Book Contramar for a long lunch, give a morning to the Anthropology Museum, and save one night for Pujol or Quintonil. Stay in Roma or Condesa, walk between the two, and ride across town.

Mexico City at a glance

Time zone
Central Standard Time, UTC−6 all year: Mexico stopped changing its clocks in 2022
Currency
Mexican peso (MXN). Shops write prices with a plain $ sign; this guide writes MX$ so they aren’t mistaken for dollars. Cards and phone payments are taken widely; carry pesos for taco counters and markets
Language
Spanish. Staff in Roma, Condesa and Polanco restaurants often speak English; start with “Buenos días” or “Buenas tardes”
Airports
Benito Juárez (MEX): Metrobús Line 4 from both terminals to the Centro and Paseo de la Reforma, about 1 h, paid by card, or an authorised taxi from the booths in arrivals; Felipe Ángeles (NLU): the Tren Felipe Ángeles to Buenavista, about 1 h
Best months
October to April are dry, with Art Week in early February. Rain falls from about June to September, mostly as afternoon storms
Power
Type A and B plugs, as in the US, 127 V
Tipping
About 10–15% at restaurants and bars. The card terminal usually asks; check the bill first in case service is already included

Know who’s in Mexico City when you are

O is an invite-only community for people who travel. Post your trip in seconds and see who’s in Mexico City the same week. Apply to join.

Where to spend your time

  • Roma Norte Walk Colima and Álvaro Obregón under the trees, between Rosetta, Contramar and the cocktail bars, with Mercado de Medellín a few blocks south. It’s the easiest base for a weekend.
  • Condesa Walk the oval of Avenida Ámsterdam around Parque México in the morning, with a drink at Baltra at night.
  • Juárez Coffee on Havre and the cocktail bars on Amberes, a block from Paseo de la Reforma.
  • Polanco Book Pujol or Quintonil, browse Onora on Lope de Vega, then go a few minutes north to the free Museo Jumex.
  • Chapultepec Give a morning to the Anthropology Museum in the park, then cross to the galleries of San Miguel Chapultepec.
  • Centro Histórico Walk Madero from the Palacio de Bellas Artes to the Zócalo on a weekday morning, then stop at Bar La Ópera.
  • Coyoacán and San Ángel Book a morning slot at the Casa Azul, then see the Rivera and Kahlo studios in San Ángel, about 20 min away by car.

Where we’d send a friend

  • Café Nin Juárez. Elena Reygadas’s all-day café in an old house on Havre, with Rosetta’s bread and pastries. Havre 73, Juárez. Open daily from 7 AM, until 9 PM (10 PM Thursday to Saturday, 6 PM on Sundays). Website
  • Contramar Roma Norte. Gabriela Cámara’s seafood restaurant, a long lunch since 1998. Durango 200, Roma Norte. Order: Tuna tostadas, then pescado a la talla, the fish grilled half red, half green. Lunch only: open noon to 8 PM on weekdays, 11 AM to 8 PM at weekends. Book on OpenTable through its site. Website
  • Rosetta Roma Norte. Elena Reygadas’s restaurant in a Roma town house, cooking Mexican produce with an Italian hand. Colima 166, Roma Norte. Order: The corn and huitlacoche tamal, or the cabbage tacos with pistachio pipián. Lunch from 1 PM and dinner from 6:30 PM, Monday to Saturday. Book on Tock for up to four; for five to 12, email or call the restaurant. Website
  • Expendio de Maíz Sin Nombre Roma Norte. No sign and no menu: tortillas, tlacoyos and sopes off the comal, at four shared tables. Avenida Yucatán 84, Roma Norte. Order: Ask what’s on the comal today. Closed Mondays. Open from 9 AM until 6 to 8:30 PM. No reservations: just arrive. Cash or bank transfer only. Website
  • El Califa de León San Rafael. A standing taco counter, open since 1968, listed in the Michelin Guide. Avenida Ribera de San Cosme 56, San Rafael. Order: The gaonera, thin beef seared on the plancha. Open daily from about 11 AM until about 2 AM; check before you go. Standing room only; carry pesos. Website
  • Pujol Polanco. Enrique Olvera’s restaurant: a Mexican tasting menu, or a taco omakase at the bar. Tennyson 133, Polanco. Order: The tasting menu, which ends with mole madre. Book weeks ahead. The tasting menu takes about four hours; its price changes, so check it when you book. Website
  • Quintonil Polanco. Jorge Vallejo and Alejandra Flores’s restaurant: a tasting menu built on Mexican produce. Newton 55, Polanco. Order: The tasting menu; it’s the only option. Closed Sundays. Book on Tock only, not by email. Tasting menu about MX$6,090 a head; it can be adapted for vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian diets if you say so when you book. Website
  • Mercado de Medellín Roma Sur. Roma’s neighbourhood market, more than 500 stalls, with cooks and produce from across Latin America as well as Mexico. Campeche 101, Roma Sur. Order: Ask the fruit stalls what’s in season, then sit down for lunch at a counter. Open daily, from about 8:30 AM to 6 PM; check before you go. Carry pesos for the stalls. Website
  • Licorería Limantour Roma Norte. A two-floor cocktail bar on Álvaro Obregón, open since 2011. Avenida Álvaro Obregón 106, Roma Norte. Order: The Margarita al Pastor. Opens at 6 PM Monday to Thursday and 3 PM Friday to Sunday, until midnight (2 AM on Fridays and Saturdays). Walk in, or reserve on its site. Website
  • Handshake Speakeasy Juárez. A small, dark-panelled cocktail bar behind an unmarked door in Juárez. Amberes 65, Juárez. Book on OpenTable through its site; walk-ins are rarely seated. Opens at 6 PM; a deposit may be asked. Website
  • Baltra Bar Condesa. A small Condesa cocktail bar named after a Galápagos island, with natural-history specimens on the walls. Iztaccíhuatl 36 D, Condesa. Opens daily at 6 PM, until midnight (2 AM Thursday to Saturday). Book on OpenTable through its site. Website
  • Bar La Ópera Centro Histórico. A cantina on this corner since 1895, with carved wood booths and a bullet hole in the ceiling said to be Pancho Villa’s. Avenida 5 de Mayo 10, Centro Histórico. Order: Pulpo a la gallega, or snails in chipotle. Open from 1 PM, until midnight Monday to Saturday and 6 PM on Sundays. Website
  • Bar Mauro Roma Norte. An Italian-style aperitivo bar of vermouth, amari and reworked classics, named No. 2 on North America’s 50 Best Bars for 2026. Tabasco 149, Roma Norte. Order: The Maurito, a clear, sparkling mezcal drink. Closed Tuesdays. Open 5 to 11 PM Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 4 PM to midnight Friday and Saturday, and 3 to 10 PM on Sundays; check before you go. Reserve by Instagram message (@barmauromx): without a reservation, a table is hard to get. Website
  • Onora Polanco. Homeware made with Mexican artisans: textiles, ceramics, glass and baskets. Lope de Vega 330, Polanco. Open 11 AM to 7 PM, Monday to Saturday; Sundays until 5 PM. Website
  • Casa Bosques Roma Norte. An art, design and architecture bookshop in a Roma house, with its own chocolate bars. Córdoba 25, Roma Norte. Its site gives no opening hours, so check before you go. Website
  • Museo Nacional de Antropología Chapultepec. Mexico’s great archaeology museum, around a courtyard under a single-column fountain roof. Paseo de la Reforma and Calzada Gandhi, Bosque de Chapultepec. Closed Mondays. Open 9 AM to 6 PM. About MX$210 for visitors from abroad; tickets online or at the door. Website
  • kurimanzutto San Miguel Chapultepec. One of Mexico’s leading contemporary galleries, in a former bakery and lumberyard. Gobernador Rafael Rebollar 94, San Miguel Chapultepec. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Free. Open 11 AM to 6 PM, until 4 PM on Fridays and Saturdays; closed between shows. Website
  • Casa Luis Barragán Tacubaya. The architect’s own house and studio, built in 1948 and listed by UNESCO, seen on a guided tour. General Francisco Ramírez 12–14, Tacubaya. Tickets online only, ahead of time, and they often sell out. Ages 12 and up. Website
  • Museo Jumex Nuevo Polanco. A private contemporary art collection in David Chipperfield’s building, with changing shows. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 303, Granada. Closed Mondays. Free. Open 10 AM to 5 PM, until 7 PM on Saturdays. Website
  • Museo Frida Kahlo Coyoacán. The Casa Azul, the blue house where Frida Kahlo was born and lived, with her studio and garden. Londres 247, Coyoacán. Closed Mondays. Open 10 AM to 6 PM (from 11 AM on Wednesdays). Buy a timed ticket ahead on the museum’s ticket site, or at its kiosk at Londres 234. Website
  • Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo San Ángel. Juan O’Gorman’s 1931 studio houses for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, joined by a bridge on the roof. Avenida Altavista and Diego Rivera, San Ángel Inn. Closed Mondays. Open 10 AM to 5:30 PM. A small entry fee, about MX$40 to MX$50; check before you go. Website
  • Palacio de Bellas Artes Centro Histórico. The marble palace at the head of Madero, whose upper floors hold murals by Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros and Tamayo. Avenida Juárez and Eje Central, Centro Histórico. Order: Rivera’s Man, Controller of the Universe, upstairs. Closed Mondays. Open 10 AM to 5:30 PM. A small fee, free on Sundays; check the current price before you go. Website

A first week in Mexico City

  1. Day 1: Land and stay in Roma. Settle in, walk Colima and Álvaro Obregón, and keep the first night close, with a drink at Licorería Limantour. Go easy: the city is at 2,240 m.
  2. Day 2: Chapultepec. The Anthropology Museum at 9 AM, then kurimanzutto (Tuesday to Saturday). Have a long lunch at Contramar, booked ahead.
  3. Day 3: Polanco. Museo Jumex in the morning (closed Mondays), Onora on Lope de Vega, and dinner at Pujol or Quintonil, booked weeks ahead.
  4. Day 4: Coyoacán and San Ángel. Your timed slot at the Casa Azul, lunch in Coyoacán, then the Rivera and Kahlo studios in San Ángel.
  5. Day 5: Out of town. Teotihuacán at opening, back by mid-afternoon. Rest before dinner.
  6. Day 6: Centro Histórico. The murals at Bellas Artes at 10 AM, then walk Madero to the Zócalo and have lunch at Bar La Ópera. On the way back, stop for tacos at El Califa de León in San Rafael.
  7. Day 7: Barragán and Juárez. Your booked tour of Casa Luis Barragán, breakfast or lunch at Café Nin, and a last drink at Handshake, booked ahead.

Where people meet

  • Art Week In early February, Zona Maco and the fairs and openings around it fill the galleries; Zona Maco 2027 is planned for February 3 to 7 at Centro Banamex. Book hotels and dinners early.
  • Gallery evenings kurimanzutto and the galleries of San Miguel Chapultepec and Juárez open new shows with evening receptions. Check each gallery’s site for dates.
  • Cocktail bars Bar Mauro, Handshake, Licorería Limantour and Baltra are all on North America’s 50 Best Bars for 2026, Bar Mauro at No. 2. Sit at the bar if you can.
  • Long lunches Lunch, from about 2 PM, is the main meal and the social one. A late lunch at Contramar on a Friday runs well into the afternoon.

Eating in Mexico City

  • Lunch is the main meal Comida runs from about 2 to 5 PM, and places like Contramar close at 8 PM. Book lunch the way you’d book dinner at home.
  • Book the hard tables Pujol, Quintonil and Rosetta fill weeks ahead; Quintonil and Rosetta take bookings on Tock. Book as soon as your dates are set.
  • Taco counters At a taquería like El Califa de León, order a few tacos at a time, eat standing, and pay at the end. Carry pesos.
  • Water Drink bottled or filtered water, as residents do. Restaurants will bring agua natural if you ask.

Getting around

  • Mostly by app ride Uber and DiDi are how most visitors cross town. Traffic is heavy on weekday mornings and evenings, when a ride across the city can take an hour, so plan each day around one area.
  • Metro and Metrobús Both take the Integrated Mobility Card (Tarjeta de Movilidad Integrada), sold at stations, and Metrobús also takes contactless bank cards. Metrobús buses run in their own lanes; the Metro is cheap and very crowded at rush hour.
  • Walk, cycle, and ride at night Roma, Condesa and Juárez are flat and easy on foot, and Ecobici’s bikes cover them, from about MX$134 for a day pass. At night, take an app ride or a taxi from a sitio rank rather than hailing one on the street.

Good to know

  • Altitude At 2,240 m, take the first day slowly, drink more water than usual and go easy on alcohol.
  • The earthquake alarm If the seismic alert sounds from the street speakers or your phone, walk out to open ground, away from buildings and cables. National drills sound it on set days; check whether one is planned.
  • Rides at night Take an app ride or a taxi from a sitio rank, as the UK government advises, rather than hailing one on the street. Use cash machines inside shops or banks by day.
  • Greetings Say “buenos días” or “buenas tardes” when you walk in, and “provecho” to diners as you pass their table.

When to go

The dry months, October to April, are the easiest: clear mornings, cool nights and warm afternoons. March and April are the warmest and driest, when the jacarandas flower purple. The rains start around June and fall mostly as afternoon storms until about September. The city sits at 2,240 m: the sun is strong, and the first day’s drinks hit harder.

October to April
The dry season: clear mornings and cool nights. Bring a layer for the evenings.
Early February
Art Week: Zona Maco and the satellite fairs bring openings and parties, and hotels fill.
March and April
The warmest, driest weeks, when jacarandas flower. Air-quality alerts are most likely now; check before a long walk.
Holy Week
Many residents leave town and traffic eases; some restaurants close. In 2027, Good Friday is March 26.
June to September
The rainy season: sunny mornings, and short, heavy storms in the afternoon. Carry an umbrella.
September 15 and 16
Independence: the Grito on the night of the 15th fills the Zócalo. Plan a dinner nearby, or stay away from the Centro.
Late October to November 2
Día de Muertos: marigold altars across the city, and a parade. The Mexican Grand Prix is usually around the same time, so book hotels early.

Day trips and next stops

  • Teotihuacán Buses leave Terminal Norte for the pyramids, or go by car. Arrive at opening to climb the Pyramid of the Sun before the heat and the tour groups. About 1 h.
  • Puebla ADO buses run from the TAPO terminal to Puebla, for Talavera pottery, the cathedral and mole poblano. Check the timetable with ADO. About 2 h 30 m.
  • Tepoztlán Pullman de Morelos buses leave from Taxqueña. Climb to the Tepozteco temple early, then have lunch in town. About 1 h 15 m.
  • Valle de Bravo A lake town in pine hills, for sailing and a weekend away. Most people drive; Zina buses leave from Terminal Poniente. About 2 h.

Questions people ask

Is Mexico City safe to visit?

The neighbourhoods in this guide are busy and widely visited. Read your government’s current travel advice for Mexico City before you go. Use app rides or sitio taxis, keep your phone out of sight at the kerb, and use cash machines inside shops or banks by day.

How much does the altitude matter?

The city is at 2,240 m. Most visitors feel it only as tiredness, a headache or a shorter breath on stairs for a day or two. Drink water, go easy on alcohol, and plan a light first day.

How do I get in from the airport?

From MEX, Metrobús Line 4 leaves both terminals for the Centro and Paseo de la Reforma, about 1 h, paid by card. Authorised taxis are sold at booths in arrivals, and Uber and DiDi have pickup points outside each terminal.

Where should I stay?

Roma Norte or Condesa to walk to restaurants and bars; Polanco for big hotels, quiet streets and the tasting menus; Juárez between the two, near Paseo de la Reforma.

Is Mexico City a good city for meeting people?

Try Art Week in February, the gallery openings, or a seat at the bar at Limantour, Baltra or Bar Mauro. If you’re an O member, you can also see people who choose to share overlapping travel dates.