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Mexico City
Mexico City is certainly one of the greatest cities on the planet. There is so much to like about this city. It has probably the best street food I've tried anywhere and has some of the kindest most humble people. There are endless activities and the history of this city is so deep and interesting. It's also great for outdoor markets as you can find literally hundreds of markets throughout the city selling just about everything imaginable. It's also the only city I've ever been to that has free wifi everywhere throughout the city. Here is my detailed guide for Mexico City.
El Zócalo is one of the most recognized places in Mexico City. It is the main square in the historic center of Mexico City. It's surrounded by beautiful architecture, huge cathedrals such as the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral and endless markets. You can actually go inside of the Metropolitan Cathedral for free which I would recommend. Behind this cathedral there is also the Templo Mayor de Mexico. When I was here the museum was actually closed but you could walk around outside and look at the archaeologic site. Around this area there is plenty of shopping. If you need clothes, cosmetics, electronics, glasses, jewelery etc this is the area to find it. There is plenty of street food in this area (like most areas of the city). I enjoyed getting churros right under the Torre Latinoamericana (Latin American Tower).
The National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City is maybe the most enjoyable museum experience I've ever had. They have endless amounts of old Mayan and Aztec artifacts. You can learn about the history of different areas of the country, traditions, culture and explore all of the incredible artifacts. This is a must do in Mexico City and I would recommend giving yourself at least 3 hours to look through everything.
Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a beautiful museum right in the historic center of the city. It's surrounded by a beautiful park full of statues and artwork. There are always shows going on in the park and across the street here. You can also enter the Palace of Fine Arts for about 4-5 usd if I remember right. When I was there they were renovating some of it but still had many exhibits open. It's a cool place to check out for a bit and is definitely worth seeing from the outside as the building is very stunning.
The street food in Mexico City might very well be second to none. There is such a massive variety of delicious cheap food it can be overwhelming. Tacos are the most popular find on the streets of course and will usually cost you no more than 1usd for 1. You will always see food carts packed with people waiting to have delicious meals. Some travellers are overly concerned about sanitation but you are truly missing out on incredible food that couldn't be any cheaper by avoiding the street food here.
There are so many fantastic markets in Mexico City that sell a large range of products from clothes to food to electronics and accessories. Often times prices are fixed as they are posted on tags though maybe at times you will have to barder. A few of the markets I enjoyed going to regularly were Mercado Cibeles in Roma Norte, the market across from the Hospital General metro station in Doctores, the outdoor marketplace on Moneda street in the historic center and the market outside the Pino Suárez metro station. You can find a huge variety of products for relatively cheap prices at these markets and it's a fantastic way to experience the local culture.
A great activity to do while in Mexico City is attend a Lucha Libre event. It's basically the Mexican equivalent of WWE but has it's own traditions, customs and rules. Lucha Libre fights are very popular to watch in Mexico and tickets are cheap. I paid about 10 USD for pretty decent seats. The fighters typically wear masks and there are of course plenty of souvenirs and masks you can buy at the stalls out front of the stadium. The stadium I went to was in the Doctores neighbourhood but there are some other arenas throughout the city that have regular events. I would highly recommend going to one as it's a very fun experience!
Teotihuacan is an ancient city near Mexico City that is famous for it's pyramids. A very long time ago, likely in the first half of the first millennium (1 CE to 500 CE), Teotihuacan was the largest city in the Americas, with a population estimated at 125,000 or more, making it at least the sixth-largest city in the world during its epoch. Nowadays you can come here to visit the pyramids. The main two pyramids are called the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The entry fee is only about 5 dollars. To get to Teotihuacan I recommend taking a bus from the Terminal Norte (North Terminal) in Mexico City. You can take an uber or taxi here then enter the station and find the booth selling tickets to the pyramids. When I was there the ticket booth was all the way to the left of the terminal after entering. Once you pay for your tickets (which were about 10 usd round trip) you just go outisde and wait for the bus. It's a big terminal with many buses so make sure that you get on the correct bus. Once you're on the bus it's less than an hour drive to Teotihuacan. If you're hungry I had some fantastic enchiladas at one of the restaurants right before the entrance to the archaeological zone. This is a superb experience from Mexico City and can be done in 1 day quite easily.
Soumaya museum is a really interesting looking museum in the Polanco neighbourhood. The architecture of the building is very unique and is worth seeing. You can also enter for free and see the large amount of art inside. The art ranges from paintings to carvings and sculptures. There was a lot of Asian style art here which I found quite interesting. The top floor really stood out to me. It's a circular platform with basically a few hundred sculptures that you can walk around and look at.
Castillo de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Castle) is a historic castle in the middle of the Chapultepec forest. Firstly, the forest itself is enormous and is the biggest urban forest I've ever seen. It provides you with incredibly scenery as you are ascending to the castle. After walking up the hill to the castle you can walk around and explore inside and outside. The views of the city from here are some of the best you'll find and the inside of the castle is elegant and artistic. It's a really cool place to visit in Mexico City.
Street performances are everywhere in Mexico City and there are lots of great experiences to be had by watching or even participating in these. Some common performances you'll see are mariachi bands, break dancers and traditional Native American dances and rituals. Definitely don't just walk past these performances. Try to enjoy them as it's a great aspect of this city. To add to this there are tons of live bands or artists playing in different bars, restaurants or even on the streets throughout the city. I found the most street performances to be in the historic center but I've also seen plenty in areas like Roma and Juarez.
As I've already mentioned probably countless times the food here is incredible. Some of my favourite things to eat in Mexico City are tacos, quesadillas, tortas, burritos, chilaquiles, enchiladas, fruit and of course more tacos. The tacos here are very different from what most North Americans consider tacos to be. They are on soft tortillas with some of the most delicious meat you'll ever try. My favourite fillings for tacos are suadero, birria, and campechano. Suadero is a cut of beef that is extremely tender and makes unbelievable tacos. Birria is either lamb or beef slow cooked in broth called Consome. The meat is then put on fresh tortillas and often is served with a bowl of the consome for dipping. Campechano tacos are made with tender, braised flank steak, chorizo, and crispy chicharrónes. At many taco carts you can have the option to get any of these fillings with a taco, quesadilla, torta etc. Tortas are amazing too. They are sandwiches filled with the same types of fillings as tacos. The best one I ever had was with chorizo and beef milanesa (breaded beefsteak). There is also a lot of nice fruit in the city. As I stayed in Roma Norte most of my time in Mexico City I frequently visited the group of food carts on the corner of Álvaro Obregón avenue and Monterrey. There are like 10 food carts here that sell everything from tacos to tortas to fruit smoothies. Definitely check it out if you're in the area. It's also quite common to find a big bag of pineapple, papaya and mango for about 1.50 usd. Try it with honey and granola or with the chile salt. To add to all the incredible local food since Mexico City is so cosmopolitan you can find any type of food from around the world. We had things like pho, Uruguayan barbecue, Japanese rice bowls, fast food, sushi and Chinese buffet. Check out La Isla Del Dragón in Juarez. It's a Chinese all you can eat buffet for about 10 USD. I could go on and on about the food here but I've probably said enough.
As with food Mexico has many great drinks you should try. They have countless world famous beers like Dos Equis, Corona, Modelo and Pacifico. They have tequila and mezcal too of course. Mezcal is like a smokier tasting tequila which is quite nice. For non-alcoholic drinks definitely try horchata and agua de Jamaica. Horchata is a sweet rice milk that they put cinnamon on top of. Agua de Jamaica is like a fruity tasting water made with dried hibiscus flowers and some other ingredients. These are both fantastic drinks. The heavyweight of Mexican drinks however might be the Michelada. There are variations of the michelada but it is commonly a beer with clamato, lime and salt. It's kind of like a caesar I guess but without vodka and with beer. I've seen variations of these where they are served with things like shrimp or oysters. Definitely worth a try while you're here. To add there are tons of cafes throughout neighbourhoods like Roma, Condesa and Juarez so you won't have any problems finding that.
Roma is split into Roma Norte and Roma Sur. Of the 5 weeks of my life that I've spent in Mexico City 4 of those weeks were based out of Roma Norte. After exploring most of the central neighbourhoods I believe this is the best area to stay in the city. It's location is perfect for walking to other neighbourhoods like Juarez, La Condesa and Doctores as well as accessing the train to get to further neighbourhoods like El Centro or Coayacan. There are tons of restaurants, bars, cafes, stores and businesses in Roma. There is also tons of art including statues and street murals. If you're looking for budget accomodation in Roma Norte I highly recommend Habitaciones Monterrey. They offer basic private rooms with shared bathrooms at a reasonable rate. If I recall it was about 15-20 usd per night. The location was excellent. Right around the corner there were restaurants and bars like McCartheys Irish pub, Mama Rumba and Mercado Roma. There are awesome markets in Roma such as the aforementioned Mercado Roma, Mercado Medellin and Mercado Cibeles. I really enjoyed spending time each day walking around the streets of Roma seeing what I could discover.
La Condesa is the neighbourhood just east of Roma and is also one of my favourite neighbourhoods in the city. It's similar to Roma in many ways. It's artsy and full of things to do. It's slightly farther away so it's a bit harder to access areas like Juarez or El Centro from here though Uber is quite cheap in Mexico City and staying here won't really affect your ability to get around, it might just take slightly longer than if you were in Roma for example. La Condesa had some of the best nightlife and restaurant options in the city. You should visit Avenida Tamaulipas for some of the best food and nightlife in the neighbourhood. One of my favourite bar experiences I had in the city was at El 7 Vidas. The owner Tony and his staff were extremely hospitable and had the best prices in the area! What also stood out in La Condesa were the amount of parks. There are tons of parks where you can feel like you aren't even in a city of over 20 million.
Juarez is yet another awesome neighbourhood in Mexico City. Zona Rosa is probably the best walking street that I went to in the city and is full of bars and restaurants. Immediately when crossing from Roma into Juarez you notice an increase in population density. Glorieta de los Insurgentes plaza is a cool place to visit too. There are always plenty of activities going on here and many people selling things. Zona Rosa is a good place to go for a night out and food. Aside from this there is also the Angel of Independence monument nearby which is worth stopping by to take a photo off. Juarez has a larger concentration of high rise buildings compared to many other areas which gives it quite a different feel from nearby neighbourhoods. It also has a lot of Asian stores and restaurants. I already mentioned La Isla del Dragon but there are also restaurants and stores from several Asian countries like Japan, Korea, China and Thailand.
El Centro is the historic part of the city where the Zocalo is. This is a great part of the city to visit as well. This area has the oldest buildings in the city and rivals any European city as far as how beautiful the architecture is. There is a lot to do and see in this area and I was lucky enough to be able to visit at least 4 times to explore different areas. The Zocalo and Metropolitan Cathedral are must sees and from there you can just walk down random streets and explore the old part of the city. Moneda street has tons of street vendors selling a variety of products and El Centro is one of the best, if not the best, area of the city to shop in. You can also walk West on Avenida 5 de Mayo to reach the Palace of Fine Arts. This is a very densely populated area compared to Roma or Condesa so there is plenty of action and tons of things going on. You'll see street performances, food, markets and activities. Regina street is a good street that has a variety of restaurants, bars and street performers.
Coyoacan is another great neighbourhood to visit which is located further South in the city. It's accessible by metro from the Northern neighbourhoods. This main square is a nice place to visit. Some of the main features are the Coayacan sign, the old church and the coyote statues. The buildings are very beautiful and colourful in Coayacan. There are colonial buildings and coblestone streets in the old part of the town. The Frida Kahlo museum is also in this area and is quite popular. The market down in Coayacan is good too. It's very large and is like a maze. They sell a large variety of products from toys to food to clothes.
Polanco is one of the most affluent areas of the city filled with shiny fancy buildings and well kept avenues. I actually only spent one afternoon in Polanco visiting the Soumaya museum and walking around a bit. It's location puts it a bit farther from most of the other neighbourhoods I've mentioned. It is accessible by train however like most of the city. This would be a good area to do some shopping at luxury stores if that's what you're interested in. Also as I already mentioned the Soumaya Museum in Polanco is very cool. I'm sure there are many restaurants and nightlife options in this area but I haven't really experienced them. I've also heard this area is generally more expensive. One cool experience I had in Polanco was eating tacos de canasta from the back of a guys car who was selling them.
My time in Doctores was quite limited to me walking from my hotel in Roma to catch the train at Hospital General station. However it's worth mentioning as the market outside of the Hospital General train station is quite fascinating. I enjoyed stopping at this market on my way to the train to have food or look for souvenirs or items I needed. On the North end of Doctores is the Lucha Libre arena so you may also experience some of this neighbourhood if you end up going to a Lucha Libre fight at the Arena Mexico. Other than this I didn't spend much time in Doctores. I will say however that it's a less gentrified area as opposed to say Roma or La Condesa so prices are cheaper and you have a more accurate view into what life is like for many residents of the city.
