Xochimilco - When Tenochitlan was a major metropolis, farmers cultivated their fields in floating gardens, chinampas. Xichimilco has a festive atmosphere, flower and vegetable markets, music and food (try the ice cream), and is crowded with families on the weekend. When you visit the floating gardens of Xochimilco, kids will enjoy a ride through the canals on a colorful flat-bottomed boat.

Stop into the Xochimilco Museum to see items that have been dredged up from the bottom of the lake.

In the Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco, restored marshlands are home to many birds and endangered species.

Granja del Tio Pepe (Del. Alvaro Obregon) - Take a visit to Tio Pepe's Farm, a children's farm with roosters, pigs, sheep, ducks, cows, where kids can ride a horse or donkey, feed parrots, chickens and rabbits, watch cooking and gardening demonstrations. Playground and snack bar, fun for little ones. Open daily.

Teotihuacan - First thing when you reach the magnificent ruins at Teotihuacan, kids can run down the Avenue of the Dead (Calle de los Muertos) and climb up to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun. From on top, you can see the ruins of this marvelous city that flourished from 200 BC to 650 AD and extended over an area as big as ancient Rome. Climb up the Pyramid of the Moon for another look over the city. In the Museo de Sitio, see items excavated from the site as well as a model of Teotihuacan in its heyday. A little distance from the pyramids, the Tepantitla complex has exquisite wall murals, particularly one of Tlaloc, the rain god.

Tula (Tula de Allende) - Tula is the Toltec city that came after Teotihuacan and before Tenochitlan. Tula (Tollan) is the legendary home of Quetzalcoatl, the great Toltec king and Feathered-Serpent god (whether the king became a god or vice versa is not clear). In legend, Quetzalcoatl led Tula to greatness, but was banished and wandered east to the Yucatan, where he died and turned into the morning star. The Tula ruins are not as impressive as Teotihuacan, but the Atlantes, huge stone columns in the shape of Toltec warriors are spectacular. There's also a large ball court to run around, and the museum has a fine Chacmool.

Water fun - If the weather is warm, head south of Mexico City, an hour or two away, to lakes, water parks and resorts where you can spend a day relaxing and having fun in the water.