Hernan Cortes House

What it actually is. The building on the north side of Plaza Hidalgo, in the centre of Coyoacán, known locally as the Casa de Cortés —and today the Coyoacán borough offices, the Casa Municipal. Tradition holds that Cortés lived and governed on this spot during the rebuilding of Mexico City after 1521, when Coyoacán briefly served as the seat of power. The building you see, however, is an eighteenth-century construction with later alterations: the site is historic, the walls are not Cortés's.

What to look at. The long red facade with its arcade and the two small towers, the coat of arms over the entrance, and the courtyard, which can usually be entered during office hours. It is the backdrop to everything that happens in Coyoacán: the plaza, the Jardín Centenario with its coyote fountain, and the church of San Juan Bautista opposite.

Practical notes. Open Monday to Friday 08:00–21:00 and closed at weekends —which is the opposite of when visitors come, so if you want to see the courtyard, come on a weekday. There is no admission charge, and it is an administrative building, not a museum: there are no exhibits. Weekends are when the plaza itself is at its best, with the markets and the crowds.