Calle Francisco I. Madero

The calle Francisco I. Madero, in Mexico City

The calle Francisco I. Madero is one of the most historic and most frequented streets of Mexico City, linking the Zócalo to the Alameda Central. The Mexico City audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this pedestrian artery lined with palaces, that bears the name of Francisco Madero, a major figure of the Mexican Revolution, and the history of the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz that preceded it.

The street of the hero of the Revolution

You walk here in one of the most historic streets of Mexico City. Historic because it has always figured among the most frequented arteries of the capital, but also because it bears the name of a figure inseparable from the history of the country: Francisco Madero. This former president of the Republic was one of the most striking figures of the Mexican Revolution, that began on the 20th of November 1910. It is after thirty-five years of dictatorship imposed by the statesman Porfirio Díaz that the conflict broke out, a conflict that lasted more than ten years and led, in 1917, to the adoption of a Constitution that did not achieve unanimity. Let us speak a little of this dictatorship: Porfirio Díaz was elected president in 1876, after having led a rebellion against the president Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. Being able in principle to serve only one term, he first ceded the place to one of his friends before getting re-elected in 1884, then maintaining himself in power for decades, a period called the Porfiriato. Madero, for his part, called for democracy and the respect of suffrage, triggering the uprising. Today entirely pedestrian, the calle Madero links the Zócalo to the Alameda Central and concentrates some of the finest colonial palaces of the city, like the Casa de los Azulejos, in the midst of a lively crowd. A historic street and a pedestrian artery, the calle Francisco I. Madero is a fine stop of the discovery of Mexico City.

What to see

Here you walk along one of the most historic and frequented streets of Mexico City, a pedestrian artery linking the Zócalo to the Alameda Central, lined with splendid colonial palaces like the Casa de los Azulejos; it bears the name of Francisco Madero, a major figure of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, that put an end to the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. The calle Madero is the pedestrian heart of Mexico City. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The calle Francisco I. Madero links the Zócalo to the Alameda Central, in the heart of the historic centre of Mexico City, reachable on foot or by metro. It is a pedestrian street freely accessible, lined with palaces, shops and cafés, very lively all day. You walk along it during a stroll in the centre.

Who was Francisco Madero, whose street bears the name in Mexico City?

A former president of the Republic and one of the major figures of the Mexican Revolution, triggered on the 20th of November 1910; he called for democracy and the respect of suffrage after thirty-five years of dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, the Porfiriato. The street that bears his name, entirely pedestrian, links the Zócalo to the Alameda Central and concentrates splendid colonial palaces.

Where is the calle Francisco I. Madero in Mexico City?

Between the Zócalo and the Alameda Central, in the heart of the historic centre of Mexico City, in Mexico.