And though the city's monumental examples of the beaux arts and art deco movements are well documented in civic buildings dressed up in a mixed bag of Classical Roman and Greek elements, the city actually received its greatest modern architectural contribution in the years after WWII, when Ludwig Mies van der Rohe pioneered the new "International Style".

BBC: The infamous architecture of Chicago

From here it's a 1.2km stroll southwest to the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Museum), as spectacular for its Art Deco design as it is for its murals.

BBC: Three days with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City

Housed within an Art Deco municipal swimming pool, 20 minutes by train from the city centre, it showcases fine arts, applied arts and sculpture in a delightfully watery environment.

BBC: The best French border towns