Mexico City (CDMX) – quick travel guide

My favorite city in Mexico. Big city charms mixed with warm pleasant Mexican vibes.

Big, beautiful, eclectic, amazing restaurants, partying, multiple neighborhoods to live and explore. What made me stay in CDMX over 3-4 months was this super comfortable vibe. You’re not on vacation…you’re home!

There’s tons of things to do, people to see, lovely spots to chill at when you’re not living the epic party life like you would in other cities in Mexico. Let’s go over all the gems I found.

Where to stay:

• Condesa – start here if you don’t know what you’re doing and want a great neighborhood with lots of life. Central to Condesa, Roma Norte, and Chapultepec. Aim as close as you can to Park Mexico, and catch a nice green vibe there. Lots of things around that park.
• Roma Norte – lots of life like Condesa but you’re probably aiming to be close to Alvarado Obregon street with tons of restaurants, bars, clubs. There’s also lots of cute shops and restaurants on the side streets.
• Casa Pepe Hostel (Centro) – can also start here to make friends and find fun things to do.
• Coyoacan – a great alternative neighborhood, nice and lots of culture.
• Polanco – the Beverly Hills of Mexico City. Posh and fancy.
• Juarez – adjacent to cool stuff, up and coming.
• Others – I don’t personally know them but you can read online guides for more ideas.

Hostels:

• Casa Pepe – is the absolute best. Awesome setup and fast internet, tons of great people to meet, nice rooftop area, friendly staff, events and activities all the time. The location sucks (only things nearby are Zocalo square and big shopping areas) but it doesn’t matter since you’ll be meeting people to explore other parts of the town anyway.
• Selina Hostel – not so desirable part of town, but inside is really nice (looks fancy). Lots of social events and activities and cool people to meet and hang out with. I still say Casa Pepe is better, but the Selina Hostel people are very similar vibe and it’s a good 2nd option if Casa Pepe is full.
• Hostel Home – a very small cute casual hostel with great vibes. Feels like a small family with the staff and guests, but my god is it so uncomfortable. Bunk beds are wobbly noisy metal frames. Annoying fan in bedroom makes noise all day and kicks dusts into your face. I couldn’t sleep comfortably (and trust me, I can sleep almost anywhere). The main benefit here is the great location in Roma Norte, very close to all the hippest coolest parts of town. This hostel can be nice if you want to hang out around quieter chiller people unlike Casa Pepe’s more social crowd.

Neighborhoods to stay & visit:

• Condesa – my favorite neighborhood to visit and stay (AirBnB). Restaurants, cafes, shops, parks (my favorite Parque Mexico and also Park Espana), and closer to more things you would actually want to see. Condesa feels like a neighborhood people actually live in and enjoy. Roma Norte feels like a place other people only visit but don’t live. Start in Condesa if it’s your first time.
• Roma Norte – another top neighborhood on many lists (also with restaurants and shops), but I easily prefer Condesa. Roma Norte’s biggest advantage is being so close to Avenida Alvaro Obregon, which is a long noisy street full of nice restaurants, bars, and shops. Unless you care about being absolutely right next to that, I prefer the quieter (but still lively) green/foresty Condesa. The walk on Orizaba street from Av Cuahtemoc to Parque Espana is also nice.
• Coyoacan – aka “the Frida Kahlo neighborhood”. Walk around the parks and neighborhood streets. Beautiful, nice, less touristy, many restaurants, bars/cantinas, and shops. I didn’t go but many people say the Frida Kahlo museum wasn’t worth it. The indoor market across the street from the musuem is kinda fun. If you wanna live in fancy CDMX tower apartments, do it here. My friend lived in “CITY TOWERS” (they have 6 of them, I think) and it was amazing. They have swimming pools, movie theaters, gyms, soccer courts, arcades, bowling, dance/yoga studios…all free amenities inside the tower! (And rent only costs like $1k/month for 2 bedroom.) Of course, other living options are nice too. The real churro place in cdmx here is “Churros Jordan”. Check out the independent movie theater “Cinetoca”, they also have free outdoor movies on the back grassy area.
• Polanco – the “Beverly Hills” of CDMX with fancy shopping areas, upscale restaurants, and expensive housing. Many single ladies (with money) prefer to live here since it’s the safest. They even claim Condesa/Roma are still a little dangerous which is hilarious to me…because those already feel absolutely safe. I didn’t know an even safer neighborhood existed.
• Juarez (Zona Rosa) – during the day, the area around the Plaza La Zona Rosa is a fun place to shop and see pro-gay community places. At night, it’s a fun and lively area with gay-friendly bars and clubs (yes, they are super fun for non-gays as well). There’s a wide range between cheap places, dive, alternative, hipster, and nice. Take your pick.
• Centro – not my favorite but worth a 1-day photowalk if you like any of these things…Plaza de la Constitution big square with many events and decorations and huge cathedral (night time here is cool when there’s an event), downtown style shopping areas, big pharmacies (they sell everything), Palacio de Bellas Artes (nice building and walking areas), and the China town (aka “Barrio Chino”). At night, there are some underground party events here (especially in the shady part of town). They are fun, but you may have to pass through weirdos at nearby events.

Things to do:

• Museums – Anthropology musuem, super awesome…try to walk fast so you get to see everything. It’s easily 2-days or 2 weeks worth of stuff. Soumaya, I heard it’s nice to take photos of the outside but the inside is not worth it. Frida Kahlo, small and expensive and not worth it for 50% of the people, spend your time in the neighborhood. I don’t know about the rest.
• Parks & Plazas – CDMX has tons of green spaces all easily reached. Bosque de Chapultepec, Parque Mexico, Parque Espana, Parque Lincoln, Parque America, Plaza Luis Cabrero, Plaza Rio de Janeiro. Great for a quick smoke, picnic, making out, people watching, reading, relaxing, working out, etc. I like these parks because they’re nice green oases but you can still feel the city around. If you want to completely forget that you’re in a city, there are other parks where you can totally get lost like Viveros de Coyoacan.
• Chapultepec Park & Castle – tip for first-timers…don’t waste time stopping and taking pictures at everything you see. Just walk straight through the park, and straight up the castle until you get to the very top outside part. THENNNNNNN…on your way down, you can decide which things you want to take pictures of. You’ll move much faster this way and realize how many things you thought were beautiful or interesting were actually not so nice compared to the later stuff you were gonna see. Keep in mind this tip is for the outdoors stuff only, if you liked any indoor museum part then do take photos of it right there. Same goes for the park…take pictures on your way out, not on your way in.
• Teotihuacan Pyramids – go in the morning. For the fastest route possible to the best pictures, walk straight to the SUN pyramid and then MOON pyramid, taking pictures along the way. Avoid all distractions before that. Then eat at La Gruta after (iconic cave restaurant easy 1 block walk from EXIT 5 behind the SUN pyramid). If you don’t have a reservation and don’t want to wait, you can go to La Cueva (similar cave vibe, same food but cheaper price) which some people is better value while others prefer La Gruta for better food, service, and picturesque. Many taxi or Uber drivers will happily wait to take you back to the city. Just let them know and they won’t mind sitting around for 2-3 hours as it’s easy money for them and skips Uber commission.
• Art stuff – tons of art events. Museums, galleries, exhibitions, wine and paint, all the usual. One gallery with cool events that I went to was called “No Es Una Galeria”. Check for events on Instagram.
• Plaza Garibaldi (mariachi show) – it’s a giant square surrounded by mariachi bar restaurants. Best to arrive at night usually after dinner like 10-11pm. Bunch of promoters in the square will try to coral groups of people into their restaurants. They usually promise good food, good prices, good tables in front. Ideally, groups with lots of foreigners and pretty girls should get the best seats (hahaha). Once inside, everyone is seated around a centered platform where high-energy mariachi singers come out and sing and dance. The crowd goes wild and many people sing along. There’s salsa/latin dance breaks in between. You usually just drink and have a good time. I really enjoyed the show…and keep in mind it’s not your usual annoying 3-guy mariachi band interrupting your dinner. It’s more like 1-man/woman performer who comes out with amazing singing voice and sometimes dancing to go with it. Be careful of them cheating your bill.
• Lucha Libre (wrestling) show – look up tickets for Arena Mexico on ticket sites. Fridays and Saturday shows are usually better. There’s usually unsold seats (during pandemic times), so you can buy cheaper seats of a section and then move to better ones during the show. The best seats IMO are the centered ones like, RING ROJO & R3-R9, because they get a centered view of the display screen and character walkouts. I felt the best performers were the “middleweights” around the mid-half of the show since they’re more acrobatic. The final round guys are more epic because they’re bigger and with heavier slams, but aren’t as acrobatic.
• Xochimilco Trajinera boats – you ride a colorful traditional Aztec boat down the canals across interesting views with music and drinking. Your experience can be more chill family “Venice gondola” vibe or fratboy drunk party vibe depending on your group. Each boat holds like 12-20 ppl maximum. The boat should be 400MXN/hour regardless of how many people (don’t let them quote you more). They often rip people off based on how well-off you look. Music, drinks, and food are not included. Bring your own food and drink, and also portable speaker in case they try to charge you for speaker (although it should be included). A good duration is 2-hours. They will stop at wherever you want them to stop…bathroom, convenience stores, taking pictures at buildings. My favorite was the creepy doll tree/house.
• Hot air balloon ride – I didn’t do it but my friends who did absolutely loved it. You can look up information on it online.
• Electronic art theaters/shows – I don’t know what to call these things. You pay money and get lost in a room full of weird art and wall-to-wall screens. I think the best rated one is Fantasy Labs in the Metropoli Patriotismo mall. I tried and liked it. I haven’t tried any others.

Restaurants & Cafes:

• Blanco Castellar – super classy and sexy. Looks like a place where politicians and celebrities would go but still very affordable for foreigners.
• Carajillo – beautiful sexy-vibe restaurant for eating at evening hours. Come early if you don’t have reservation. Beware of the waiters snatching almost-finished drinks off the table. I only tried the Roma Norte one, and I liked it. They have INCREDIBLE amazing live singing performers here, that happen at odd hours. Sometimes at 6. Sometimes at 8:30. Hard to predict their interval.
• Restaurante Rosetta – amazing food. Great option for lunch. Dinner gets full so you need reservation.
• Sud 77 – really classy spot, make a dinner reservation.
• Zocalo restaurants – all conveniently nearby and perfect for after visiting Zocalu/Centro areas in the morning. Balcon del Zocalo (most popular, requires reservation). Azul Historico (interesting decor with big tree in the middle, shops inside). Casino Espanol de Mexico (super elegant on top of 1st-floor art gallery). All are really good food and service. Balcon del Zocalo requires reservation!
• Mercado Roma – awesome spot for lunch. They have a ton of mini restaurants, bars, dessert/snack places inside. Go with friends, everybody orders their own thing, and you share.
• Madre Cafe (Roma Norte) – iconic spot with always tons of people around. The area around it is nice as well. At dinner time, it becomes a sexy place and probably requires reservation.
• Comedor de los Milagros –
• Palmares Azotea – nice vibe, drinks, food, excellent service. Solid rooftop option, especially when the big name options are full.
• Ballaro – solid fancy Italian spot with nice indoor and outdoor seating (indoor is super nice). Great for when you couldn’t get a reservation to the big name spots. They got plenty of tables here available and great/fast service.
• Oxford & Dresde – this general area is great! I walk to lunch here from Roma Norte. Many options along the way.

Way too many to list. CDMX has a freaken amazing food scene. Just look up those trip guides online and trust the lists. Keep in mind that all the sexy places will probably need a reservation for dinner hours (or they’ll be super full). You’ve been warned!

Bars & Clubs:

• Departamento – awesome spot that is the default place for every night if you don’t have other plans. Wide range of music (usually funk/techno on inside 2nd floor, and reggaeton/hip-hop on roof 3rd floor). Nice ambiance and sexy decor. Dance and drink, chill and chat, sit and smoke. You can do it all. TIP #1 – come here before 12am or they might not let you in, TIP #2 – always visit the rooftop. We didn’t know about it and couldn’t understand why so many people kept disappearing after they went to the bathroom. We later realized the stairs to the rooftop was by the bathroom and on some nights, 90% of the crowd is up there.
• Bar Orient – small techno bar that many people walk to when Departamento won’t let them in. It only plays techno so some crowds may not like that music.
• Funk Club – I fucken love this place, could easily be my favorite. Sexy ambiance, awesome techno/house music, classy people, and space to move. You can dance, chat, lounge. It’s a perfect mix of everything.
• Diaspora Events – message their IG for event info. It’s basically a private mansion party with lots of black/African influences. Afrobeats, dancehall, hip-hop, R&B and reggaeton. The crowd can be intimidating or overwhelmingly wild if you’re not used to that ethnic vibe. Some nights the crowd feels more chill. Other nights, you feel like everyone is tripping out on drugs. While I don’t think you’ll have any safety issues, I recommend you not to dress too fancy. It’s not trashy but it’s more of a casual sexy vibe than elegant. You may also see some dudes in here with their shirts off.
• Fiera Rooftop – fancy upscale place. Make an early dinner reservation for 6pm or earlier (basically while the sun is still out) and then stay later for when it turns into a sexy club. I had a GREAT TIME here. Awesome music, ambiance, vibes, met many upscale classy friendly cool people (locals had great English). It’s good for a special event and you and all your buddies wanna be super dressed up. But BE WARNED…do not book a later reservation (like 7pm or after) as they often overbook and will turn you away at the door claiming you booked the wrong place or that they are full. Our second attempt here (for a friend’s birthday group) was totally ruined by this.
• Cielo Rooftop – another beautiful rooftop restaurant club but doesn’t turn you away like the Fiera Rooftop assholes. The crowd is like mostly super young (15-25) rich local Mexicans (they all speak good English). Kinda hard to find. Go up the hotel to the top floor.
• Toledo Rooftop – another nice evening sexy music lounge place. Not much dancing if that’s what you wanted. It’s just a rooftop lounge bar.
• Kane – awesome dance club. Right next to Jardin Paraiso, so you can try one or the other.
• Jardin Paraiso – heard lots of good things. Tried to go but it was full so we went next door to Kane and didn’t regret it.
• GinGin – upscale bar with the classic big fancy group sitting around a big table kinda vibe.
• Rico Club – super fun (turbo) gay bar. Kinda trashy looking and not the cleanest but a lot of space, people of all types, and good range of music.
• secret spot – ….. knock on the door and the guys in the parking lot to the left of the building will yell at you to come to them. It’s an awesome place. Fun, upscale, but also a little sleazy.
• Phoenix – kinda divey reggaeton place.
• Mama Rumba – I believe this is salsa place but they might have other stuff too. I hear its name a lot and everyone I knew has gone but I never went.
• Zona Rosa – a classic area for “bars and partying” but I found most of them to be cheap and trashy. You might like it if you’re the kind of person who goes out in a hoodie and basketball shorts.
• Pop-up bars – there are many cheap restaurants or places that will magically “build” a bar for you right on the spot if they see a giant group of 20 foreigners walking around. This has happened to us several times. Their staff immediately put out tables, chairs, and lights especially for us…even after their official closing hours. Other times, they just let us have a private party in their closed restaurant…and we got to play whatever music we wanted. These are fun and also super cheap as their prices are nowhere near what the more established bars charge. Good option if you’re in a huge group just looking to party and don’t wanna taxi all across town for a club that might not even be open.

Just FYI, all the clubs I’m recommending have lots of foreigners and English-speaking or local Mexicans with money. There are also plenty of other locals-only spots that pretty much only speak spanish but we found them not as nice or the music was not to our taste.

Miscellaneous tips:

• Public Transportation – you can use public transportation (I never did), or taxi, or ride share apps (yay, they have them here).
• Rideshare apps – Uber, Didi, Cabify, Beat…listed in the exact order of most available cars. I find the non-Uber ones are usually cheaper than Uber but sometimes Uber can be cheaper. Honestly…rideshare apps are just so much more convenient when you need to pop in and out as you adventure around town. And especially at night when you’re bar/club-hopping.
• Rainy day activities – CDMX rains a lot. You can make the most of them by going to museums, shopping (clothes & souvenirs), shows, interactive theaters. Or going to an outside area, like Teotihuacan. I find the greater CDMX has different micro-climates and bad weather in one doesn’t automatically mean bad weather in another. Also…sometimes the rain doesn’t last long, just a quick shower and the sun’s back out again!
• Cheap medication? – want to buy name-brand or generic mediation? Go to Centro downtown area and you’ll find huge pharmacy stores with every option you can think of.

Nearby towns to explore:

• San Miguel de Allende (north) – yes it’s touristy and “fake Mexico” but still super charmy and must see. Great boutiques for high-end stuff clothing, gifts, etc.
• Guanajuato (north) – very colorful and real local Mexico. Many great museums. Don’t fall for the stupid tourist bus trap. Go to the destinations yourself. Read Google reviews on tourist places before wasting your money/time on them.
• Toluca (west) – haven’t been.
• Teopostlan (south) – haven’t been but it’s one of the Pueblos Magicos.
• Cuernavaca (south) – haven’t been.
• Taxco (south) – touristy as well but beautiful to see for a day. Make sure you eat at one of the terrace restaurants for great overhead views. If you stay here, get one of the hillside hotels. Also take a taxi up to their Christ statue at the top of the hill. Lots of silver sold here (as it’s authentically mined here).

All of these are an easy bus ride. Book your tickets online at ETN (my favorite coach bus company from CDMX). It’s super comfy with reclining seats, and has entertainment system/movies built into the seats.