During his brief reign as emperor of Mexico in the mid-1860s, Austrian-born Maximilian I ordered the construction of a wide boulevard that would traverse the country’s capital in the same fashion that the Champs-Élysées passed through Paris. The Hapsburg ruler, whom Napoléon III appointed to the throne, was executed by Mexican nationalists in 1867, but his European-style thoroughfare remains the heart of what is now the world’s second-largest metropolis. Set near Chapultepec Park and the National Museum of Anthropology and History, the Four Seasons Hotel, like its surroundings, displays European influences. Accommodations The eight-story hotel’s 200 guest rooms and 40 suites have courtyard or city views. Facilities The Four Seasons does not have a dedicated spa, but massages are available en suite or in one of the three treatment rooms at the hotel’s rooftop health club, which also includes a pool. Dining The formal Reforma 500 serves Mediterranean-style cuisine indoors or on the courtyard. El Bar offers casual Dining and an extensive menu of fine sipping tequilas. Concierge Recommends Take a weekend tour with the hotel’s art historian, visiting the nearby Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacan and the Dolores Olmedo Patiño Museum, home to one of the largest private collections of works by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Rates From $370 for a standard room to $3,950 for the three-bedroom presidential suite.
