About Chapultepec Castle
The Only Royal Castle in the Americas
Chapultepec Castle stands on a basalt hill 40 metres above Mexico City's Bosque de Chapultepec. It is the only castle in the Americas to have served as an imperial residence — home first to Aztec rulers who made this hilltop a ceremonial site, then to Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg and Empress Carlota, who transformed it into a European-style palace in the 1860s.
History
Construction of the present structure began in 1785 under Viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez, who died before its completion — leaving the castle unfinished and largely abandoned for decades. Maximilian and Carlota arrived in 1864 and undertook a grand renovation: importing French stained-glass windows (the Galería de Emplomados), installing marble staircases, and commissioning murals that still line the walls today. After Maximilian's execution in 1867, the castle served successive Mexican presidents until President Lázaro Cárdenas opened it to the public as the National Museum of History in 1944.
What You'll See
The castle's 22 rooms span the full arc of Mexican history — from the Sala de los Virreyes with its 62 portraits of colonial governors, to the murals of David Alfaro Siqueiros and John O'Gorman depicting Mexico's revolutionary battles. Carlota's piano, Maximilian's private library, and the state carriages of both Maximilian and independence hero Benito Juárez remain on display. The Castle Observatory Tower (Caballero Alto) offers panoramic views across the city and — on clear days — to the snow-capped peaks of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl.
