The tradition of Chapultepec Castle as a residence for Mexican rulers dates back to the 14th Century when Nezahualcoyotl, the King of Texcoco, ordered a palace to be built at the foot of the hill, together with certain hydraulic installations designed to take advantage of the natural springs which also occurred there. The proximity of the site to the adjacent lake facilitated the growth of massive cypress trees, some of which thrive here to this day.

Following the Spanish Conquest, Hernan Cortez took possession of Chapultepec as part of his spoils and it subsequently served as a hunting preserve for the Viceroy de Velasco. In 1530 it became a public park and the property of the local city council, and construction was initiated to rebuild the aqueduct needed to quench the thirst of the growing capital of New Spain.

A French invasion altered the landscape of Chapultepec as the construction of the Imperial Palace of Maximilian von Hapsburg and the layout of a majestic avenue to connect the Castle with Mexico City were initiated. Plans were drawn up in France to add a second floor to the principal facade of the main building, including the Fortress, and renovations were completed to convert the Castle into a regal residential palace.

The Golden Age of the Castle came, however, during the government of Porfirio Diaz. The General who, ironically, had liberated the city from the conservative forces of the Second Empire, managed to imbue Chapultepec with the ostentatious lifestyle that Maximilian and Carlotta had yearned for, and which included decorating its interior in extravagant European luxury. It was here that President Diaz had his noteworthy meeting with Creelman, the American journalist, which left the heavy ironwork doors ajar to the Revolutionary surge of 1910.

In 1944 the National History Museum was established in the Castle, and important documents and memorabilia covering Mexicoís history from the Conquest until the Revolutionary period can be seen here. The presidential chambers can be visited in the Fortress, and a magnificent panorama of Mexico City can be viewed from the terraces.