A foodie’s paradise! Mexico City had been on our wish list for a while, and we finally had an opportunity to take a 5-day trip and explore all that the city has to offer. Everything more than lived up to the hype – especially the tacos. We ate so many tacos.
Things to Do
- Teotihuacan: This day trip from Mexico City is well worth it. The pyramids here are massive, with the sun pyramid’s base nearly the size of the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza. You will want to give yourself at least 3.5 hours at the park to see everything it has to offer. That will include the sun pyramid, the moon pyramid, the palace ruins, the museum, and the ciudadela. It is a huge area to cover, so don’t underestimate the time required (like we did). What we would recommend doing is taking an uber to the park to arrive at 9:00 AM when it opens (about an hour drive) to avoid traffic and crowds, hire a licensed guide just past the parking lot (you’ll need cash), do the 1-hour guided tour of the main stretch and pyramids, then spend the remaining time exploring the park independently before calling an uber to take you back to the city (we had good service by the Gate 2 exit with Verizon). The weather here can be hot, and there is little shade, so bring sunscreen and dress accordingly for the trip. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also book a hot air balloon tour that floats over the pyramids at dawn.
- Museo Nacional de Antropología: This museum was our favorite in Mexico City. The building itself is beautiful, with a massive water feature in the central courtyard, but the exhibits are also super interesting. You will need at least three hours to walk around the full museum, and potentially more depending on your pace. For us, the highlight was the sun stone in the Aztec corridor. The scale and level of detail are truly awe inspiring. We enjoyed the whole experience, though, so don’t rush to this exhibit and miss everything else along the way.
- Chapultepec Park and Castle: This park is beautiful – especially on a weekday morning before the crowds arrive. Over the course of our five days in Mexico City, this was by far our most peaceful experience. It was really nice walking around the park with our coffees, getting a view of the castle and monuments, and enjoying the lake views. It is also worth paying the modest entry fee to go up to and inside the castle (which doubles as a history museum). It is a beautiful building, and you get a great vantage point of the city from the castle’s courtyard.
- Historic City Center Walking Tour: Mexico City has a fascinating history, and we thought our walking tour with Mexico a Pie was a great way to learn about our temporary home. We started off in Constitution Plaza to learn about the first settlers of the area and how Mexico City was essentially built on a lake (!!!). We also got to go inside the cathedral, learn about how the city is sinking (because of the lake) and how that is impacting many of the city’s buildings, and visit some other beautiful buildings in the area, including the post office. Typically, we do free walking tours that are based on gratuity only, but we decided to splurge this time and pay for a smaller group that could get better access to the buildings and learn in a more intimate setting. It was a good call.
- Food Tour: Signing up for a food tour is a great way to make sure you visit as many restaurants as you can in a short period of time. There are a lot of options in Mexico City (as you might expect), but we were happy we went with Sabores. We did their taco and mezcal tour, which included visits to five taquerias (you can read about each below), nine tacos, drinks at the taquerias, and a mezcal tasting at a cantina. The tour also provided transportation from stop to stop and included a quick visit to the Monument to the Revolution. It was a great experience, made better by our fantastic guide, and we would definitely recommend it.
- Lucha Libre: This show / match / whatever you want to call it was way more entertaining than we expected. Yes, it is scripted, but it is still impressive watching masked men fly over and between the ropes. The match we went to was at Arena México, and we felt perfectly safe there; we just recommend taking an uber to and from the show. We also recommend getting a seat in the lower bowl to really appreciate the acrobatics.
- Templo Mayor Museum: Another museum in the area (Mexico City has a lot of them), Templo Mayor focuses more on the excavations from the main temple that used to stand in Mexico City. The coolest part of this museum was getting to see how the main template was layered – with new “shells” built outside the original temple over time, creating a total of seven layers. While not as interesting as the Anthropology museum, it was still nice taking a quick walk through the exhibits.
- Alameda Central: This park just west of the city center is nice but incredibly crowded if you visit on a weekend afternoon. There is so much happening here though (like live music and dancing), and so many vendor stalls, that it is still a good place to come people watch or shop around.
Where to Eat (Tacos)
There are seemingly endless places in Mexico City to grab delicious tacos. We visited probably too many over the course of five days in the city, but all were delicious and had something great to offer.
- Restaurante Taqueria Los Cocuyos: This taqueria in the city center was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s ‘No Reservations’, and it delivers on the hype. The tacos here are classically prepared (meat, onion, and cilantro, with salsa on the table), cheap, and spectacular. Overall, these may have been our favorite tacos on the trip. In particular, we loved the campechano, pastor, and suadero tacos. After a morning walking tour around the city, grabbing tacos and beers here was a perfect way to relax and unwind.
- El Califa de Leon: Taco tour stop #2 – the one and only Michelin-starred taqueria. These simple tacos were perfect. Rather than the typical shredded or chopped meat, El Califa de Leon fills their tacos with sliced, seared meat, and they are delicious. The only ingredients are tortillas, meat, salt, and lime juice. Add a little bit of smokey salsa that is provided on the table, and *chef’s kiss*. This place can get crowded given the acclaim, but with our tour we were able to skip the line and grab a table in the store next door.
- Tacos Don Juan: We visited this taqueria on a whim for a post-lunch snack, and we were very glad we did. The suadero y queso taco was delicious. It may be because we’re American, but you just can’t beat melted cheese on a taco. This taqueria was even more casual than most of the others we visited, with counter-service ordering and only limited outdoor seating, but it was one of the better bites of our trip. If you go on the weekend (which we didn’t unfortunately), you’ll have the opportunity to try their quesabirria, which is supposed to be fantastic.
- El Pescadito: Our pre-Don Juan lunch, El Pescadito specializes in seafood tacos and was a refreshing change after all the beef and pork tacos we had been eating. The fried fish taco and shrimp taco were both delicious. We also really enjoyed the salsa bar here that included several sauce options in addition to coleslaw.
- Taquería Selene: Taco tour stop #5 – for a good al pastor taco, we recommend Taquería Selene. Even though these were our 8th and 9th tacos of the tour, we happily scarfed them down with how tasty they were. The gringa al pastor in particular (i.e., an al pastor taco with melted cheese) was especially awesome.
- La Tonina: Taco tour stop # 1 – these tacos were the only ones on our trip that came in flour tortillas, but they were some of the best flour tortillas we’ve ever had. While not traditional for Mexico City, that doesn’t make the tortillas any less delicious. Next time we visit, we’ll definitely try a gordita from here, as they looked delicious.
- Maizajo: This taqueria right across the street from our Airbnb was a pleasant surprise. For a late night snack, we stopped by for a ribeye and langoniza volcane, which was essentially an open faced taco on a flat, hard shell that was filled with meat and melted cheese. It was crispy, cheesy, messy, and perfect. The taco bar is standing-only, but you won’t need long to order and enjoy these tacos. If you want more of a sit-down meal, this taqueria also has a proper restaurant upstairs.
- Las Costillas: For when Maizajo was just a little too close to our Airbnb, we also had the option to walk 1 minute down the street to Las Costillas. We may be biased because these were the first tacos of our trip, but they were really, really good. Like many of the other taquerias we visited, Las Costillas served more traditional tacos in corn tortillas with meat, lime, onion, cilantro, and salsa options on the table. We loved the costilla and bistec tacos.
- Tacos la Chula: Taco tour stop #3 – this local chain has a few locations in Mexico City, but we visited the one in Juarez as part of our tour. The highlight here was the spicy pineapple salsa available at the taco bar; no other taqueria we visited had anything like it. The sweet and spicy paired great with the suadero and longaniza tacos.
- Tizne Tacomotora: Taco tour stop #4 – the tacos here were more contemporary than anywhere else we tried and had unexpected flavors, like miso-marinated beef with ginger. Personally, we preferred the classic tacos served elsewhere, but if you want to try something truly different, Tizne can give you that.
Where Else to Eat
If you get tired of tacos, or just want to mix it up a bit, Mexico City has plenty of other delicious restaurants – including some of the best in the world.
- Pujol: The #33 restaurant in the world as of February 2025 with two Michelin stars, Pujol more than lives up to the hype. The tasting menu was truly special. Without a doubt, the highlight was the mole madre, which had been cooking continuously for over ten years. Weeks later we are still thinking about it; we’ve never had anything so deep with flavor, if that makes sense. It wasn’t just the mole though. The overall experience was terrific. The service was top notch, and every dish (apart from the dessert which was just fine) was perfect. The beef tostada and baby corn bites. The tuna ceviche. The quelites tostada. The grilled rock fish. The wagyu steak. And the mole – cannot forget about the mole.
- Quintonil: The #7 restaurant in the world as of February 2025 – Mexico City has some really delicious spots. While Pujol was more our style, Quintonil was spectacular in its own right. The 13 course tasting menu showed off a bevy of modern cooking techniques that were only overshadowed by the flavor combinations and unique ingredients (at one point our server came out and showed us all the bugs we had consumed at that point in the meal). You can expect the menu here to change with the seasons, but for our particular visit the highlights were the pibil duck tamal (corn foam is shockingly delicious), a tostada of charred avocado tartare with escamoles, butternut squash and tomato salad, and the lettuce bouquet small bite. Everything was delicious though, and the service was also what you’d expect from a two Michelin star restaurant (including a take home menu along with a customized list other restaurants and bars to visit while in Mexico City).
- El Caimancito: We were craving chilaquiles, and El Caimancito delivered. This restaurant in Condesa has nice patio seating and several delicious chilaquiles options. It isn’t the cheapest breakfast you can find in Mexico City, but it will leave you full and happy for a good chunk of the day.
- La Casa de Tono: This popular diner-style restaurant is close to the renowned Handshake bar (more on that below), and it’s a solid option for a quick, casual, affordable dinner before or after the luxe bar. The chilaquiles and enfrijoladas here are very tasty, but we will say we preferred most of the other places we ate at.
- Churrería El Moro: We couldn’t go to Mexico City and not have churros. This churrería is pretty famous and has several locations around Mexico City. We thought they were solid but not spectacular. The highlight here was the chocolate dip (and the low prices), but we preferred the churros and hot chocolate we had in Madrid.
- Mamá Carmela: You’d be forgiven if you passed this small bakery on the street and didn’t think anything of it, but you’d also be making a huge mistake. This place is delicious. Without a doubt, these were the best conchas we’ve ever had, and the croissants were fantastic too.
- Pasteleria Ideal: Whereas Mamá Carmela is small and quaint, you can’t miss Paseleria Ideal. This mammoth of a bakery is honestly overwhelming, which makes sense considering that it supplies many of the cafes around the city. We tried too many things from here in our single visit, but the highlight was surprisingly the sweet bread with butter and sugar. Simple and delicious.
Where to Drink
- Handshake: The #1 bar in the world as of February 2025. As you would expect, it is not easy to get a reservation, but it’s worth it. True to the speakeasy intent, this bar is tucked away in a hotel basement that you can only get to via a service stairwell. Once there though, the atmosphere is livelier than we were expecting, with loud music, packed tables, and coordinated greetings and farewells from the entire bar staff for every patron. The cocktails here also lived up to the hype. We first had the Salt and Pepper cocktail, which had super pure flavors and was maybe the best cocktail we’d ever had. Then we ordered the Once Upon in Oaxaca, and that quickly became the best cocktail we ever had (complete with a light show). If you’re feeling more adventurous, the waiters will even try to bring / make a cocktail for you based on a feeling you describe. This was fun to try, but nothing measured up to the Once Upon in Oaxaca, so we recommend sticking to the menu.
- Licoreria Limantour: The #32 bar in the world as of February 2025, but the #1 bar in our hearts for Mexico City. We loved the vibe here. Even in a crowded urban area, the music and atmosphere gave it the vibe of a not-cheesy beach bar. The Mango con Chile cocktail was also shockingly good; you wouldn’t have thought anything looking at it, but the flavors were so perfect and well balanced.
- Tlecan: The #20 bar in the world as of February 2025 (Mexico City is well-featured on the list), Tlecan is very different from Handshake and Limantour – in a good way. This mezcal bar has an almost cave-like atmosphere, with dark lighting and decor that reminds you of the area’s pre-Hispanic heritage. Unlike Handshake and Limantour, Tlecan does not accept reservations, so we recommend going earlier on a weekday if possible. We did and luckily didn’t have to wait to get in. The mezcal cocktails here are terrific and well-worth the early visit. They didn’t blow us away to the extent that Handshake or Limantour did, but the spicy mezcalita was still perfect.
- Agavito MPDL: As mentioned earlier in this post, our taco tour included a mezcal tasting, which we did at Agavito. It was way more low key than the other bars we visited, but the “Mexican Spell” cocktail was so good! This is definitely a more local spot, if you’re looking to get off the typical tourist track.
Other Tips & Tricks
- Where to Stay: We stayed at an airbnb in Condesa and loved it. The neighborhood is beautiful and safe, and you can easily find an affordable, nice apartment to rent. Condesa, Roma Norte, and Polanco are known as the better areas that are safer for tourists, so we recommend staying there and ubering anywhere else you need to go.
- Currency Exchange: Unlike most places we’ve visited recently, you actually need cash in Mexico City. Bring plenty of dollars to exchange at a reputable place in one of Mexico City’s better neighborhoods (or the airport – they had a surprisingly good rate). We needed to use cash for tipping, the tour, tickets, and parking at Teotihuacan, and certain restaurants around the city.
- Getting Around: We’ve heard that the subway system in Mexico City is solid, but we opted to take ubers around town because they are so affordable, they’re safe, and there were four of us. We definitely wouldn’t recommend driving here, as there is so much traffic and not so much adherence to rules.
- Safety: Mexico City has a reputation, but it didn’t feel unsafe to us. There were just a couple of occasions where we needed to keep a tighter grip on our belongings due to potential pickpockets (city center) or just being in a more questionable area (when walking from city center to San Rafael). Just don’t be too flashy or reckless, take ubers instead of walking when needed, and you’ll be fine.
- Language Barrier: It is really helpful to know some Spanish, as most taquerias and non-fancy restaurants we visited didn’t speak any English. Google Translate is great and can get you by in a pinch, but it is still good to know the basics in case you have questions or requests for servers.
- Weather and Elevation: Mexico City is at a really high altitude (7,349 feet – over 2,000 feet higher than Denver) and has a warm desert climate even in the winter. When combined, this means you’ll get dried out quickly. Bring sunscreen and loose fitting clothing, and make sure to stay hydrated.
- Drinking Water: Tap water isn’t safe to drink here. Thankfully, our airbnb had a filter we could use, but we still needed to get bottled water regularly too while we were out. Because the drinking water isn’t safe, you need to be careful about street food and unreputable restaurants, as they can easily make you sick if they use untreated water in their food prep.
- Avoiding Crowds: Finding a peaceful setting in Mexico City can be difficult, but there are a few things you can do to give yourself a chance. The first is to start your days early – the city is noticeably quieter before 10:30am. The second is to not go to museums on Sundays, as that is when Mexican nationals can visit for free. Any other day of the week (especially weekdays), you will have more personal space and peace to enjoy the visits.
Happy traveling!
Kitrina & Jordan