La Villa-Basílica station (metro Line 6)

What this station is for. It is the metro access to the Guadalupe shrine, the most visited religious site in the Americas. The station sits on Line 6 (red), which runs across the north of the city between El Rosario and Martín Carrera.

From the station to the Basilica. Allow about ten minutes on foot: from the exit, follow the Calzada de los Misterios or the avenue leading to the esplanade. You arrive at the back of the shrine; the complex includes the new basilica, the old one, the Expiatory Temple, the Tepeyac hill and the museum. Allow at least two hours for all of it, and climb the hill early, before the heat.

The alternative. La Villa-Basílica is the most direct station, but Line 3 stops at Deportivo 18 de Marzo, from where local transport also reaches the shrine. From the Historic Centre the journey takes around half an hour.

On 12 December. For the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe millions of pilgrims converge here: access routes change, streets close and the metro runs at capacity, sometimes with exit-only restrictions. If you come on those days, set out very early and travel light; to avoid the crowds, shift your visit by a few days.