Metro Isabel la Católica

Metro Isabel la Católica is named for the street of the same name, an important northwest thoroughfare through the Historical Center and to the Obrera neighborhood to the south. As such, it’s one of the most important Metro stations in the south of the center.

• The image of the station is one of the caravels of Christopher Columbus. Isabella I of Castille (1451–1504) was Queen of Castile from 1474 and, as the wife of King Ferdinand II, Queen of Aragon from 1479.  With Ferdinand, they’re still referred to as the Catholic Monarchs. Understanding something of their reign still helps us to understand something of the formation of the Mexico City we understand today. The unification of Spain under the Catholic Monarchs led to not just the October 1492 arrival of Columbus in the Americas, but to the Reconquista, and thus the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain in the same year. The Spanish Inquisition was to exert influence over New Spain for its entire history.

Metro Isabel la Católica was one of the first stations remodeled in a program begun in 2012. Today it might feel a little like a disco, but it’s easier than ever to get in and out.  As a prominent station in the Centro Histórico, of course it’s convenient to much of the south of the Centro. Most prominently are the pedestrian-only and very popular strolling streets of Regina and San Jerónimo.