When you have only a day or a few hours in Mexico City, you have the opportunity to get to know a bit of a top-notch Metropol. Mexico City has turned into a hip destination, with a lot of vibes and a lot of things to discover in the last few years. A day in CDMX will give you an impression of what else there is to discover here. The perfect day for us, after living in Mexico City for half a year, is the one you will get to know now.
Breakfast:
You are going to start your morning in Mexico City in the Condesa neighborhood. Along with the neighborhood of Roma and Polanco, this is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places to discover in this city. The best place to have breakfast and start the day is in the Hipodroma area in Condesa. Here you can find many green areas, little traffic, and many parks and walking areas. In Hipodroma Amsterdam Avenue is full of beautiful and modern cafes and restaurants. You can find anything from traditional Mexican food to European or American food. It is not the cheapest, the dishes are in 120 pesos (6 dollars) approx, but for having a relaxing atmosphere in the morning it is totally worth it - trust us.
Our recommendation:
* Freims: has amazing coffee & good modern food, seats in their backyard ($$)
* Milos: has Mediterranean food with seats on Amsterdam Avenue under trees ($$)
In the morning:
After getting to know the Condesa area and enjoying a good breakfast you will grab an uber or even walk to Chapultepec Park. From Condesa, you will take about 20 minutes walking or 10min by uber to reach the main entrance of the park.
CAREFUL: THE PARK IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS!
This park has the castle of Chapultepec in its middle with a very beautiful view over the city. Inside the castle, you can find the post-Spanish history museum of Mexico. To enter the museum and its terrace they charge 50 pesos (2 dollars). It is really worth entering, taking some beautiful photos and enjoying the museum's halls for about 30 minutes.
Here you can see the mural of the very famous 'Niños heroes', which is a painting of the legend of children who were in this castle in the military school and jumped from the roof, (wrapped in the Mexican flag) so that the Spanish won't take it from them. If you are very interested in the history of Mexico you can hire one of the local guides right on site. For an hour they charge about 200 pesos (10 dollars).
After spending some time here you will walk through the park until you get to the lake (it has the letters of CDMX to take a photo) and take a right turn. Along this path, you will get directly to the museum of anthropology, which is known for exhibiting the Aztec calendar. Here you are also charged 50 pesos to enter and you can take a quick walk or hire a guide if you have a greater interest.
OUR TIP:
To see more of Mexico city choose an hour-long tour at Chapultepec castle OR in the museum of anthropology. It's going to be enough information and you're going to be able to get to
know the two places.
For lunch:
After spending a few hours in the museums and the park is time to get to know the vibrant city as it is. Now it's time to grab an uber that takes you directly to the historic center for something good and traditional to eat.
Our recommendations:
*The Cardinal: Local and Traditional Resource Food ($)
*Historic blue: food from a michelin-starred chef amazing place ($$$)
In the afternoon:
Enjoy, now that you are in the historic center, a walk down Calle Madero. This street is incredibly busy and always full of people. It is connecting the zocalo (with the cathedral and the ruins of the 'Templo Mayor') with the palace of fine arts and the park Alameda. Obviously, there is much more to see in the historic center, but for the short time you have, you will get to know the most important things.
OUR TIP:
If you like coffee and the good view you have to visit the cafe that is inside
SEARS right in front of the palace of fine arts. here you have good coffee and the best view to take some pictures.
If you aren't tired yet, you can grab a walk from the palace of fine arts towards Reforma avenue. There are always many traditional artworks and sellers of artisans here.
For dinner:
Dinner's going to take you again to a yet unknown neighborhood. You can eat at one of the taco places or restaurants that you will pass on the reform avenue, although they are expensive or you can grab an uber to get to the zona rosa and Roma. In the zona rosa, there is a wide variety of good restaurants and a lot of diversity of nightclubs and bars. If you prefer something quieter Roma with its parks and restaurants will be more to your liking.
Our recommendation:
* Cafe Ventura: Good and cheap in Zona Rosa ($)
* Restaurant Rosetta: Was on Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix and its good ($$$)
At night:
Although we didn't have many opportunities to go out at night, in zona rosa, there is always a lot of people in the bars and nightclubs to grab a drink. Also in Roma, there are many bars or restaurants with rooftops to enjoy a cocktail with a good view.
A DAY IN MEXICO CITY
Breakfast in Condesa:
* Freims: has traditional food with a modern twist, seats in your backyard ($$)
* Milos: has Mediterranean food with seats on Amsterdam Avenue under trees ($$)
In the morning:
* stroll through Chapultepec, visit the castle and the museum of anthropology
Lunch in the historic center:
* El Cardinal: Local and Traditional Resource Food ($)
* Azul Historico: food from a Michelin-starred chef amazing place ($$$)
In the afternoon:
* Visit the historic center, walk on the street Madero from zocalo to Bellas Artes
* have a coffee at sears in Bellas Artes
Dinner in Roma or Zona Rosa:
* Cafe Ventura: Good and cheap in Zona Rosa ($)
* Restaurant Rosetta: Was on Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix and its good ($$$)
At night:
visit a few bars or dens in the pink area or quieter in the Roma.
If you liked our summary and would like more information or a trip planned, send us a mail or contact us on social media.