Exclusive sightseeing tours

We have organized two private tours for delegates before the congress that will depart from and return to the Sheraton Centro Histrico subject to 38 people booking. The organizers reserve the right to cancel or limit attendance at any tour (with monies refunded) if bookings are below the required number.

Puebla and Cholula

Saturday 14 November
9.00 19.00
US$75 including transport, tour guide, entrance fees and lunch

The world-heritage listed city of Puebla is located 120 km from Mexico City. It is famous for its beautiful talavery pottery, colonial architecture, outstanding gastronomy and unique folklore. Legend has it that angels came down from heaven to help build the Puebla Cathedral, the main Catholic church of the city, which features majestic architecture and monumental towers. On the way there you can admire the impressive Popocateptl and Ixtlazihuatl volcanoes. Cholula boasts the largest pyramid on the continent.

Xochimilco Ecological Park

Sunday 15 November
9.00 15.00
US$30 including transport, tour guide, entrance fees, trajinera ride and lunch

Xochimilco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 23 km from the capital. Visitors can cruise the agrarian canal system on a colourful, flat-bottomed boat (trajiners). In Aztec times, with scarce prime farmland, the native Mexicans developed a system of floating reed mats loaded with soil used as gardens that fed the Aztec capital, hence its name, meaning Field of flowers.

On the way back you can admire the murals of the world famous Mexican artists Juan OGorman and Diego Rivera and see the Olympic Stadium.

Do-it-yourself sightseeing

Mexico City is 3,000 years old and as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western Hemisphere is the crown jewel of Mexicos cultural heritage. The finest museums, contemporary architecture, palaces, pyramids, castles and convents brimming with colonial art, the finest pre-Hispanic artifacts and Mexicos contemporary artists can all be found here. 

By Turibus

Anytime 9.30 to 20.00 each day

A good option for getting around Mexico City is the stress-free, double-decker Turibus that goes past many tourist highlights. Get on and off as often as you like. Listen to commentary about important sites as you pass them. The Turibus goes every half an hour and stops 150 metres from the Sheraton Centro Histrico. Tickets are purchased on board and cost about US$14 per day. For more information: www.turibus.com.mx

By bicycle

Sunday 15 November
Anytime from 9.00 to 17.00

The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources invites delegates to take a bicycle ride along the Paseo de la Reforma from the city center to the Chapultepec Park (see the map on page 15).
The Paseo de la Reforma is one of Mexico Citys most outstanding avenues. During the 19th Century this 12 km boulevard was conceived to showcase the citys architecture, banks and offices. Ancient residential areas are now transformed into fashionable venues, embassies, luxury hotels, exclusive art galleries and spectacular monuments. Strolling in this area is a favourite leisure activity on weekends for locals.
Free-hire bicycles can be collected from the Almeda Park, opposite the Sheraton Centro Histrico.