5 Days in Mexico City (2023)
Pre-Hispanic ruins and modern architecture in Cuicuilco
Five days in Mexico City isn't nearly enough to explore all the attractions of this metropolis, of course, but most tourists usually spend 4-5 days in the city and add one or two magical towns to their itinerary. So a 7-day tour might include a visit to the pyramids of Teotihuacán and a one-day trip to Tepoztlán, Malinalco or Valle de Bravo. The tour I'm recommending includes some of the main attractions of the city, but also traditional restaurants that I'm sure you'll enjoy, because I know one of the challenges many tourists face when visiting Mexico City is having to choose from the thousands of restaurants one can find here. At the end of the itinerary there's a list of magical towns you could explore not far from the city.
Please use the contact form to send me your questions and / or feedback if you've been to any of the places I recommend and you would like to share your experience with me. There's no such thing as a perfect standard itinerary, I know, but it's always a good idea to have a plan you can get back to in case the myriad of options is too much to handle.
1. Day 1. Polanco, Chapultepec
1.1. Breakfast at El Bajío Polanco
1.2. The Museum of Anthropology
1.3. Lunch at El Mirador de Chapultepec
2. Day 2. The historic center, Garibaldi
2.1. Breakfast at El Balcón del Zócalo
2.6.1. Museo del Tequila y el Mezcal
2.6.2. Dinner at Guadalajara de Noche
3. Day 3. The historic center, La Condesa
3.6. The Ciudadela handicraft market
3.8. Walking tour of La Condesa
4. Day 4. Xochimilco, Coyoacán
4.1. Breakfast at Lina Xochimilco
4.3. Lunch at La Casa de los Tacos
4.5. The main square of Coyoacán
5.1. Breakfast at San Ángel Inn
5.2. Walking tour of San Ángel
5.6. The round pyramid of Cuicuilco
5.8. Dinner at Antigua Hacienda de Tlalpan
6. Where to stay in Mexico City
7. How to get around Mexico City
8. What to visit near Mexico City
Day 1
Polanco, Chapultepec
Breakfast at El Bajío Polanco
📍 Alejandro Dumas 7, Polanco
📅 8 am - 11 pm Mon-Sat
9 am - 10 pm Sun
💚 Try: enchiladas verdes (shredded chicken, sour cream, cheese and chili peppers wrapped in flour tortillas topped with green chili sauce), omelette de nopales (cactus omelet)
The Museum of Anthropology
10 am - 5 pm Tue-Sun
Entry fee: 90 MXN
Happy dogs and purple jacaranda trees in bloom in Parque México
The Aztec calendar
The main attraction of the museum is the famous Aztec calendar known as Piedra del Sol (the Aztec sun stone). It weighs over 24 tons and has a diameter of 12 ft (3.7 m). It was created between 1250 and 1519 in the south of the city (in San Ángel or Xochimilco).
Most visitors spend 2-3 hours here, but if you wanted to see all the museum's exhibits in detail, it would probably take you two days. The museum has 22 rooms and 13,526 exhibits. It receives over two million visitors every year.
Lunch at El Mirador de Chapultepec (est. 1904)
📍 Avenida Chapultepec 606, San Miguel Chapultepec
📅 1 pm - 10 pm Mon-Wed
1 pm - 11 pm Thurs-Fri
1 pm - 8 pm Sat-Sun
💚 Try: sopa de tortilla azteca (Aztec tortilla soup), cecina de Yecapixtla (Yecapixtla-style salted meat), and flan napolitano (creamy custard) for dessert
💡 You will see many traditional dishes are cooked with chili peppers and you will often wonder how spicy the food is going to be. Asking the waiter might not always help as many Mexicans are used to eating very spicy food and what's 'not spicy at all' for some of them might be impossible to eat for you, so you will probably want to check 👉the Scoville scale, which measures the pungency of chili peppers in heat units. If you are not used to eating spicy food, you will probably not tolerate anything above 2,000 SHU (Scoville heat units).
The Chapultepec Castle
9 am - 5 pm Tue-Su
Entry fee: 90 MXN
Chapultepec is the only royal castle in the Americas and it is located in Chapultepec Park, the largest urban park in Latin America (1,695 ac / 686 ha). For the Aztecs this land was a sacred space only the members of the clergy and the ruling class had access to. The castle was built between 1778 and 1788 and it was the residence of eight Mexican presidents.
The only foreign emperor that Mexico had, Maximilian of Habsburg, lived here with his wife Charlotte of Belgium. Napoleon III invaded Mexico in 1862 and although he lost the famous battle of May 5th, he eventually defeated the Mexicans and reorganized the country as a monarchy, giving the crown to Austrian emperor Maximilian (1864-1867).
Chapultepec Park
Chapultepec Park is a squirrel haven
Take a walk in this beautiful park after lunch. After 5 pm most of the museums are closed, but you could walk around the lake and take dozens of photos of the monuments and green spaces. Here's a list of the main attractions of the park that will help you adapt the itinerary to your own interests:
👉The first section of the park (where the castle is)
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the CDMX (Ciudad de México) giant letters
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Los Pinos, former official residence and office of the Mexican presidents from 1934 to 2018
📅 11 am - 6 pm Tue-Sun
💲 free entry
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the Museum of Modern Art
📅 10:15 am - 5:45 pm Tue-Sun
💲 85 MXN (free entry on Sundays)
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boat rides on the lake
📅 9 am - 4:30 pm Tue-Sun
💲 from 40 MXN to 100 MXN (the fee depends on the number of people per boat)
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the zoo
📅 9 am - 4:30 pm Tue-Sun
💲 free entry
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the botanical garden
📅 9 am - 3 pm Tue-Sun
💲 free entry
👉The second section of the park
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the Xochipilli Fountain
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the Natural History Museum
📅 10 am - 5 pm Tue-Sun
💲 34 MXN
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the Papalote Children's Museum
📅 10 am - 6 pm Tue-Fri
10 am - 7 pm Sat-Sun
💲 215 MXN
If you'd like to visit Chapultepec Park with a guide, I recommend 👉the Aztec Explorers travel agency. They work with bilingual certified guides, and apart from experienced and professional, they are so much fun 👌
Dinner at Saks Polanco
📍 Campos Eliseos 133, esq. Lamartine, Chapultepec Morales
📅 7 am - 12 am Mon-Fri
8 am - 11:30 pm Sat-Sun
💚 Try: pollo con mole almendrado (chicken with traditional mole sauce, jasmine rice, beans and sesame seeds)
📜 The variety of ingredients in the mole sauce is just impressive. The black Oaxacan mole is made with peppers (three varieties), raisins, almonds, garlic, onions, cloves, tomatoes, bananas, chocolate, and cinnamon among other ingredients.
Avenida Masaryk
Masaryk is the main attraction of the upscale Polanco district and it is the most expensive street in Mexico and Latin America. In 1936 it was named after Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. According to 👉the 2022 Cushman & Wakefield Main Streets Across the World report, Masaryk is the 32nd most expensive street in the world.
Polanco is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Mexico.
Day 2
The historic center, Garibaldi
Breakfast at El Balcón del Zócalo
📍 Avenida 5 de Mayo 61, Centro
📅 9 am - 10:30 pm daily
💚 Try: chilaquiles verdes (baked tortilla chips known as totopos, topped with a green chili pepper or tomato sauce, sour cream and cheese)
💡 The level of spiciness depends on the variety of chili pepper used for the sauce. Chilaquiles could be mildly spicy or really spicy. Ask the waiter what chili peppers they used.
Catedral Metropolitana
9 am - 5:30 pm daily
Bell tower guided tour (every 40 minutes) fee: 30 MXN
10:40 am - 6 pm Mon-Fri
10:40 am - 7 pm Sat
It is the largest cathedral in Latin America and it took almost 250 years to build (1573-1813), so it will come as no surprise to see a mixture of styles here: Gothic, Plateresque, Baroque and Neoclassical. The Spanish used stones from the pyramid of Aztec war god Huitzilopochtli in the first phase of the construction and built the cathedral over the main temple of the Aztec capital (Templo Mayor).
The mass schedule:
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Mon-Thurs 10:30 am, 12, 1, 6, 7 pm
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Fri 10:30 am, 12:00, 1:30, 7 pm
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Sat 10:30 am, 12, 1, 6, 7 pm
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Sun 8, 9:30, 10:30 am, 12, 1:30, 4, 5, 6, 7 pm
Templo Mayor
9 am - 5 pm Tue-Sun
Entry fee: 90 MXN
Built by the Aztecs in 1325, Templo Mayor (the Main Temple) was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli (god of war) and Tlaloc (god of rain and agriculture). Before they settled here, the Aztecs lived somewhere in northwestern Mexico; it is not known exactly where, but this mythical place was called Aztlán. It is said that in 1116 Huitzilopochtli ordered the tribe to set off and build a city only in that place where they would find a golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a snake. Legend has it that in 1325 they saw that eagle on the future site of Templo Mayor and settled here, building not only a city, but an empire. The Mexican coat of arms depicts the eagle scene.
The Spanish destroyed the temple almost completely and the parts that were not destroyed were buried. They used the temple stones to build the cathedral and other important buildings in the newly conquered city.
In 1978, workers of the electric company were digging at the corner of Guatemala and Argentina Streets, when they uncovered a sculpture of moon goddess Coyolxauhqui (pronounced co-yol-SHAU-kee). An excavation project began in order to unearth the temple ruins.
Lunch at El Cardenal
📍 Calle de la Palma 23, Centro
📅 8 am - 6:30 pm Mon-Sat
8:30 am - 6:30 pm Sun
💚 Try: queso tapado (cheese topped with squash blossoms), chile relleno a la oaxaqueña (Oaxacan-style pork or beef stuffed pepper)
Dulcería de Celaya (est. 1874)
10 am - 7 pm Mon-Sat
Just a few steps away from El Cardenal you will find the oldest candy store in Mexico and the perfect place to try a traditional dessert. My top choices are glorias (goat milk almond candy) and jamoncillo de piñón (caramelized milk fudge with pine nuts).
Plaza Garibaldi
A truly magical place, Garibaldi is my top recommendation for those who want to enjoy mariachi music, folk dances and a shot or two (or more) of tequila and mezcal. The square is full of mariachi bands that you can actually take home if you want them to sing at a private party or if you'd like to surprise your girlfriend with a serenade. Prices vary depending on the number of band members. A band of four mariachis will charge 1600 MXN / 93 USD for a standard serenade (eight songs).
The square was named Garibaldi in 1921 in honour of Italian soldier Giuseppe Garibaldi (grandson of Giuseppe Garibaldi), who came to Mexico in 1911 to fight in the revolution.
Museo del Tequila y el Mezcal
2 pm - 9 pm daily
Entry fee: 90 MXN
The museum has two rooms, one where you will learn how tequila and mezcal are made and you will see an impressive collection of over 300 bottles, and a second one dedicated to the history of the mariachis. At the end of the tour you can have a drink on the first floor of the museum and listen to the mariachis that will inevitably approach you. Don't drink too much here, though, because where we're going next there will be more tequila and even more music.
Dinner at Guadalajara de Noche
📍 República de Honduras 9, Centro
📅 6.30 pm - 2 am daily
💚 Try: parrillada Guadalajara de Noche for 4 (grilled meat platter)
📜 There are two evening shows, at 8 pm and at 10 pm.
Guadalajara de Noche must be the ultimate Mexican experience because it really has it all: excellent traditional food and drinks and an amazing show that includes pre-Hispanic and folk dances, impersonators, mariachis, a lasso dance and other fun and short acts that will keep you entertained. There is also a live band that plays mostly Mexican songs at the end of the show, and the stage will be yours to show off your best dance moves.
Day 3
The historic center, La Condesa
Breakfast at Sanborns (est. 1903)
📍 Avenida Francisco I. Madero 4, Centro
📅 7 am - 12 am Sun-Thurs
7 am - 1 am Fri-Sat
💚 Try: huevos rancheros (fried eggs served on corn tortillas with tomato and chilli sauce), huevos Sanborns (eggs served with tomato and pepper sauce, poblano pepper, cream, cheese and beans)
📜 Sanborns was founded in 1903 by US immigrants Walter and Frank Sanborn and is now one of the most successful department stores in the country, with 202 branches. The 18th-century Baroque palace that houses the restaurant is an attraction in itself. Its façade is completely covered with blue and white tiles from the state of Puebla. In 1919, the Sanborn brothers bought the palace and opened Mexico's first soda fountain here.
Palacio Postal
8 am - 4 pm Mon-Fri
8 am - 12 am Sat
Free entry
Palacio Postal (the Postal Office Palace) is a symbol of the period known in the history of Mexico as Porfiriato (1876-1911), during which dictator Porfirio Díaz was in power (he was elected seven times). Díaz was considered a good dictator because during his 35 years of rule Mexico thrived economically. However, the shortcomings of his regime led to a revolution and the dictator's exile. The Porfiriato was a flourishing time for the upper class, but it provided very little to the poor Mexicans that comprised most of the population at the time. The Post Office Palace was designed by Italian architect Adamo Boari and it was built between 1902 and 1907.
Palacio de Bellas Artes
11 am - 5 pm Tue-Sun
Entry fee: 80 MXN
Photo fee: 30 MXN
Man, Controller of the Universe (detail), by Diego Rivera
Palacio de Bellas Artes (the Palace of Fine Arts) was built between 1904 and 1934 and it is without a doubt the most beautiful and prominent cultural center in Mexico. Apart from opera, ballet, theater and folk dances, it is an important venue for painting and sculpture exhibitions as well. You will see here Diego Rivera's famous mural Man, Controller of the Universe (1934). The artist painted it for the Rockefeller Center in New York, but the Rockefellers rejected his work because he included a portrait of communist leader Lenin, and they had the painting destroyed. Diego was a member of the Mexican Communist Party and socialist themes abound in his paintings. Two years later, he recreated the mural in Palacio de Bellas Artes.
See the upcoming events that will be held in Palacio de Bellas Artes and buy tickets 👉here.
I highly recommend Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández, a folk dance company founded in 1952 by dancer and choreographer Amalia Hernández. They have toured 60 countries and over 300 cities. See their event dates 👉here.
Alameda Central
View of the Alameda Central Park from the Miralto restaurant (on the 41st floor the Latin American Tower)
It is the oldest park in America (1592) and it was built on the model of the Alameda de Hércules park in Seville, the oldest park in Europe (1574). Its name comes from the many álamos (poplars) that were planted here in the 16th century.
Lunch at Café de Tacuba (est. 1912)
📍 Calle de Tacuba 28, Centro
📅 8 am - 11 pm daily
💚 Try: ensalada de nopales (prickly pear cactus salad), filete de huachinango estilo Tacuba (Tacuba-style red snapper fillet)
📜 Painter Diego Rivera and novelist Guadalupe Marín held their wedding reception here in 1922.
📜 Veracruz governor Manlio Fabio Altamirano Flores was assassinated here in 1936.
The Ciudadela handicraft market
10 am - 7 pm Mon-Sat
10 am - 6 pm Sun
La Ciudadela is Mexico's largest handicraft market and the perfect place to buy souvenirs. Around 350 vendors work here and sell traditional products from all Mexican states, so you will find an overwhelming variety of handicrafts. You will also take some of your best and most colorful photos here.
Parque México
Happy dogs and purple jacaranda trees in Parque México
This lovely park was built on the site of a former horse race track in the 1920s. It is the heart of the Hipódromo Condesa neighborhood, whose name reminds us not only of the famous race track, but also of the countess (condesa) who owned this land in the 18th century, María Magdalena Dávalos y Orozco. 40% of Hipódromo Condesa is green, which makes it the greenest neighborhood in Mexico City.
The park attracts many dog owners and dog walkers and there is a even a special landscaped area for dogs where they can play and run freely.
Walking tour of La Condesa
La Condesa is a truly magical neighborhood and you will love walking along the tree-lined streets and taking countless pictures of the green spaces and colorful houses. My favorite streets are Mazatlán, Alfonso Reyes and Fernando Montes de Oca, but the whole neighborhood is beautiful, and you will be impressed no matter where you decide to walk. No wonder most of the expat population lives in La Condesa (according to real estate company Propiedades.com).
Dinner at El Califa
📍 Cerrada Altata 22, Hipódromo
📅 12 pm - 4 am Sun-Thurs
12 pm - 6 am Fri-Sat
💚 Try: tacos al pastor (with marinated pork, pineapple, onion, cilantro and lime), gringa al pastor (flour tortilla sandwich with marinated pork, pineapple and cheese), pastel de tres leches (famous Mexican sponge cake made with three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk and whipped cream)
Day 4
Xochimilco, Coyoacán
Breakfast at Lina Xochimilco
📍 Calle 5 de Mayo 82, Xaltocan
📅 10 am - 4 pm Tue-Fri
10 am - 5 pm Sat-Sun
💚 Try: huevos Oaxaca (scrambled eggs with Oaxacan cheese dipped in green sauce and served with refried beans), enchiladas enmoladas rellenas de pollo (chicken-stuffed enchiladas with mole sauce)
The Aztec capital Tenochtitlán was a small settlement built on six lakes, which in the rainy season became one lake, Texcoco, of 772.20 mi² (2000 km²). In spite of this inhospitable setting, the Spanish decided to settle here and immediately initiated projects to expand the city and build dams to prevent flooding. Eventually a drainage canal was built, a project that was not inaugurated until 1900. Xochimilco still boasts canals and chinampas (floating gardens) and it will give you a feel for how the Aztec population lived here before the conquest.
You can cruise the canals in a boat called trajinera, which can easily fit 15 people. The shortest canal trip can be completed in one hour, but I recommend a two or three-hour tour where you could visit some interesting places along the way like the floating gardens, the ajolote museum (a Pokémon-looking amphibian that can only be found in the canals of Xochimilco) and the flower market (you will see carnivorous flowers here).
There is another attraction a little further down the canal known as the Island of the Dolls, a supposedly haunted floating garden covered in thousands of dolls that are hanging from the trees. Read the story of this mysterious island 👉here.
During the trip you will meet boat vendors who sell handicrafts, food and drinks, and even mariachi bands that will sing for you.
Lunch at La Casa de Los Tacos (est. 1970)
📍 Felipe Carrillo Puerto 16, Coyoacán
📅 8 am - 11 pm Sun-Thurs
8 am - 12 am Fri-Sat
💚 Try: quesadillas de huitlacoche (corn fungus quesadillas), burrito de pollo adobado (marinated chicken burrito with flour tortillas, beans, cheese, guacamole and pico de gallo)
📜 Pico de gallo is a salad made with tomatoes, onions, serrano chilli peppers, lime and cilantro. It accompanies many traditional dishes and it is a little spicy.
📜 La Casa de los Tacos is famous for its pre-Hipanic dishes, so you can try Aztec food like escamoles (ant larvae mixed with butter, onion, garlic, cilantro, epazote and green chili pepper) or chapulines (dried and roasted grasshoppers mixed with árbol chili peppers, garlic and peanuts and served with guacamole. See the menu for more pre-Hispanic dishes.
Frida Kahlo's house
10 am - 5 pm Tue, Thurs-Sun
11 am - 5 pm Wed
Entry fee: 250 MXN Tue-Fri
270 MXN Sat-Sun
Photo fee: 30 MXN
I would say Casa Azul (the Blue House) is probably the museum that most attracts foreigners in Mexico City. Painter Frida Kahlo was born and spent most of her life in this spectacular house that reflects her spirit and her passion for folk art so well.
Built in 1904, the house consists of ten rooms where you will see Frida's and other artists' paintings, letters, photographs, as well as traditional clothes and accessories that belonged to Frida, and Mexican-style furniture and decorations. My favorite room is the kitchen, with its bright yellow table and yellow tile floor, filled with pots and plates from towns renowned for their handicraft artistry like Metepec and Tlaquepaque. Take a virtual tour of the house 👉here.
The main square of Coyoacán
16th-century church San Juan Bautista
Coyoacán is a word of Náhuatl origin (the language of the Aztecs) which means 'place of coyotes'. Conquistador Hernán Cortés lived in Coyoacán from 1521 to 1522 and the first Spanish colonial government was located here.
The main square actually consists of two adjacent plazas, Hidalgo and Centenario. Hidalgo is one of the most loved parks in Mexico City, where people congregate especially on the weekend to relax and have a couple of churros or a cup of sorbet. The park gets its name from Miguel Hidalgo (1753 – 1811), Padre de la Patria (Father of the Nation), Catholic priest and leader of the Mexican War of Independence. You will probably hear his name pretty often. There are over 14 thousand streets named Hidalgo in Mexico, his face appears on the 1000 and the 200-peso bills, there is an Hidalgo subway station and an Hidalgo city borough.
A famous coyote fountain that everyone associates with Coyoacán is located in Centenario Park. Despite the neighborhood's name and the many coyote references, you won't meet any actual coyote, but if you'd like to explore the local flora and fauna, take a 15-minute walk to Viveros de Coyoacán, an impressive tree nursery and national park, home to almost 30 bird species and many squirrels.
Dinner at Pepe Coyotes
📍 Avenida Miguel Hidalgo 297, Coyoacán
📅 8 am - 1 am daily
💚 Try: alambre al pastor (marinated pork topped with chopped bell peppers, onion, grilled cheese and bacon served with flour tortillas), ensalada Coyotes (prickly pear cactus salad with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, spicy piquín chilli pepper, olive oil and tortilla strips)
Day 5
San Ángel, Tlalpan
Breakfast at San Ángel Inn (est. 1963)
📍 Diego Rivera 50, Álvaro Obregón
📅 7 am - 12 am Mon-Fri
8 am - 12 am Sat
8 am - 10 pm Sun
💚 Try: tamales oaxaqueños
📜 The tamale recipe dates back to pre-Hispanic times and today there are over 500 tamale recipes in Mexico. It is corn dough filled with cheese, meat, fruit, vegetables or herbs, then wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks and steamed. Tamales oaxaqueños (Oaxacan tamales) are wrapped in banana leaves and made with chicken and black mole sauce. In Náhuatl (the language of the Aztecs), tamalli means 'wrapped'.
📜 The restaurant is located in a former colonial building that was initially supposed to be a monastery, but then became the Spanish viceroys' favorite place of respite.
Walking tour of San Ángel
San Ángel must be my favorite neighborhood in Mexico City. What makes it special is the 16th-century atmosphere, the old majestic mansions that remind us of the Spanish aristocrats who lived here after the conquest, the narrow cobbled streets, and the silence that is otherwise so uncharacteristic of Mexico City.
💡 Cross the road from San Ángel Inn to Leandro Valle Street, then walk down Leandro Valle and turn left on Hermenegildo Galeana. At the end of the street you will find a beautiful quaint house called El Zacatito (TV series Cadenas de Amargura was filmed here). Turn right on Reyna, walk past a beautiful house that belonged to the Marquise of Selva Nevada, then turn left on Benito Juárez and you will find the church we are going to visit next a few steps further down the street on the right. This is one of my favorite walking routes in San Ángel. Feel free to explore any street you want here. Apart from beautiful, this neighborhood is also very safe.
Parroquia de San Jacinto
8 am - 1 pm, 4 pm - 8 pm Mon-Fri
8 am - 8 pm Sat
8 am - 9 pm Sun
Free entry
This 16th-century church was built by Dominican friars soon after the Spanish conquest and together with its vast green spaces it still preserves the colonial atmosphere. The church was one of the most important religious education centers for the indigenous population that lived in the area. Walk around the convent and enjoy the tranquility of its gardens.
Plaza San Jacinto
Toca Madera, Mexican home decor store in the heart of San Ángel
The heart of San Ángel, Plaza San Jacinto is the most touristic and therefore crowded part of the neighborhood. Every Saturday, handicraft vendors and painters gather here and the event is known as the Saturday Bazaar (Bazar del Sábado). You will find the most beautiful furniture and traditional home decor stores at the end of the park. Make sure you visit María Bonita (Plaza San Jacinto 17) and Toca Madera (Plaza San Jacinto 15).
This park is also associated with a sad event in the history of Mexico. In 1847, 71 Irish and German soldiers from the San Patricio Battalion, who had joined the Mexican army in the war against the United States (1846-1848), were executed on this site. A commemorative plaque was placed on the wall of a colonial house where the Toca Madera store is currently located.
Lunch at La Jacinta
📍 Plaza San Jacinto 3, Álvaro Obregón
📅 1 pm - 2 am Mon-Sat
10 am - 8 pm Sun
💚 Try: esquites (parboiled corn kernels with onion, árbol chili pepper and epazote, served with mayonnaise, grated cheese, lemon, and piquín chili pepper), salmón asado con marinado de chipotle (roasted salmon with chipotle marinade served with mash potatoes and mushrooms)
The round pyramid of Cuicuilco
9 am - 5 pm Tue-Sun
Free entry
Cuicuilco is worth visiting because it is believed to be the first large stone construction in Mesoamerica. It is a round pyramid built by the Cuicuilcas, an ethnic group that lived in the Valley of Mexico way before the Aztecs, from 800-700 to 50 BC.
In 300-150 BC, Cuicuilco had a population of approximately 40,000 inhabitants and it became the most important urban center in the Valley of Mexico. Their rise had an abrupt fall though. The Xitle volcano erupted in 50 BC and they had to abandon the city, which is ironic, because in Cuicuilco they were worshipping Huehuetéotl, the god of fire.
Their architectural and urban planning mastery served as inspiration in the development of the two most important cities of the Central Mexican Plateau, Teotihuacán and Tula.
Walking tour of Tlalpan
Tlalpan covers 20.7% of the city's area, which makes it the largest borough in Mexico City, but it is one of the least crowded ones with a population of approximately 700,000 inhabitants. Its vast green spaces, home to many endemic species, make it the most biodiverse borough in the city.
Tlalpan is also very safe when it comes to earthquakes because it was built on solid rock, not on the lake. Even its name says it: tlalli = land, pan = on.
Apart from the main square (Centro de Tlalpan), you might want to wander a little bit and discover a couple of historic mansions:
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Casa 'Frissac', residence of ex-president Adolfo López Mateos, now functioning as an art gallery
📍 Calle Moneda sn, Tlalpan Centro I
📅 8 am - 8 pm daily
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Casa Chata, an 18th-century mansion that currently houses a bookshop, Casa Chata Librería CIESAS
📍 Miguel Hidalgo s/n, Tlalpan Centro I
📅 8:30 am - 5 pm Mon-Fri
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Casa del Conde de Regla, another 18th-century mansion that belonged to Pedro Romero de Terreros, mining magnate and the first Count of Regla
📍 Calle Congreso 20, Tlalpan Centro I
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Casa Catipoato
Mexican golden age actress María Félix lived here. She married legendary actor Jorge Negrete in this house in 1952. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo were two of the most prominent guests at the event.
📍 Calle Mariano Matamoros 1
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Casa de Antonio López de Santa Anna, the former president's 17th century vacation home
📍 Avenida San Fernando 106
Dinner at Antigua Hacienda de Tlalpan
📍 Calzada de Tlalpan 4619, Tlalpan Centro I
📅 8 am - 1 am Mon-Fri
9 am - 1 am Sat
9 am - 7 pm Sun
💚 Try: chile en nogada
📜 In 1821, the nuns of the Santa Mónica Monastery in the state of Puebla created the chile en nogada recipe to celebrate Mexico's independence from the Spanish crown. In the colors of the Mexican flag, chile en nogada is the ultimate Mexican dish and the star of the national day festive meal on September 16. It is a poblano pepper stuffed with fruit, meat and spices, and topped with a walnut sauce with pomegranate seeds and parsley. This recipe was recognized by UNESCO in 2010.
📜 Dictator Porfirio Díaz and Mexican golden age cinema star Maria Félix lived in Antigua Hacienda de Tlalpan.
Where to stay in Mexico City
AirBnB
If you are planning to rent an AirBnB, the best neighborhoods in terms of infrastructure, safety and tourist attractions are without a doubt La Condesa, Hipódromo Condesa and La Roma (Roma Norte and Roma Sur). Also safe and excellent for walking, with green spaces and beautiful architecture are Del Valle and Narvarte. Being less touristic, the prices are also lower there.
San Ángel is quite expensive and far from most of the tourist attractions you will visit, but if you decide to rent here you will definitely feel like a 17th-century Spanish aristocrat and you will have an amazing experience. Tlalpan too is far from most places of interest, but if you don't mind the fact that it's a little isolated, you will actually enjoy a quiet stay in superb colonial surroundings. It takes about 20 minutes to get from San Ángel to the historic center by car, and about 25 minutes if you live in Tlalpan. From La Condesa or La Roma you could just walk to the historic center. It's a one-hour walk.
Hotels
My top recommendation when it comes to hotels in Mexico City is 👉The Red Tree House, a cozy bed and breakfast hotel in Hipódromo Condesa. It won the Tripadvisor Traveler's Choice Best of the Best award in 2023. I love the traditional interior design, the shared lounge and the garden. The staff are so welcoming and caring, and the warm conversations and laughs you will have in the lounge will surely make you feel like home.
I also recommend the Mexican Grupo Posadas company that owns and manages over 150 hotels around the country. Fiesta Inn, Fiesta Americana and Grand Fiesta Americana are excellent choices and they are reasonably priced. A very well-located hotel is 👉Fiesta Inn Insurgentes Viaducto, a few blocks away from La Condesa.
How to get around Mexico City
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Uber is the most popular taxi app, followed by Didi and Cabify.
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The subway is the safest means of public transportation in Mexico City and I myself love it because it's a cultural experience in itself. You can buy a rechargeable card at any subway or metrobus station and top it up whenever you want. One ride is 5 MXN.
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The metrobus is the next best option. One ride is 6 MXN.
💡 Don't take the subway 0r the metrobus at rush hour (7:30 am - 9:30 am, 5 pm - 8 pm).
💡 Don't take buses and peseros (green-and-white vans) as they are not very safe.
What to visit near Mexico City
Malinalco, Estado de México
Although Mexico City has so much to offer, there are many small towns (officially declared 'magical') not far from the city that I highly recommend visiting.
These are my top recommendations (the distance is calculated from the historic center of Mexico City):
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the pyramids of Teotihuacán (30.07 mi / 48.4 km)
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Malinalco, Estado de México (65.24 mi / 105 km)
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Metepec, Estado de México (37.03 mi / 59.6 km)
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Valle de Bravo, Estado de México (86.8 mi / 139.7 km)
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Tepoztlán, Morelos (51.44 mi / 82.8 km)
Check out my blog section about magical towns to learn more about these spectacular places.
I recommend visiting these towns in the company of 👉Aztec Explorers. Contact them and they will provide you with private transportation and a bilingual certified guide.
Travel tips
✏️ Use cash, not cards. 250 USD (∼4,270 MXN) will be more than enough for a 5-day trip.
✏️ Don't put your wallet in your back pocket.
✏️ Don't eat street food. Eating street food in Mexico is not always unsafe, of course. The locals know where it's safe to eat and where the food might be contaminated, but you don't want to take your chances. You can have the same traditional dishes in a restaurant.
✏️ Drink bottled water, not tap water.
✏️ Don't have ice in your drinks unless you have your drinks in a restaurant.
✏️ Use Microdyn (antibacterial product) to disinfect fruits and vegetables if you are planning to eat at home.
✏️ Don't take buses, peseros (green-and-white vans) or street cabs. The safest transportation option is Uber. The subway and the metrobus are safe options, but watch out for pickpockets when the trains get crowded.
Mexico City is truly magical and most tourists have an amazing time here, but you can have fun and prioritize your safety at the same time.
I wish you a fabulous time in the City of Palaces!