Alameda Travel Guide

From behind Bellas Artes, Lázaro Cárdenas runs north towards the Plaza Garibaldi through an area crowded with seedy cantinas and eating places, theatres and burlesque shows. West of the Palacio de Bellas Artes lies the Alameda , first laid out as a park in 1592, and taking its name from the alamos (poplars) then planted. The Alameda had originally been an Aztec market and later became the site where the Inquisition burned its victims at the stake. Most of what you see now - formally laid-out paths and flowerbeds, ornamental statuary and fountains - recalls the nineteenth century, when it was the fashionable place to stroll. It's still popular, always full of people, the haunt of ice-cream and sweet vendors, illuminated at night, and particularly crowded at weekends, but it's mostly a transient population - office workers taking lunch, shoppers resting their feet, messengers taking a short cut and Zapatista supporters selling Subcomandante Marcos T-shirts. The Alameda was one of the areas worst hit by the 1985 earthquake, and a number of buildings are still shored up, while others (on the south side) have been cleared but not yet replaced.