09:45
Timeline
Four days: an easy first day at altitude, the pyramids and the wrestling, Frida Kahlo and the canals, the Aztecs before the night flight.
Day 1 · Thu
Roma and Condesa, tacos, Bellas Artes and the Torre Latinoamericana
Mexico Cityland 09:00👟 ≈ 8,000 stepsLand at 9:00, bags to the hotel. A slow walk through Roma and Condesa, a rest, then Rivera's murals at Bellas Artes and the city from the Torre Latinoamericana.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →10:30
stay
Leave the bags at the hotel📍 in Google Maps
The reception keeps the bags. Drink water and take the day slowly: the city is at 2,240 metres, and the first day often brings a headache.
11:00
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Breakfast and a walk through Roma and Condesa📍 in Google Maps
Two neighbourhoods of the 1900s–1930s with tree-lined avenues and art deco blocks; Parque México at their heart was a racecourse.
free
Breakfast at a café on Álvaro Obregón: chilaquiles, tortilla chips in salsa, or eggs with beans. Then walk the central reservation of Amsterdam, the oval avenue round Parque México, an hour at an easy pace.
13:30
food
Tacos al pastor in Condesa📍 in Google Maps
150–250 pesos each
Al pastor is pork cut from a vertical spit, with a slice of pineapple. The taquerías round Tamaulipas are plain, with plastic stools and a counter; order three or four tacos each, then more.
15:00
17:00
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Palacio de Bellas Artes📍 in Google Maps🎟 book inba.gob.mx
The white-marble opera house of 1934, whose upper floors hold murals by Diego Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros.
about 90 pesos eachday's highlightclosed Mondays
Uber, 20 minutes. Go up to the second and third floors: Rivera's Man, Controller of the Universe is the mural he repainted here after the Rockefellers destroyed the first version in New York.
The art deco lobby and the glass curtain by Tiffany, shown before ballet performances, are the rest. The museum closes at 17:00 most days, later some evenings; check the time. Allow an hour.
18:15
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Torre Latinoamericana at sunset📍 in Google Maps
The 1956 skyscraper that stood through the earthquakes of 1957 and 1985, with an open deck on the 44th floor.
about 200 pesos each
Across the street from Bellas Artes. Sunset is around 19:00; the deck shows how far the city runs in every direction. The bar a floor below sells a drink with the same view.
19:45
food
Dinner at Café de Tacuba📍 in Google Maps
A dining room open since 1912, with tiled walls and waitresses in white aprons.
400–600 pesos each
Five minutes' walk. A proper restaurant with tablecloths and old-fashioned service; enchiladas and tamales are the house dishes. Uber back to Roma, 20 minutes.
If you fall behind
- Skip the Torre Latinoamericana; the view from the Bellas Artes terrace café across the street is free.
- If the altitude bites, keep the evening to dinner in Roma.
Day 2 · Fri
Teotihuacan's pyramids, then lucha libre at Arena México
Mexico Cityout 07:30👟 ≈ 11,500 stepsThe bus to Teotihuacan for the 9:00 opening: the Avenue of the Dead and the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. Back for a rest, and lucha libre on Friday night.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →
07:30
getting there
Uber to the northern bus station, then the bus to Teotihuacan📍 from 🏁 Teotihuacan, gate 1
about 120 pesos each way1 h 15 min
Uber to Terminal Autobuses del Norte, 25 minutes. Inside, the Autobuses Teotihuacán counter at the far end, gate 8, sells tickets to 'Pirámides', every 15–20 minutes. Ask to get off at Puerta 1.
09:00
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Teotihuacan: the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun📍 in Google Maps🎟 book inah.gob.mx
The ruins of the largest city of the pre-Columbian Americas, built from about 100 BC, whose Pyramid of the Sun is one of the largest ever raised.
about 100 pesos eachday's highlightsun, no shade
Walk north up the Avenue of the Dead, two kilometres between the platforms, to the Pyramid of the Sun. Climbing it has been closed for several years; check whether it has reopened.
There is no shade at all and the sun at 2,300 metres burns fast: hats, water and sun cream. Cards are not always taken at the gate; carry cash.
11:00
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The Pyramid of the Moon📍 in Google Maps
The second pyramid, at the north end of the Avenue of the Dead, with a platform that looks down the whole length of the city.
includedsteep steps
The first platform, when open, is the best view of the site. Next to it is the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl, with carved pillars and red murals still on the walls.
12:30
food
Lunch at La Gruta📍 in Google Maps
500–700 pesos each
Ten minutes' walk east from the Pyramid of the Sun to gate 5. A proper restaurant set in a natural cave, mostly visited by tourists, but the setting is the point; Mexican classics, priced accordingly.
14:15
16:15
20:30
event
Lucha libre at Arena México📍 in Google Maps🎟 book cmll.com
Mexican masked wrestling, a family night out for a century; Arena México is its main hall, with the big card every Friday.
200–600 pesos eachpickpockets outside
Fifteen minutes by Uber. Tickets are sold on the CMLL site or at the box office; seats in the lower rows cost more and are worth it. Eat tacos at a stall beforehand. Leave valuables at the hotel and take an Uber straight back.
If you fall behind
- Skip the Pyramid of the Moon and walk only the southern half of the avenue.
- If you are tired, swap the wrestling for dinner in Roma; it runs again on Tuesday.
Day 3 · Sat
Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul, Coyoacán market and a boat at Xochimilco
Mexico Cityout 09:15👟 ≈ 8,000 stepsFrida Kahlo's house at a timed 10:00 entry, lunch at Coyoacán market. A boat on Xochimilco's canals on Saturday afternoon, when the city comes out.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →
09:15
getting there
Uber to Coyoacán📍 from 🏁 Casa Azul
about 150 pesos30 min
Saturday traffic is lighter in the morning.
10:00
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Museo Frida Kahlo, the Casa Azul📍 in Google Maps🎟 book museofridakahlo.org.mx
The cobalt-blue house where the painter Frida Kahlo was born, lived with Diego Rivera, and died in 1954, kept with her studio, her bed and her clothes.
about 320 pesos eachday's highlighttimed tickets
Tickets are sold online only, for a time slot, and weekend ones go weeks ahead. A photo permit is extra.
The studio upstairs has her wheelchair and easel in front of the window; her corsets and Tehuana dresses are in the exhibition behind the garden. Few paintings hang here: the house is the point. Allow an hour and a quarter.
11:30
food
Lunch at Coyoacán market📍 in Google Maps
150–250 pesos each
The covered market on Ignacio Allende. The tostada stalls at the back pile crisp tortillas with ceviche, chicken tinga or pig's trotters; sit on the stools and point. Cash only.
12:30
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Jardín Centenario and the centre of Coyoacán📍 in Google Maps
The colonial square of Coyoacán, a separate town until the 20th century, with the coyote fountain that gives it its name.
free
Five minutes from the market. The church of San Juan Bautista and the twin plaza beside it are the centre; Café El Jarocho on the corner of Cuauhtémoc roasts its own coffee.
14:00
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A boat at Xochimilco📍 in Google Maps
The last canals of the Aztec lake city, with floating gardens, where families hire painted wooden boats called trajineras.
about 600 pesos an hour per boatfixed price
Uber to the Nuevo Nativitas pier, 35 minutes. The boat price per hour is fixed and posted at the pier; agree the hours before boarding. Mariachi boats and food boats come alongside; a song is about 150 pesos. Two hours is right.
16:30
20:00
food
Dinner in Roma Norte📍 in Google Maps
600–1,000 pesos eachbook ahead
Roma has the city's newer restaurants, with modern Mexican cooking and natural wine; the streets round Colima and Córdoba are full of them. Book for Saturday night. Mezcal is the drink to try.
If you fall behind
- Cut the boat to one hour.
- Lighter afternoon: skip Xochimilco and spend it in Coyoacán's streets and the Viveros park.
Day 4 · Sun
The Anthropology Museum, the Zócalo, the Templo Mayor and churros
Mexico Cityout 08:45👟 ≈ 9,000 stepsThe Anthropology Museum at its 9:00 opening, then the Zócalo and the Aztec Templo Mayor. Churros, the bags, and the airport at 18:30.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →
08:45
getting there
Check out, bags at the reception, Uber to Chapultepec📍 from 🏁 Anthropology Museum
15 min
The hotel keeps the bags until 17:30. Sunday morning traffic is light.
09:00
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National Museum of Anthropology📍 in Google Maps🎟 book mna.inah.gob.mx
Mexico's national museum of its ancient cultures, in a 1964 building round a courtyard under a giant concrete umbrella.
about 100 pesos eachday's highlightclosed Mondays
Twenty-two halls; take three. The Mexica hall at the back holds the Sun Stone, the Aztec calendar disc, and Moctezuma's feather headdress in replica. The Teotihuacan hall explains what you walked through on Friday; the Maya hall has a tomb you can enter.
Sundays are free for Mexican residents and busy by eleven, so start at the back. Allow two and a half hours.
12:00
food
Lunch in the Centro📍 in Google Maps
250–400 pesos each
Uber to the Centro, 25 minutes. The pedestrian streets off Madero have cantinas that serve lunch with the drinks, and fondas, plain set-lunch places of three courses for a fixed price.
13:30
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The Zócalo and the Metropolitan Cathedral📍 in Google Maps
One of the largest city squares in the world, laid over the centre of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, with the cathedral on its north side.
free
The cathedral is free and leans visibly: it is sinking into the old lake bed. The Palacio Nacional with Rivera's murals of Mexican history is on the east side; it opens irregularly and asks for ID, so try the door.
14:15
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Templo Mayor📍 in Google Maps🎟 book templomayor.inah.gob.mx
The excavated ruins of the Aztecs' main temple, found by electricity workers in 1978 beside the cathedral.
about 100 pesos eachclosed Mondays
A walkway runs over the layers of the temple, rebuilt seven times. The museum holds the round stone of the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui that started the dig. Allow an hour and a quarter.
16:00
food
Churros at El Moro📍 in Google Maps
A churrería open since 1935 on Eje Central, frying churros in front of the counter.
100–150 pesos each
Fifteen minutes' walk along Madero. Order churros with hot chocolate, the Mexican one, thick and spiced.
If you fall behind
- Skip the Templo Mayor museum and see the ruins from the street railings, free.
- Go straight from the Anthropology Museum to the hotel and the airport if traffic is bad.
