Naucalpan · Naucalpan de Juárez

Five brightly colored concrete towers rise above the traffic on the Periférico: the Torres de Satélite are the symbol of Naucalpan de Juárez, a large industrial and residential city in the northwest of Mexico City. On a trip to the capital, the detour is worthwhile for modern architecture, one of the oldest pilgrimage churches in the Valley of Mexico, and archaeological finds.

From Tlatilco to Satélite

Naucalpan was once home to Tlatilco, one of the earliest settlements in the Valley of Mexico, where archaeologists found clay figurines from roughly 1200 to 200 B.C. – including the famous "pretty ladies." After the Conquest, the Santuario de Los Remedios was built, linked to the Noche Triste of 1520: this is where the Spanish are said to have recovered after fleeing Tenochtitlan. In the 20th century, Naucalpan grew with factories and new residential neighborhoods, above all the planned city of Ciudad Satélite, which was created in the 1950s as a modern suburb modeled on the United States.

Sights in Naucalpan

The Torres de Satélite were designed in 1958 by Mathias Goeritz and Luis Barragán, together with the painter Jesús Reyes Ferreira. The five triangular towers in red, yellow, blue, and white are up to 52 meters (171 feet) tall and are considered an icon of Mexican modernism. The Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, on a hill, is an important pilgrimage site; next to it stand the remains of a colonial-era aqueduct with two snail-shaped towers. Parque Naucalli hosts concerts, markets, and sports, and Plaza Satélite is one of the country's oldest large shopping malls.

Eating and Going Out in Naucalpan

Around Ciudad Satélite and San Bartolo Naucalpan Centro you'll find restaurants, cafés, and bars where the suburban middle class goes out on weekends. The markets sell barbacoa, quesadillas, tlacoyos, and pambazos, and on Sundays tacos de carnitas are a breakfast staple. If you'd like to try pulque, some traditional pulquerías in the metropolitan area still serve the fermented agave drink, often flavored with fruit. Avenida Lomas Verdes is a major strip lined with restaurants and bars, especially popular with young people. Satélite also has small bars with live music, where local bands play on weekends and the crowd stays until late at night.

Getting Around, Safety, and When to Go

Naucalpan is closely connected to Mexico City: the Periférico and numerous bus lines lead into the capital; the Tren Suburbano stops in neighboring Tlalnepantla, and Metro Line 2 ends at the city limits at Cuatro Caminos. MEX airport is about 25 kilometers (16 miles) away, an hour or more depending on traffic. Like many municipalities in the Estado de México, Naucalpan has problems with crime; visitors should avoid walking on quiet streets at night and use ride-hailing apps. The best time to visit is the dry season from October to April. Day trips lead to Tepotzotlán, the forest of the Desierto de los Leones, and the pyramids of Teotihuacan.