Módulo Gran Hotel de la Ciudad de México

What this is. An official tourist information module inside the Gran Hotel Ciudad de México, on the Zócalo — free, staffed and selling nothing. Printed maps, public transport routes and verified opening hours for the whole city.

The building is worth walking into regardless. The Gran Hotel occupies a 1899 building that began life as a department store, and its lobby is one of the most photographed interiors in Mexico: a vast art nouveau stained-glass ceiling by Jacques Gruber, installed in 1908, over wrought-iron balconies, open cage lifts and a pair of century-old birdcages. You do not need to be a guest to see it.

Where it puts you. On the south-west corner of the Zócalo, which means the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Palacio Nacional and the Templo Mayor are all within three minutes on foot, and Madero street runs from the door to the Torre Latinoamericana.

Practical notes. 16 de Septiembre #82, Centro. Metro Zócalo-Tenochtitlan, line 2, comes out on the square itself. The module keeps daylight hours; the hotel lobby and its rooftop terrace are open later.