The National Historical Museum emerged from the division of the collection of the Natural History Museum into two museums, the second being the National Museum of Anthropology. The Museum of History is located in the Chapultepec Palace, the former residence of the President of Mexico, the highest point of the park of the same name. More than 150,000 objects of the 16th-20th centuries are exhibited in 20 halls of the museum: antique furniture, weapons, costumes, jewelry, banners, written documents and photographs, coins and medals, old engravings, sculptures and paintings. The walls of the palace are decorated with murals made by a number of famous Mexican artists. On the top floor of the museum there is a small diorama recreating the rooms of the castle during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (von Habsburg), who lived in the palace with his wife, the Belgian princess Charlotte.
The museum building also houses a souvenir shop, a small library, an auditorium, and a cafe.