Chapultepec

Chapultepec (Chapoltepec "at the grasshopper hill" in the Nahuatl language) is a large hill on the outskirts of central Mexico City and has been a special place for Mexicans (see History of Mexico) ever since the Aztecs made a temporary home on its central hill after arriving from northern Mexico in the 1200s. In modern Mexico City Chapultepec Park, consisting of the hill and surrounding land of 1,600 acres has many attractions, including Chapultepec Castle, where Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota of Mexico lived. The castle's interior is as sumptuous as any palace in Europe and houses the National History Museum.