Cuautitlan

Introduction

Cuautitlán is a municipality in the State of Mexico, sitting just north of the northern tip of the Federal District within the Greater Mexico City urban area. The city of Cuautitlán is the municipal seat and makes up most of the municipality, so the urban core is where you will spend your time.

The name comes from Nahuatl and means "between the trees," a reminder of the landscape that once defined this part of the Valley of Mexico.

Three days in Cuautitlan

Day one: Start by getting your bearings in Cuautitlán, a municipality in the State of Mexico that forms part of Greater Mexico City. Its name comes from Nahuatl, and the town sits in the Valley of Mexico, so the setting gives you both a historic centre and an easy sense of how the capital region spreads outward. Use the day to walk the centre and adjust to the altitude and the warm, dry feel of the valley.

Day two: Look at how Cuautitlán fits into the wider urban picture. It belongs to the State of Mexico rather than the Federal District, yet it is tied to Greater Mexico City, so you can spend the day comparing the town's own identity with the pull of the metropolis around it. Keep your movements within Cuautitlán and the Valley, and let the contrast between local life and the larger conurbation set the pace.

Day three: Return to the elements that define the place: the Nahuatl origin of its name, its position in the State of Mexico, and its place within Greater Mexico City and the Valley of Mexico. Use the final day to revisit the parts of Cuautitlán you liked most, and to leave with a clear sense of how a municipality in the State of Mexico relates to the Federal District and the wider capital region.