Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico’s capital is practically a country unto itself. Its more than 22 million residents – known as chilangos – can be forgiven for thinking that their colossal city is Mexico. There is more food, more art, more music, more shopping, more history, and certainly more traffic in Mexico City than the rest of the country combined.
Yes, Mexico City is a huge, bustling metropolis, but the tourist routes are well marked and it is relatively easy to find your way to the main attractions. Plus, the city empties out considerably during major holidays – aim for Christmas or Easter break – making it much easier to move about. Give yourself at least three or four days to see and do everything in this short guide, but realize that it would take a lifetime to grasp the immensity and complexity of one of the world’s great cities.
-- By Dave Roos
A city this size has accommodations to fit every taste and budget. For a central location with lots of historic charm, you
can’t beat the Hotel Majestic. This seven-story, four-star hotel – now run by Best Western – is a fixture in Mexico City’s
main plaza, known as the Zócalo. It’s often fully booked, so reserve a couple of months ahead. Another great hotel on the
Zócalo is the more modern Sheraton Centro Histórico Hotel.
For classic luxury, it’s got to be the Four Seasons. Pamper yourself at this Mexico City institution, famous for its remarkable service and ideal location on the Paseo de la Reforma near Chapultepec Park and the Museo Nacional de Antropología. Another perennial favorite with businessmen and upscale travelers is the Camino Real with its gorgeous works of contemporary art and five restaurants, including the first Le Cirque outside of the United States. The high-end Nikko Hotel is also centrally located in the Polanco area. The Sheraton Maria Isabel is a long-time favorite overlooking the famous ángel statue on Reforma and the Zona Rosa.
Battling it out for the hottest new hotels in town are Condesa DF and the W Hotel. The Condesa DF is a celebrity magnet with a lively rooftop restaurant and bar, a hot-ticket dance club and its own movie theater. The rooms are über stylish – think retro-minimalist – and über expensive. The W Hotel in the trendy Polanco district is equally popular for its nightlife as its lush rooms with “whatever/whenever” service. Don’t miss the Temazcal, an indigenous cleansing treatment in the hotel’s full-service spa and fitness center.
For a quieter, boutique experience, the best bet is La Casona, a stately 29-room hotel with an excellent breakfast and prime location in La Roma.
-- By Dave Roos
Mexico City is a foodie’s fantasy. It’s the nation’s culinary melting pot, where the best of Mexico’s unique regional cuisine
rubs shoulders with fine international restaurants and way too much amazing street food. For information about regional dishes,
please see our food section.
For a delicious sampling of Mexico’s favorite dishes, no one does it better than Café Tacuba in the historic city center. The atmosphere is classy turn-of-the-century – brass lamps, murals – and the food is traditional and superb. Come for the pozole, a soul-satisfying pork and hominy stew, the enchiladas, tamales, chiles rellenos and mole.
Another traditional favorite with locals and visitors is Casa Merlos in the Observatorio district, a poblano (“from Puebla”) restaurant specializing in the region’s famous chocolate-inflected mole, as well as chiles stuffed with goat cheese, pork, nuts and raisins. A slightly fancier, but equally popular traditional Mexican restaurant is the Fonda El Refugio, serving first-rate versions of regional specialties from across Mexico.
For gourmet Mexican food – traditional ingredients used in adventurous ways, often influenced by French or Asian cuisine – the current champ is Izote, run by famed cookbook author and chef Patricia Quintano. The décor is simple and upscale, the food inventive yet distinctly Mexican, and the price tag not unreasonable for a fancy night out.
In an odd twist of history, Mexico was ruled for a short time by the French in the mid-19th century. And French culture – promoted by the Francophile Mexican president Porfirio Diaz – still has a place in the art, architecture and cuisine of Mexico City. One of the best spots for French food is currently Le Olivier, a bistro-style restaurant serving mouth-watering steak frites, cassoulets and soufflés.
At the end of the day, street food is still king in Mexico City. For a safe, but still authentic taco experience, try one of these three chains, with outlets throughout the city: El Tizoncito, El Califa and El Farolito.And for a life-changing torta (Mexico’s national sandwich), check out La Tecocana, a standing-room-only joint next to the Popular Arts Museum.
-- By Dave Roos
A visit to Mexico City begins in the Zócalo, the second-largest plaza in the world next to Moscow’s Red Square. While most
cities in Mexico have a zócalo, Mexico City’s is the original, grandest and the one with the most cultural significance so
it is always capitalized. The Zócalo, officially known as the Plaza de la Constitución, is ringed with stately, well-preserved
colonial buildings, the most famous being the immense 17th-century cathedral and the Palacio Nacional, home to vivid Diego
Rivera murals depicting Mexico’s often tortuous history.
Mexico City was built atop the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. You can visit the ruins of the Templo Mayor (which are still being excavated) a short walk from the Zócalo. Also within walking distance is the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), an extravagant white-marble building constructed by the French-loving Porfirio Díaz. The best reason to visit the Palacio, aside from its stunning architecture, is the Ballet Folklórico de México.
The next stop should be the Museo Nacional de Antropología, a huge (huge!) museum with some of the most impressive artifacts from the history of the New World. Few people have the stamina to give this Mexico City institution, one of the leading anthropology museums in the world, the time and attention it deserves. Consider visiting it on two separate days to give your brain a chance to rest. The museum is located on the fringes of the Bosque de Chapultepec, the city’s largest green space. Inside the park, visit the castle of the Austrian Emperor Maximilian, who briefly ruled Mexico in the 1860s. There’s also an amusement park, a zoo, several lakes with boats for rent, and lots of open recreation spaces.
In the centrally located Zona Rosa you can still find many hotels, restaurants, shops, boutiques, and antique stores in a pedestrian-friendly environment. However, this once-trendy neighborhood has seen better days.
The rest of the most popular tourist attractions are slightly outside of the city center. Mexican art lovers will want to visit Coyoacán, home to Frida Kahlo’s childhood residence, now converted into an eclectic Kahlo museum. The town, which used to be a separate pueblo (before being swallowed up by Mexico City’s endless expansion) is best experienced on the weekends, when its quaint stone plaza is filled with live music and street performers.
When the Aztecs lived here, Mexico City was a “floating” city of intricate canals dug into a huge lake. The floating gardens of Xochimilco are a chance to recreate the Tenochtitlan experience, Mexico City style. Rent one of the hundreds of brightly painted lanchas (gondola-style boats) and take a leisurely ride through the canals of this small town, 20 miles southeast of the city center. For a few extra pesos, you can enjoy a meal prepared by a floating kitchen or be serenaded by drifting musicians. On Sundays, the place is swamped (pun entirely intended) by families creating a more festive experience.
Don’t miss a trip to Teotihuacán, the site of fantastic pyramids north of Mexico City. Tours and transportation are easily arranged. Teotihuacán is surrounded by mystery, but there is no doubt that this is one of the world’s most impressive cultural sites. Explore this large archeological jewel by walking down the Avenue of the Dead (the site’s main walkway) or climb to the tops of the gigantic Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon to enjoy unparalleled views. For more detailed information about archaeological sites in Mexico City and surrounding areas, visit our archaeology section.
-- By Dave Roos
Mexico City deserves its reputation as a cultural and club mecca. This is reflected in its buzzing nightlife with an endless proliferation of clubs, bars, restaurants and concert venues filled with hip, beautiful young people. The roster of hotspots is always changing, but here are some longstanding favorites.
For big-ticket international and national bands, the four main venues are the Auditorio Nacional, the Teatro Metropólitan and the Palacio de los Deportes. For a smaller, more authentic live music experience, check out the Joronga Bar at the Hotel Maria Isabel Sheraton for its excellent mariachi shows.
The bar scene in Mexico City is legendary. Some favorites are La Casa de las Sirenas – serving 146 types of tequila – and the Centenario, a traditional Mexican cantina that’s packed to capacity with singing partygoers in the hopping Condesa district. The current see-and-be-seen watering hole is the Whiskey Bar, where you’re most likely to fight for bar space with the next big Mexican movie star. Equally trendy are the rooftop bars at the Condesa DF and the Habita hotel.
For something completely different, head down to the rowdy Arena México for an unforgettable night of lucha libre, Mexican professional wrestling. The wrestlers, many wearing colorful masks, go all out for the crowd in Mexico’s biggest and best-known lucha venue. Fights are often broadcast live on national TV.
-- By Dave Roos
Like the food scene, Mexico City is a showcase of the best of regional Mexican art, jewelry and handicrafts. To get an idea
of what’s out there, visit the store at the Museo de Arte Popular. You might not want to actually buy anything here, since
the prices are generally higher than elsewhere in the city, but the museum store will give you an idea of the numerous arts
and crafts available in this diverse city. In fact, a few blocks away in the Centro Artesanal la Cuidadela is a huge market
with more than 300 vendors selling every Mexican handicraft imaginable – silver jewelry, wood sculptures, embroidered clothing,
textiles, leather products, onyx figurines – at reasonable prices.
For really high-end regional Mexican crafts – and the prices that accompany them – make an appointment to visit the family-owned Victor Artes Populares Mexicanos located downtown. For more than 50 years, this shop has searched far and wide for the best examples of indigenous crafts from states like Oaxaca to sell to international art buyers.
Some of the other most popular destinations for craft shoppers are the Centro Artesenal, the Bazar del Centro and the maze-like, Mercado Insurgentes in the Zona Rosa. But for the most enjoyable and authentic Mexico City shopping experience, you can’t miss the Bazar del Sábado, held every Saturday in the fancy southern suburb of San Ángel. High-end blown glass, masks, and embroidered clothing are sold in the bazaar’s central building, a stylish mansion surrounding a courtyard café. The shopping experience spills out into the cobblestone streets and plazas of San Ángel, where open-air vendors sell original artwork and sumptuous street food.
-- By Dave Roos
Mexico City is located in a vast valley, surrounded by mountains, and the weather is generally mild. As the capital is located at 7,349 feet above sea level, it can get chilly in the mornings and late at night, but daytime temperatures are pleasant year-round. The lack of rain in the winter months makes the pollution more concentrated. The rainy season, May through October, brings cleaner air and strong mid-afternoon showers.
Best time to go: March through May (high 79°, low 46°)
Average annual temperature: 61 degrees
Hottest months: March, April, May
Coolest months: November, December, January
--By Judy Jenner
