Mexico’s capital is a huge city that never sleeps and I’d even go as far as saying that it’s my favourite city in North America. It’s full of excitement and you can never run out of things to do. After living in Mexico City for almost half a year, these are 15 things that I think first time visitors should take a look at.
1. Go to the Palacio de Bellas Artes
If there’s one thing you should do in Mexico City, I’d say it’s to go to the Palacio de Bellas Artes which is located within the historical centre. Although it’s an incredible building from the outside, what’s inside is more captivating. It is a huge art museum and what I liked most is the Huge Murals by Diego Riviera, by showing my student card, I got free admission.
2. Walk Around Bosque de Chapultepec
This place is one of the biggest parks in North America and truly puts Central Park to shame. Taking a walk through this park will be good as it can be hard to find green spaces within Mexico City. Even if you don’t want to do too much walking, it’s also a great place to go for a picnic.
3. Pay a Visit to Chapultepec Castle
Within Bosque de Chapultepec there is a castle, you wouldn’t expect a castle to be in North America, however this castle used to be the residence of the Mexican emperor and is now a museum with its history preserved. Not only that, the views of the city around the areas of the castle you can see the skyscrapers and mountains.
4. Cruise on a Trajinera in Xochimilco
If you want to do something completely unique, then I recommend this, within the southern area of the city, you can pay to go on a wooden boat and be taken around a series of canals. Going down the canals, you will see loads of other trajineras and you will pass by mariachi bands and you will be able to buy drinks from people passing you. An hour ride will cost 500 pesos which if you’re going with friends the cost can be split, so if you went with 6 friends, you’d pay about £3.
5. Appreciate Art at Soumaya
This museum is free for everyone and you should definitely take advantage of that. Located near Polanco, this unusual looking building houses a huge collection of art from all over the world and from some of the most famous artists.
6. Take in the Views From the Torre Latino
Although the building itself isn’t much to look at, however this is one of the best places to get views of Mexico City. Located a stone’s throw from the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the admission is 150 pesos or roughly £8.
7. Discover Mesoamerica at the Anthropology Museum
After the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the anthropology museum is the most amazing museum in DF, it is the largest museum and contains artefacts from the Aztecs such as the sun stone. It’s located near Chapultepec and I got in for free as a student. Admission for others costs 75 pesos which is roughly £3.
8. Take a Look at the Basilica of Guadalupe
Another things you can do for free is head over to the Basilica of Guadalupe, located north of the historical centre. You can walk up a flight of stairs to get a decent view of the church and the city in the background.
9. Walk Through Nature in Los Dinamos
Los Dinamos is a huge park within the southeast of the city, it is a place where you can enjoy a nice hike in fresh air with loads of pine trees. It’s a fantastic place and make sure you bring good shoes for walking and be prepared to cross rocks on rivers.
10. Watch the Beautiful Game at the Azteca
If you’re a football fan you can’t miss a trip to the Estadio Azteca, this legendary stadium has a capacity of over 87,000 and the atmosphere of Mexican fans is insane. You can get tickets for both the national team or a league game on Ticketmaster and pickup the tickets at Liverpool. It’s important to consider that this is a massive stadium so make sure you give yourself enough time to get there as the crowds to get in are enormous.
11. Eat Tacos at a Taqueria
It would be a crime to go to Mexico City and not have tacos, for an authentic experience, it’s good to go to a local place where you can see the meat being cooked on the spit. One of the most famous types of tacos is known as al pastor which is the pork from the spit. One of the authentic places I went to a few times is near Escandon, however I’m not sure what it is called as it was very much a hole in the wall kind of place, if you’re looking to eat al pastor, there are loads of places I can recommend such as Los de Frida near the La Salle campus and El Tizoncito in Condesa.
12. Visit the Monument to the Revolution
This place can be reached with the metrobus and is dedicated to the heroes of the Mexican Revolution. The style of the monument makes me think it looks Soviet as it was carefully designed with statues of Mexican workers on the monument.
13. Try Street Food in Mercado Roma
Possibly the best street food market in Mexico City, in the Roma neighbourhood, Mercado Roma has a great selection of street food stalls from all over the world. When I saw the Venezuelan flag at a stall I knew I needed to have some arepas and they were fantastic, coming here for your dinner in the evening, you will be met with a lively atmosphere.
14. Face Your Fears at Six Flags
Mexico City has its own decent theme park which you can take a bus to get to from Condesa, I came here on my 2nd weekend and didn’t think I’d enjoy it because I had been scared of rollercoasters for years. However, I forced myself to go on a rollercoaster and once it was done the euphoria was amazing. There are about 5 intense rollercoasters and a decent amount of rides, so I recommend a visit if you love rollercoasters.
15. Enjoy Fresh Air in Parque México
A 5 minute walk from Condesa is a quaint green space in the middle of the city, as Mexico City has so much noise and chaos, it’s good to get away from it. It’s a huge park and it is also interestingly decorated, you will even find a statue of Einstein’s face in the park.