Mexico City

Everything you've heard about Mexico City's crowds and crime may have convinced you that it is not the best place for a family visit. But the vivid history, anarchic street life, eccentric museums and walkable neighborhoods make the Mexican capital an unexpectedly welcoming place for children.

The bloody story of the Spanish conquest, along with the Aztecs' predilection for violent spectacle (you will run across many accounts of both in museums and guidebooks) will satisfy any child's desire for gore. And Mexican kitsch, like papier-mâché skeletons and bags decorated with sequined figures of the Virgin of Guadalupe, will please the most discerning 11-year-old shopper.

Yes, you'll want to take precautions, especially when it comes to getting around. Avoid hailing taxis on the street; drivers of pirate taxis have been known to force passengers to use their A.T.M. cards to withdraw cash. Instead, arrange a hotel taxi for the day; their drivers usually speak some English. They may cite prices as high as 250 pesos (about $24 at 10.1 pesos to $1) an hour but you should haggle. The cheaper alternative is to ask for the nearest taxi stand, called sitio (pronounced SEE-tee-o). You can hire a taxi there for the day for about 100 pesos an hour.

An excellent way to get around is on the Turibus, a red double-decker bus that makes a circuit from the historic center, down the Paseo de la Reforma to Chapultepec Park and into neighborhoods like trendy Condesa and reviving Roma, in two and a half hours. A ticket for a weekend day costs 115 pesos for adults and 55 pesos for children aged 4 to 12. The bus passes every half hour and you can get on and off at any stop. If you decide to walk to get around, keep in mind that while air pollution has been reduced in recent years, the thin air at Mexico City's high altitude can be exhausting. (Local people say that drinking lots of water helps altitude-related headaches.) And don't buy food from street vendors.

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