Sunday is an amazing day to be in Mexico City. Everyone is out and about — sitting in parks, eating with family, and generally enjoying the day. It’s a great day for people watching and strolling through the Zócalo.

The Plaza de la Constitución, known as the Zócalo, is Mexico City’s most well-known landmark and plaza. Zócalo means ‘base’. In its early years (around the year 1629), there were plans to build a large monument in the center (base) of the plaza, but the monument never materialized. So, eventually, Zócalo became the unofficial name of the plaza.

The Zócalo is the location for many events, concerts, and festivals and it’s where we went for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. When we were here a few years ago, we saw a large anti-government demonstration here.  Almost every city we’ve visited in South America and Mexico has a central plaza but none as large as the Zócalo.

The Metropolitan Cathedral is at one end of the plaza and the National Palace is at the other end.  Alameda Central Park and the Palace of Fine Arts are a short walk from the plaza.

A few Sunday’s ago, we spent the day in the Zócalo and surrounding area. We marveled at beautiful architecture, ate great food, listened to music, saw a theater production, and practiced our Spanish with warm and friendly people.

Here’s how our day went.

Morning

We attended the 9:30 a.m. performance of the Ballet de Folkórico de Mexico at the beautiful Palacio de Bellas Artes.

The Palacio de Bellas Artes is one of the most iconic buildings in Mexico City. It is home to the Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Architecture and the National Theater. A crystal dome caps the elegant white marble building.

Construction of the palace began in 1904 but stopped during the Mexican Revolution. Construction resumed after the war and was finally completed in 1934.  Each week 10,000 visitors tour the UNESCO designated artistic monument.

The interior of the palace is just as elegant as the exterior. The red Carrara marble interior has an art deco design and features bronze statues and artistic murals throughout the building including the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.

Inside the theater, the main curtain is a stained-glass foldable panel created out of nearly a million pieces of iridescent colored glass by Tiffany’s in New York City. This stage curtain is the only of its type in the world and weighs nearly 24 tons.

We went to the Ballet Folklórico de México which performed Mexican folkloric dancing with a blend of ballet, traditional folk dancing, indigenous drumming, and Mariachi music. It was an exciting two-hour performance.

Afternoon

After the performance, we strolled around the Zócalo looking for lunch. There are countless options ranging from small stands with very low prices (75 cents for a taco) to expensive restaurants with international cuisine.

Because we love Mexican food, we were seeking traditional dishes. We found a little Mexican restaurant featuring tacos, tortas, quesadillas, and burritos. We ordered our tacos and beer and sat upstairs in a crowded dining area filled with locals eating with their families and friends.

Surrounding the Zócalo, there are shops where you can buy almost anything you need. On Sundays, the locals come to this area to shop and browse the stores. It’s a day of relaxing and visiting the traditional vendors and restaurants.

The “Chilango” (the name for Mexico City residents) attitude is to enjoy Sunday afternoons and Alameda Park is packed with happy people. One end of the park is lined with vendors and food stands. In the middle of the park, people are sitting and chatting with friends and neighbors. We saw musical performers, chess games, jugglers and clowns entertaining the kids.

We were tempted to join the free dance classes and we watched others jumping in to learn a new step or two. But because most everyone had some rhythm and we don’t, we opted not to embarrass ourselves.

We even saw an elderly couple dancing and handing out business cards promoting their dance studio. It was a carnival-type atmosphere that happens every Sunday.

Evening

As the sun began to set, we strolled back to the Zócalo where we came across various musicians and artists. These were not run-of-the-mill buskers but well trained, experienced musicians. We saw all types of music ranging from classical opera and symphony to 7-piece bands playing jazz or pumping out classic rock hits.  For years, musicians were not allowed to perform in the historic center. Even though there was really no law, musicians and entertainers were harassed by police when performing on the streets of the historic center. Four years ago, the Urban Musicians Collective of the Historic Center was established to share musical talent in safe spaces for musicians. Since its creation, musicians have staked out places in the historic center where they can perform and entertain locals and tourists.

What a treat it was to stroll down the streets in the historic center and be entertained by musicians and bands eagerly performing for us. For hours we walked around and watched the performers.

We were amazed by a young man and woman accompanied by a flute lustily singing classical opera in Italian (although it was hard for us to tell the difference between Italian and Spanish). We could hear them sing from three blocks away. Another performer sang while his partner held a sign stating, “Help me pay my tuition so I can remain in school”.

At the end of a day filled with walking and eating (the best way to experience CDMX), we decided to call it a night at 10 pm. We headed back to our apartment in an Uber while activities were in full swing and the streets and plazas were still filled with people.