PLACES. AMERICA, NORTH. MEXICO CITY.

💚🤍❤ Welcome to México!

This is my hometown and I am passionate about sharing its richness with others. I prepared this short guide to help you navigate the place and enjoy it to the fullest.  This guide should help you enjoy the city during a 5 tp 6 day trip.

Cheers,
Fran

🏡 Where to stay

The Condesa-Roma-Juárez area is the place to be. It is quite gentrified, but that comes with pros and cons. It’s beautiful, green, trendy, full of restaurants, cafés and bars. It’s also packed with tourists and among the most expensive areas in the city. It is also very centric, and you can actually get everywhere you need to go in a fair amount of time from here.

🌮 Eating

I hope you’re adventurous when it comes to food! I’ll send you exactly where I would go myself. But don’t forget that food is spicy. Really spicy. 

🍻 Drinking

People don’t really drink wine here. Get ready to drink a lot of beer and always ask if they make good Micheladas. If you want to enjoy the most, don’t be shy and order a good tequila, mezcal, long drink or cocktail at any time of the day. You’ll never be the only one.

💡 Good-to-know 

• Mexico City is generally very safe! That said, always keep an eye on your belongings and be mindful of your surroundings. 
• Walking is a great way to see the neighborhoods, but only if you know where you are. Don’t wander off! 
• However, most distances are not walkable. Stick to Uber or private taxis for safer rides. 
• If you want to stay connected, a local SIM card with unlimited internet is very cheap. 
• Don’t drink the tap water. 
• At bars and restaurants, a tip of 10-15% is customary (sometimes they include it in the bill at the end, so watch out)  
• And finally, food is spicy. No, really.

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1️⃣ One-Day Itineraries

(in no particular order)

➡️ Centro Histórico 

Start with breakfast at El Cardenal (Calle Palma #23). Make sure it’s the one on Calle Palma, and be there before 9 to avoid the long queue. Traditional Mexican breakfast is something to behold. You usually start with sweet pastries (try the concha) and chocolate caliente (a must) and then move on to the savory dishes.

Walk to el Zócalo, explore the neighboring streets and visit the Catedral Metropolitana and Templo Mayor (ruins and museum). This should fill your morning, so grab a drink at the rooftop of Hotel Círculo Mexicano (República de Guatemala #20).

For lunch, walk west on street Francisco I. Madero and head to El Huequito (at the corner of streets Bolivar and República de El Salvador; you won’t find it online) and get tacos al pastor and a chicharrón de queso. 

In the afternoon, choose some of these: Palacio de Bellas Artes, Torre Latinoamericana (skyscraper with a fantastic 360° view), Museo Mural Diego Rivera, Museo Nacional de Arte.

For dinner, head to Azul Histórico (Isabel La Católica #30, inside the hotel Downtown) – book in advance. 

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➡️ Chapultepec-Reforma 

Start with breakfast at Lardo (Agustín Melgar #6) and follow the Mexican way: start with the pastries (must try: rol de guayaba) and then explore the savory menu.

Take a short Uber ride to the Museo Nacional de Antropología (Paseo de la Reforma) but don’t go in yet. From there, walk through the Chapultepec Forest (it’s really a big park) and up the hill to the Museo Nacional de Historia. The museum is housed in an old castle (Castillo de Chapultepec) that used to be home to the emperor Maximiliano and later a military school. Enjoy the views before you go back down and towards the Anthropology Museum. Grab a snack in the food stalls around the park before you explore the museum, which is huge. If you have time before dinner, check out one of these: Museo Tamayo de Arte Contemporáneo or Museo de Arte Moderno. Finally, stroll east on Paseo de la Reforma for one of the most iconic sights in the city, the Ángel de la Independencia.

For dinner, go to Terraza Cha Cha Cha (Av. de la República #157) and order everything 😁 the drinks are excellent too. The place is also famous for a unique view unto the Monumento a la Revolución. Reserve way in advance.

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➡️ Teotihuacán 

A visit to the city of the dead and the ancient pyramids is a must when in CDMX. I recently booked this Airbnb experience for my Swiss family and they loved it! They pick you up at 8am and get you back to the city by 3-4pm. 

https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/381092

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➡️ Coyoacán 

This is the area were I grew up 🤓 The famous Frida Kahlo museum is also here; if you want to visit it you have to buy your tickets way in advance.

If you are, plan your day around the museum, since they assign you a specific slot to go in. Otherwise, start at around 10am and grab an Uber to Plaza de la Conchita. You will see a tiny church there, it’s one of the oldest in the city and commissioned by Hernán Cortés himself. Also, my parents got married there 👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️

Walk then to the Parroquia San Juan Bautista while you take in the vibe. The area around this big church is simply known as Centro de Coyoacán, if you visit on a weekend there’s a huge mobile market selling all kinds of crafts. Head to the Mercado de Coyoacán, both for lunch and for a cultural visit. Keep an eye out for Tostadas Coyoacán, but honestly everything is great.

Grab a coffee at the famous café El Jarocho before you head back to your home base.

For dinner, keep it folkloric and try a traditional cantina. Cantina used to mean a bar with food – many years ago people would only order drinks and the food was served for free. Today they’re just restaurants but with a special vibe.

Here some options: 

• La Coyoacana (Higuera #14) in case you couldn’t have enough of this neighborhood 
• Salón Ríos (Río Nilo #71) a bit of all things Mexico 
• La Riviera del Sur (Chiapas #174) traditional Yucatecan food 
  
  

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➡️ Xochimilco 

Another must-visit. This whole area resembles what Mexico used to look like 600 years ago. The city was built over water and these canals were the main means of transportation, for goods and people.

The idea is to show up at around 11am, book a round trip on a traditional boat (called trajinera) and enjoy the bliss of life.

There are several spots from where you can start these tours. My favorite is Embarcadero Cuemanco:

As you arrive to the pier you will see there are plenty of food stalls. Before you hop on the boat, order quesadillas to go, and micheladas by the liter. A good tour is around 2 hours.

Recharge your batteries before a night out. Head to Salón Tenampa (Plaza Garibaldi #12), an iconic restaurant that feels like being in a movie. The ambiance here is simply unique. Order a bottle of tequila (my favorite is Maestro Dobel Diamante) and a jar of sangrita (spiced tomato juice) and try to get one of the several mariachi bands going around the place to play some songs for you. You can pay by the song or by the hour, cash-only. 

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🌮🍻
More food & drinks in your area

Breakfast

🥐☕️ Panadería Rosetta & Café NIN same bakery as Lardo. Must try: rol de guayaba 

🌮 La esquina del chilaquil it’s on the street but shows up on google, you will spot the line

🌮 Chilakillers not really in Condesa but worth the 5-10min Uber ride

🌮 Mercado de Medellín just one of a thousand traditional markets; because of its location it’s a bit more prepared to welcome tourists. Locate the food area (not the produce area) and follow your instincts

Street food

🌮 Even in these neighborhoods, workers and office employees eat out everyday at food stands you’ll see around every corner. Open your eyes for the places with most people gathered and order what the others get. Look for: quesadillas, gorditas, tacos de guisado.

Seafood  

Mexico city is home to the second largest fish market in world, which means the quality of the produce is outstanding.

🍤🐟 Contramar the chef is now a rockstar, but this place has been there for decades, don’t be discouraged by the overflow of gringos. Must order: tostadas de atún, pescado a la talla campechano, merengue for desert

🍤🦪 Fishers it’s a chain now with several locations but food is great. Must order: aguachile verde de camarón, taco de camarón a la diabla. To drink: Clamato preparado con Pacífico, Modelada, Don Julio 70 helado  

🍤🌮 Mi compa chava it’s the new Instagram spot, no reservations, your only chance is to show up for lunch on a weekday, very pricey but food is amazing  

🍤🌮 Mariscos Don Vergas I haven’t actually tried it but it’s high on my list! 

Taquerías  

🌮 El Huequito my fav tacos al pastor in the City  

🌮 El Califa a bit more refined and pricey  

🌮😵 El Faraón these are puhr-fect for when you come out of the club at 4am

Cantinas  

🍽🍻 Salón Ríos a bit of all things Mexico 

🍽🍻 El Sella true old-school, the food is more Spanish than Mexican. Must order: chamorro  

🍽🍻 La Riviera del Sur typical food from Yucatán in beautiful art decò that mimics a 60s Mexico. Must order: cochinita pibil, relleno negro, quesadilla de chaya  

🍽🍻 La 20 a more modern and refined version of a traditional cantina

Fine Dining

💎 Pujol it’s no secret, one of the best restaurants in the world according to all the lists, normally needs a reservation months in advance. 

💎 Quintonil same story!  

💎 Lorea definitely not as famous as the other 2 but if it were in Europe it would have 2 Michelin stars 🌟  

Bars & Nightlife

There’s just so much stuff…  

🍸 Licorería Limantour literally on the list of the world’s best bars since years  

🍸 Rooftop Toledo great view  

🍸🎷 Casa Franca if you like jazz this place is amazing!  

💃🏼 Cafe Paraíso 🔥 club  

💃🏼 Supra 🔥club & recently a rooftop too

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Feel free to hit me up if you’d like more tips. I’m always happy to help.

And now, ENJOY.