements. The complex includes multiple wings with exhibition rooms, terraces overlooking the city, and a wooded slope descending toward the surrounding park.
The fortress was originally built as a summer residence for the viceroy and later transformed into an imperial palace for Maximilian I before serving as a presidential palace. After its use by presidents ended, the building was converted into the National Museum of History and opened to the public.
The Hall of Carriages displays the original vehicles used by the imperial family, while Maximilian's private chambers still preserve European furniture and wall paintings from his era. Visitors today can walk through the gardens designed in French style, creating a contrast with the surrounding Mexican vegetation.
The museum opens Tuesday through Sunday and offers guided tours in several languages along with educational programs for school groups. Access to the entrance involves a paved path or a small tourist train departing from the park entrance.
The balcony of Maximilian's bedroom offers the same view over the city that the emperor himself saw each morning. In the basement vaults, the original storage rooms and kitchens from the viceregal period remain accessible to the public.
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