Every year Gerry and I like to try to explore at least one new international location. In early October Gerry and I headed to Mexico City for the long weekend. Neither of us had ever visited Mexico City although we’d both traveled to Mexico previously but we had only stayed in beachy/touristy locations like Tulum and Riviera Maya. We’d both heard so much about the foodie scene in Mexico City along with the culture and affordable price of travel. We booked our flights about 6 weeks in advance so we scored round-trip airfare for $250 each on Aeromexico operated by Delta. The flight from JFK was direct to Mexico City totaling about 5 hours. Mexico City is on Central Time so it was one hour earlier than here in New York. We chose an AirBnB in the Condesa neighborhood with a lovely garden located near lots of cute bars and restaurants. I’ve outlined some of our favorite places including photo locations, museums and restaurants!
10 things to know before you go: Mexico City
1. High Altitude. Mexico City has an altitude of 7,382 feet (2,250 meters) making it at an even higher altitude than Denver, CO (which is at 5280 feet or 1609.3 meters) I didn’t know this before we left so I was very surprised when one glass of wine had me feeling buzzed. You’ll notice you feel a bit more winded when you’re walking and you may have dry eyes but overall it was nothing serious. Our bodies seemed to adjust after 2 or so days.
2. Uber vs Taxi. I highly recommend taking Ubers over Taxis in Mexico City. On the app you can easily pinpoint your location and input where you’re going without any miscommunication because of the language barrier. Mexico City is very spread out so Uber is very convenient and inexpensive by US standards. Taxis are known to sometimes take advantage of tourists so personally I recommend taking Uber.
3. Cameras not allowed everywhere. There were quite a few places we went where professional cameras we not allowed (notably Biblioteca Vasconcelos). This was a bit frustrating for us since we prefer shooting with our Canon 5D Mark iii. Just something to keep in mind. We had no trouble shooting on the iPhone but we were, of course disappointed to have lugged our camera around only to be forced to store it in a coat/bag check.
4. Micro-climate. Americans who have visited Mexican cities like Cancun or Playa Del Carmen might be surprised by the 50° F (10°C) in the morning and evening and 65° F (18°C) during the day (We went the first week of October) because of the high altitude, during the year the temperate only ranges from about 40°F (4°C) to 80° F (26°C) throughout the entire year. It also rains, a lot! So definitely bring a jacket and an umbrella.
5. Language barrier Having visited both Mexico and Spain without many issues in the past we weren’t super concerned about the language barrier but it was a little trickier than we thought. Be sure to learn a few key phrases before heading to MC such as hola, buenos dias, gracias, de nada, la cuenta por favor, and of course cerveza 😉
6. Watch your step! The sidewalks can be VERY uneven I tripped a few times because I had my nose in my phone. Gerry and I started saying to eachother “going up, going down” as we walked along the bumpy streets.
7. Reservations. Many of the high end restaurants require reservations so be sure to book in advanced before your trip. Don’t miss Pujol or Maximo, my two favorites.
8. Size of city. The city is truly sprawling so you’ll need to plan your days in advanced to be able to see everything – it’s not as walkable a city as say New York or Paris so it’s better to organize a schedule around different neighborhoods.
9. Water. Although the filtration systems in Mexico City are said to be better than in other parts of Mexico I would personally recommend drinking only bottled water. In restaurants they will ask sin gas o con gas? meaning still or sparkling water. Coffee is okay as water that is boiled is safe.
10. Carry some cash. Though many places take credit cards in Mexico City it’s good to have some cash for street vendors, paid bathrooms and small shops. We took out about $150 USD, used about $75 at Xochimilco, about $20 at the market, and spent the rest at restaurants & duty free at the airport. I wouldn’t, however, recommend carrying a very large sum.
Castillo de Chapultepec
Our first day we wandered around Chapultepec Park, a huge and lovely park with lots of vendors from food to wigs to leashes for kids (yes I’m serious) and everything in between. In this park you can find the incredible Castillo de Chapultepec with gorgeous views over the city. I will warn you it’s on a pretty big hill so wear sensible shoes. Once you get to the top of the “grasshopper” hill, the entrance fee to the castle is 51 pesos which is the equivalent to about $2.60 USD. I saw online at TripAdvisor you can pay about $5.50 USD and skip the line which I’d probably do next time but the line wasn’t too bad. They do specify no professional cameras but they looked in our bag, clearly saw our camera and didn’t say anything so I’m not sure how much they actually enforce that, but good to know. The bottom level of the castle was amazing with artifacts from Spanish colonization in the 16th century to the Mexican Revolution in 1910. The upper floors have been preserved as the home of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and his wife Carlota with opulent rooms full of art, jewelry, furniture and even a golden chariot! But the best part is the incredible wrap around terrace with amazing views over Mexico City. It was truly stunning. It was pretty easy to get a photo because the balcony is so big. Definitely a worthwhile spot to visit.
Roma Norte
Roma Norte was my favorite neighborhood in Mexico City. The winding streets lined with beautiful old trees is truly charming. If I were to go back to Mexico City I would choose to stay in Roma Norte over neighboring Condesa (which is also great). We loved this area, it’s just so lovely and quaint with lots of shops, restaurants and bars.
Xochumilco was without a doubt my favorite part of the trip. Xochimilco is considered like the Venice of Mexico! It’s about 50 minutes from Condesa by Uber (about a $14 USD trip). After a lot of research, we decided on the Embarcadero nuevo Nativitas. There are a ton of different places to enter Xochimilco but this one has the prices listed on a large sign so no haggling needed. Its not the best deal, that’s reserved for expert hagglers (and speaking Spanish is necessary for the best haggling), but compared to other prices that we saw online, $1000 Pesos (about $50 USD) was a pretty good deal for a two-hour ride. Plus, there are a couple shops that sell beers, micheladas, and snacks across the parking lot, making it easy to stock up before your boat ride. The Xochimilco canals were filled with floating vendors and mariachi bands, ready to hop on your boat and play you a song for $100-200 Pesos (about $5-$10 USD). Gerry thought it would be hilarious to hire a group to play “La Bamba” just for me, and I had a blast dancing with the band.
The Museo Soumaya
The Museo Soumaya is an art museum located Plaza Carso in Polanco in the north of Mexico City. The facade and architecture is incredible – it really took my breath away when I first saw it. It’s free to get in to the museum and the inside is just as awe-inspiring as the outside. I was so excited to see The Thinker by Rodin, one of my favorite sculptures. I was surprised there is not that many pieces in this museum so it’s actually pretty quick to get through. After the museum we went to the mall just across the street called Antara Fashion Mall which is so gorgeous. It’s mostly outdoors with lots of great upscale shops. I bought a few things at Mango and Pull & Bear.
The lovely garden of our AirBnB.
Food
Here are some of the best places we ate (and drank!) while in Mexico City.
Pujol – one of the most famous restaurants in the world featured on Chef’s Table and No Reservations. We were so excited to eat at Pujol and it did not disappoint. The meals are a fixed price of $100 USD with 5 delicious courses of Mexican cuisine. The menu is quite adventurous with ant mayonnaise, soft shell crab and five-year old mole sauce. We made a 3 o’clock reservation and stayed until almost 6pm! It was our most expensive meal but the service and food were truly impeccable.
Maximo – this was actually my favorite restaurant of the trip. We made a 1pm reservation and ate the most delicious baby corn as an appetizer. I had the lamb ragu and I am still thinking about it to this day. So delicious.
Lardo – A perfect spot for breakfast or brunch we ended up eating here for breakfast twice because it was so good! They have tons of yummy pastries (the guava roll is out of this world) and great egg dishes. My favorite was the chilaquiles with fresh squeezed mandarin orange juice.
Gin Gin – A very trendy bar in Condesa with waiters wearing suspenders and very good craft cocktails. The only thing I didn’t like was you can smoke inside at this bar. But overall the delicious cocktails made up for it.
Rooftop Bar at Condesa DF Hotel – On a whim we tried the rooftop bar at a hotel called Condesa DF. It has a gorgeous view over Mexico City with a very romantic lounge vibe. The perfect place for a nightcap after a long day of walking around the city. The mezcal margarita was excellent.
Biblioteca Vasconcelos
The Vasconcelos Library was truly a sign to behold. It’s located in downtown Mexico City and it’s truly massive 409,000 sq ft (38,000 square meters). I loved the artwork through, especially the Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco’s Ballena (whale) suspended in the middle of the library. We were forced to check out backpack with the camera inside. They have a strict no camera policy so we had to take photos on iPhone. It’s free to enter and definitely a worthwhile spot to visit!
The Kiosco Morisco de Santa Maria, located in walking distance from the The Vasconcelos Library was so beautiful. It was designed for the 1884 World’s Fair with a moorish style architecture and serves as a meeting point for locals. It was one of the places we didn’t see a ton of tourists it seemed like quite a local spot. A few high school students from Mexico City approcahed me and asked me to help them with a survey for their class. They were so sweet!
Hope you guys enjoyed my Mexico City Travel Guide – let me know if you have any questions below!