Mexico City is a stimulating megalopolis offering diverse architecture, exceptional museums, and lively bars and restaurants. Read on for our travel editor's guide to the best things to do while you're there.
The best things to do in Mexico City
How many days do you need in Mexico City?
Though many visitors spend only a couple of days in the capital as part of a longer trip to Mexico, consider allocating four full days – plus an extra day if you wish to explore the Mesoamerican ruins of Teotihuacán, an hour’s drive from the city.
Where to shop
Markets are where you can tap into the soul of Mexican culture, continuing to serve both social and practical roles since Aztec times. Under the shade of colourful umbrellas in blocks of red, green and white from Coyoacán in the south to La Lagunilla in the historic centre, you can find everything from street food and supersized ojo rojo cocktails (like a Bloody Mary but made with beer rather than vodka) to mid-century furniture, ceramics, collectables and more than a little tat. Lagunilla on the edge of
Tepito, which kicks off from Paseo de la Reforma, is a chaos of crowds, scents and activity – and has been going on since the early 1900s. Modelled after the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Reforma is the artery of Mexico City, connecting its most important neighbourhoods and sights. For the best independent shops, head out of the centre to the affluent Polanco neighbourhood for Lago, a concept store selling design pieces from all over Latin America. From here, below Chapultepec, the trendy neighbourhoods of Condesa and Roma are hotbeds of contemporary local design. Spend an afternoon wandering into Onora for homeware, Zii Ropa for Bridget Tidey’s clothes inspired by the time she spent in the Baja desert, and the showroom of Mexican fashion designer Carla Fernández.
What to see and do
Mexico City has more museums than any other city in the Americas: for Mexican history, head to the National Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec and the National Museum of Art in the historic centre. The private Jumex and Soumaya museums showcase contemporary art, while the Franz Mayer Museum houses Latin America’s largest collection of decorative arts. Opulent Chapultepec Castle and the parkland around it are worth visiting, too, conveniently sandwiched between Polanco and Condesa – the two neighbourhoods where you will want to spend most of your time exploring Art Deco streets lined with the city’s most stylish shops and restaurants, with great people-watching. For anyone with an interest in architecture, a visit to one of Luis Barragán’s buildings is essential. The most accessible and well known is Casa Luis Barragán (now a Unesco World Heritage Site), but others – Casa Ortega, Casa Gilardi and Casa Pedregal – though all private residences, can be visited with some forward planning. On Saturday, enjoy breakfast in the San Ángel neighbourhood and its weekly art and crafts bazaar, where you can find paintings, textiles, ceramics and jewellery from all over the country. The feeling and pace of life in this cobbled, jeweltone former rural hamlet is very different to that of the centre, with beautiful houses hidden behind high gates and cascading bougainvillea. Fans of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera can visit their studio and museum of works here (inba.gob.mx/recinto/51). Close by, in Coyoacán, is Casa Azul – Kahlo’s family home, in which she later lived until her death in 1954.
Where to eat and drink
If you leave Mexico City without feeling remorse for eating too many carnitas tacos, you have not made the most of your visit. These delicious slow-roasted, pulled-pork tacos can be found everywhere from fast food joints like Taquería Orinoco in Roma – ideal after a fierce night of mezcalitas – to smarter Azul Histórico in the courtyard of Downtown Mexico hotel in the historic centre. Carnitas tacos are also sold from carts in most markets, alongside delicious corn on the cob. When you are tacoed out (inevitable), consider lunch at Contramar in Condesa for some of the best seafood in town and dinner at relaxed Italian restaurant Rosetta, in a pretty courtyard in Roma. Mexico City is big on Japanese food and Kura, an izakaya restaurant on a quiet Roma street, is much loved by locals (00 52 55 7989 3102). Casa Prunes, in a glorious Art Nouveau mansion, is on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, so you will need to book in advance. Or pop in for a cocktail to check out the incredible interiors – like a set from The Great Gatsby. Mezcal is the key ingredient of many cocktails and you must try a few at bars such as Salón Rosetta (00 52 55 3931 4702) and more casual Páramo (00 52 55 3474 2613), where you can savour your drinks alongside plates of finger food. After a morning of sightseeing, enjoy a slow lunch at Lago/Algo overlooking a lake in Chapultepec Park In the evening, Hugo is a trendy wine bar offering an excellent selection of natural wines and small plates – from fennel salad with beans and stracciatella to beef tartare with anchovy cream and calamari.
Where to stay
Behind some of Mexico’s coolest hotels, Grupo Habita have Círculo Mexicano. In the historic centre, it is in the 19th-century former home of photographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo. Laid out over two floors around a central courtyard, the hotel’s design is a collaboration between architecture studio Ambrosi | Etchegaray and Habita co-owner Carlos Couturier. The rooms are decorated in the group’s signature style – pared back and featuring a selection of natural materials. Breakfast is served on the rooftop looking over some of the city’s most important monuments, including the Metropolitan Cathedral – finished in 1813 after taking nearly 250 years to be built – the National Palace and the archaeological site of Templo Mayor. Nearby, Grupo Habita’s Downtown Mexico sees the same design principles applied to the once neglected Baroque palace of the Countess of Miravalle. A mural above the hotel’s stone staircase, The Holocaust by Manuel Rodríguez Lozano – based on his 1944 painting – contrasts with industrial-style details on the furnishings.
To stay in the trendy Condesa neighbourhood, look no further than Hotel San Fernando from Bunkhouse Hotels. The beautiful 1940s Art Deco boutique hotel that's steps away from Parque Mexico and a hop to some of the city's most exciting restaurants. The coral-hued rooms are spacious and calming with focus on craftsmanship, from the handcrafted Oaxacan rugs to the ceramic scones and coffee mugs (for the delicious in-room coffee that comes in whole bean form with a manual grinder). It's all about slowing down here. We particularly loved breakfast on the leafy rooftop and pre-dinner drinks and snacks at the ground floor lobby bar, Lounge Fernando.
Ways and means
Though many visitors spend only a couple of days in the capital as part of a longer trip to Mexico, consider allocating four full days – plus an extra day if you wish to explore the Mesoamerican ruins of Teotihuacán, an hour’s drive from the city. Original Travel offers a five-day trip, including four nights at Círculo Mexicano, B&B, return flights with Aeroméxico from Heathrow to Mexico City, return airport transfers and a trip to Teotihuacán, from £1,880 per person (originaltravel.co.uk). Aeroméxico flies daily from London to Mexico City and is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the route this year. If you are planning to visit other destinations in the country, flying with Aeroméxico will help to streamline your booking, while the later departure times from London get into the capital in the early morning and allow you not to lose a whole day travelling.
