The imperial couple chose as their seat Mexico City. The emperor and empress set up their residence at Chapultepec Castle, located on the top of a hill formerly on the outskirts of Mexico City that had been a retreat of Aztec emperors. Maximilian ordered a wide avenue cut through the city from Chapultepec to the city center named Paseo de Chapultepec or Paseo de la Emperatriz. He also acquired a country retreat at Cuernavaca. The royal couple made plans to be crowned at the Catedral Metropolitana, but due to the constant instability of the regime, the coronation was never carried out.