Things to Do in Mexico City: Tours, Tickets & Day Trips

Ranked by traveller reviews: 1) Teotihuacán and its Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, 2) a Historic Centre walking tour of the Zócalo, Templo Mayor and Bellas Artes, 3) a Historic Centre food tour, 4) the Xochimilco trajinera boats, 5) lucha libre at Arena México, 6) a bicycle tour of 19 highlights, 7) the Frida Kahlo Museum and Coyoacán, 8) the National Museum of Anthropology and Chapultepec Castle, 9) a tacos-by-bike tour through Roma and Condesa and 10) the Basilica of Guadalupe.

Plan four to five days. Day one: the Centro Histórico on foot — Zócalo, Templo Mayor, Palacio Nacional’s murals, Bellas Artes, the Torre Latinoamericana at sunset — with a food tour. Day two: Teotihuacán early (or by balloon at dawn), then the Basilica of Guadalupe. Day three: the Anthropology Museum (allow three hours), Chapultepec Castle and Polanco. Day four: Coyoacán and the Frida Kahlo Museum (book weeks ahead), then Xochimilco in the afternoon. Day five: Roma and Condesa, the Mercado de la Merced or San Juan, lucha libre at night.

The Zócalo and the cathedral, Rivera’s murals at the Palacio Nacional and the Secretaría de Educación Pública, Chapultepec Park, its lakes and free zoo, the Soumaya Museum’s 66,000 works, the Basilica of Guadalupe, Alameda Central, UNAM’s Central Library mosaics, Biblioteca Vasconcelos, the Sunday Ciclotón on Reforma with free bike loans, Coyoacán’s Jardín Centenario, the Saturday bazaar in San Ángel, the Mercado de Jamaica flower market and the view from the Sears café opposite Bellas Artes for the price of a coffee. Many museums are free on Sundays.

Teotihuacán (one hour; tours from about $58, sunrise balloons $150–200), Puebla and Cholula’s great pyramid (two hours), the silver town of Taxco (2.5 hours), the magical town of Tepoztlán and its cliff-top pyramid (90 minutes), Cuernavaca (90 minutes), the Tolantongo hot springs (3.5 hours; a very long day), San Miguel de Allende (3.5 hours; tours $98, better overnight), Valle de Bravo’s lake and, from November to March, the monarch butterfly sanctuaries in Michoacán and the State of Mexico (3–4 hours).

Lucha libre at Arena México on Tuesday, Friday or Sunday nights (tours with tacos and mezcal from about $62–69), mariachis in Plaza Garibaldi, the Ballet Folklórico at Bellas Artes on Wednesdays and Sundays, the mezcalerías and cocktail bars of Roma and Condesa (Licorería Limantour), rooftop terraces over the Zócalo, the Torre Latinoamericana observation deck, Coyoacán’s cantinas, a night trajinera at Xochimilco and, in October, the Day of the Dead parade along Reforma.

Winter is the dry season — sunny 70°F days and chilly 45°F nights — and the best time for Teotihuacán and walking tours. Day of the Dead (1–2 November, with the big parade the weekend before) opens the season, December brings the giant Christmas tree and ice rink on the Zócalo and the pilgrims at the Basilica of Guadalupe on the 12th, January the Three Kings celebrations, and from November to March the monarch butterflies fill the sanctuaries three hours west. The jacarandas turn the city purple in March.

Chapultepec Park’s zoo, lakes and castle, the Papalote Museo del Niño children’s museum, the Anthropology Museum’s Aztec Sun Stone, a Xochimilco boat with mariachis, lucha libre (children love the masks), the pyramids of Teotihuacán, KidZania, the Acuario Inbursa, Six Flags México, the Turibus double-decker, the Sunday Reforma bike ride and churros at El Moro. Roma and Condesa’s parks have playgrounds and weekend puppet shows.

March to May — warm, dry and with the jacarandas in bloom in March — and October to early December, with Day of the Dead in early November. The rainy season runs June to September with heavy but short afternoon downpours. December and January are dry, sunny and cold at night; Easter week empties the city of locals and is a quiet time to visit.

Yes — the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon and the two-kilometre Avenue of the Dead form the largest ancient city in the Americas, an hour from the capital, and it is the most-reviewed experience in Mexico City. Go early or on a sunrise balloon flight to beat the heat and crowds, wear a hat (there is no shade), and note that climbing the pyramids is no longer permitted — the views from the Avenue and the Moon Plaza remain spectacular.