When you’re rushing around a mega-metropolis on a business trip, you’re not likely to stop and reflect on the city’s past. But if that metropolis happens to be Mexico City, and you can find a couple of hours in a busy schedule for a quick history lesson, there’s nowhere better to go than Museo de Templo Mayor in the heart of the city’s historic district.

It’s hard to believe this fast-paced, 21st-century city was once the 14th-century Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan, but the excavations at Museo de Templo Mayor will make you a believer. One of the nice things about this excellent indoor and outdoor museum for the business traveler is that it is intimate, informative and easy to cover in a short amount of time. 

Specifically, the museum is dedicated to the excavation of The Great Temple of pre-Hispanic civilization, built in the 14^th century. Destroyed by the Spanish in the 16th century, it was buried under subsequent buildings until it was rediscovered in 1978.

Follow up a self-guided walking tour of the various layers of the excavation — signs are in English —  with a trip to the museum, where artifacts found during the excavation are housed.