Chapultepec Park is a welcome green space in this colossal city and includes a zoo and amusement park.
The Castle, on the hill by the entrance to the park, was the residence of Emperor Maximilian during the French Intervention. Later it became the traditional home of the president of the country, until Lazaro Cardenas designated it as the National History Museum, as it is today.
In front of the castle is the six columned monument to the Ninos Heroes, six young men who provided the last stand against American invaders in 1847. Rather than surrendering, the six threw themselves off the castle ramparts wrapped in the Mexican flag.
