The silver barons of the colonial era had their homes here. Emperor Maximillian and his Carlota spent many a weekend in the town and might have built their Versailles here if they had had the time. Recently the population passed the one million mark and the airport was opened on the Taxco highway, capable of handling large jets. A big attraction of the town is the climate. In Cuernavaca, with an altitude about 2,000 feet lower than Mexico City, the weather is always spring-like, and it's close to the Federal District.
People go there to relax.
It boasts many restaurants, including one regarded by many to be among the finest in the country. When not eating, swimming or sleeping, visitors in the town tend to gather at the plaza, where they may sip a beer at the sidewalk cafe or lounge as they watch other people watch them. In a way, the atmosphere is quite European. The center of town surrounds not one, but two big plazas, next to each other. Over-looking the larger one is the Palace of Cortes, built by the conqueror in 1530 and said to be the only monument to him in Mexico.