Tucked just southwest of the Pyramid of the Moon, the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl is the most architecturally complete elite compound at Teotihuacan. A small interior courtyard is surrounded by a portico of square pillars carved with feathered birds and butterflies, fragments of brilliantly painted murals are preserved under the eaves, and a sequence of rooms with low doorways opens off to either side. It is the best place to picture how a noble family actually lived in the city.
Below the palace, a separate excavated complex called the Patio of the Jaguars preserves more murals — jaguars blowing into conch-shell trumpets — and below that is the still earlier Temple of the Feathered Conches. Together they are one of the most rewarding stops on the whole site. Twenty minutes minimum; allow longer for the murals.