The current perimeter of the Historic Center exceeds the island on which the pre-Hispanic city of Tenochtitlan was founded. Its main point is the Plaza de la Constitución, known as the Zócalo, the second largest in the world, because together with the surrounding streets, it has an area of ​​46.8 km2.

The Historic Center of Mexico City was declared a Zone of Historical Monuments in 1980, and in 1987 it was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. The monument area covers 9.1 km2 and is made up of 668 blocks, where there are numerous buildings of historical and artistic interest, in which pre-Hispanic vestiges and constructions dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries are located. Some of its emblematic buildings are: the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Tabernacle, the National Palace, the Palace of Fine Arts, the temples and ancient convents of San Agustín, Santo Domingo, de la Enseñanza, San Francisco, the Old College of San Ildefonso, the National Monte de Piedad, the Mining Palace, the National Museum of Art, the Postal Palace, the Iturbide Palace, the National Museum of World Cultures, the Old Palace of the Inquisition and the Old Temple of San Pedro and San Pablo, among others.