Mexico City, Mexico
With nearly 20 million people in the greater Mexico City population, you can spend a day exploring 1-2 neighborhoods. It is particularly fun to be there during the national holiday of Dia De Los Muertos (the first days of November).
- More about your oliver guide: Monica Coakley
- Trip type: Adult, City
- Activity level: moderate
- Ideal length of trip: 2-3 DAYS
to & from
United has a direct flight from SFO to MEX, as well as AeroMexico. Taxis are reliable from the airport and the fare needs to be purchased ahead of time. After your initial taxi ride, Uber is very reliable and unbelievably inexpensive (i.e., 1 hour ride for $7USD). No need to rent a car, as the traffic is horrible and Uber/taxi is such a deal.
Where to Stay
Where to Eat and Drink
- Maque (Condesa)
- Eno (Polanco)
- Cabanna (Polanco)
- El Balcon del Zocalo (great place to have brunch before/after viewing the Cathedral and Zocalo Square)
- Huset
- Azul Historico
- Maximo Bistro
- Biko
- Casa Virginia
- Contramar
- Pujol
What to Do
- Lucha Libre (Mexico Wrestling)
- Museo Frida Kahlo
- Palacio Nacional
- Palacio De Bellas Artes
- Zocalo
- Casa Barragan
- Chapultepec Park
inside scoop
- Get tickets in advance (online) for all museums. The Frida Kahlo museum is worthwhile it's in her home but is very popular.
- Sundays Mexican familes congregate in indoor markets to have lunch and shop. Buy a Mexican bottled Coca Cola and walk around the market, a great way to get a feel for the culture.
- Sunday is a great DAY to explore the city because traffic is much better, so driving to/from different areas will take 1/2 the time then during the week.
- Sunday PM's most restaurants close by 5:00pm- so consider having a late lunch and if hungry later, eat at your hotel.
- Don't drink the water. Always drink bottled water. Most of the hotels are safe, but you can never be too careful.
- Take ubers and always account for traffic. It can take 60-80 minutes to drive across the city depending on traffic, which is one of the most congested city's in the world.
- Take out pesos. While most places accept credit cards, it's much easier and more accepted to pay in cash.
skip it
Unlike most other cities, I recommend NOT staying in the downtown Centro Historico part of town. There are really interesting other neighborhoods with more culture and more to do during the day and night.
Mexico City, Mexico - Suggestions from the Oliver Community
Los Dazantes – a short walk from the Frida Kahlo Museum. Delicious Oaxcan Food. House made Mezcal. Taste a flight of tequilas and buy your favorite bottle to bring home as you’ll not find anywhere else.. (worth the room in your suitcase!)
Ask any hip local friend you make about the secret speak easy’s around the city… enter the small club through an unsuspecting mexican store front or a refrigerator cooler door for some late night fun! You’re welcome.
I had the pleasure of staying at Casa Polanco (https://www.casapolanco.com) in the upscale Polanco neighborhood. It was one of my favorite hotels I have ever stayed in– they truly make you feel the the charming, chic and sophisticated hotel is your home away from home. The staff is incredibly attentive (even walked us to get pizza take out through the park and carried our pizza boxes back!) found masseuse a few hours before our ideal time! The drinks and food are all included in the nightly rate, which is a treat to not have to think about a thing. Highly recommend this special hotel that truly does feel like a home.
Our main objective was to immerse ourselves in the city by walking and eating! I had visited the Frida Kahlo Museum and the main Cathedral Square on a quick layover a few years ago, so opted to indulge in the culinary scene on this trip.
We had the BEST time on the Eat Like a Local Mexico City tour (https://eatlikealocal.com.mx/about-elal/)– HIGHLY recommend this specific food tour which takes you to one of the two LARGEST markets in North America where over 8,000 vendor booths sell everything from crickets to ceviche and everything in between (flashlights, underwear, etc.) as well as their well researched favorite street vendors, including our favorite “sweaty tacos” by Antonio. It was humbling to learn how far these vendors travel to feed the locals and tourists from Mexico City. Also there is also a social impact component to the Eat Like a Local Tour that was compelling and very heartfelt to learn about.
Where we were lucky enough to eat: (!!!)
Rosetta in Roma neighborhood (https://rosetta.com.mx/en/) Very fun atmosphere, eat later for the scene, delicious food and fun bar!
Maximo Bistro in Roma neighborhood (https://rosetta.com.mx/en/) Cool atmosphere, has a CA vibe and fresh, farm/sea to table menu
Entremar in Polanco neighborhood (https://www.entremar.com) Not to be confused with their sister restaurant (same menu), Contramar– we went to there thinking that was where our lunch was, only to find out it was across town at Entremar (near our hotel). We got into an uber and made our 2:30 lunch reservation (barely) but actually preferred the sidewalk vibe more at Entremar — and the staff was much nicer! We started until 6pm!
Shops:
Unlike in smaller cities you do need to have a list of shops… hard to wander in such a MASSIVE city. Here are my favorite spots (mainly suggested by Roberto at our hotel who was very in the know!
Lago (https://lagolatam.com) in Polanco neighborhood -Latin America emerging designers, very cool designs, jewelry and some homeware/ceramics.
Onoro (https://onoracasa.com/en) in Polanco neighborhood- Ceramics and cool jewelry primarily from the Oaxaca region, could have bought everything in the store!
Vera (https://verashop.com.mx) Timeless, artisan clothes and jewelry at this gem of a shop in the Juárez neighborhood
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