Things to do in Mexico City
Roma, Centro and Polanco: the city the way locals actually use it.
This is Mexico City for the traveller who wants good food and a proper drink without paying Polanco-hotel prices for every meal. Three neighbourhoods, two fine-dining kitchens, one speakeasy you need to book weeks out, and enough street-level wandering to feel like you actually know the place. Bring comfortable shoes and a loose schedule.
Day 1: Roma Norte and Condesa mornings
Start with a pastry at Rosetta, drift through the craft stalls at Mercado Insurgentes, eat masa at Expendio de Maíz, then let Parque México slow everything down before a Mexican dinner at Étranger and a late mezcal at Tlecan.
- 9:30 AM
Panadería Rosetta
Cult bakery from chef Elena Reygadas, grab a coffee and one of their famous pastries to start the day right.
Map - 10:30 AM
Mercado Insurgentes
Neighbourhood craft market on Insurgentes, good spot to browse leather goods, textiles and silver without tourist-trap prices.
Map - 12:30 PM
Expendio de Maiz Sin Nombre
No menu: sit at the counter and the cooks keep bringing masa dishes off the comal until you say stop.
Map - 2:30 PM
Parque México
Condesa's Art Deco park: an oval path under big trees, fountains and dog walkers, an easy hour.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:30 PM
Tlecan
Neighbourhood cocktail bar with serious mezcal and agave-forward drinks, the local go-to after dinner, no reservation stress.
Map
Day 2: Centro Histórico, top to bottom
The Zócalo, Rivera murals, El Cardenal's hot chocolate and conchas with nata, the Museo Nacional de Arte's palatial rooms, then Centro after dark at Limosneros and the mezcal den Bósforo.
- 10:15 AM
Centro Histórico CDMX
Walk the Zócalo, step inside the Metropolitan Cathedral, and catch the Diego Rivera murals at Bellas Artes, the essential Centro circuit.
Map - 12:30 PM
Restaurante El Cardenal
Classic Mexican dining room near the Zócalo: hot chocolate, a concha with nata, then the day's guisado.
Map - 2:15 PM
Museo Nacional de Arte
Gorgeous 19th-century palace turned art museum, one of the best collections in the country, right in the centro.
Map - 7:30 PM
Limosneros
Centro dining room in a colonial building: refined Mexican plates with a deep mezcal list.
Map - 9:30 PM
Bósforo
Unmarked mezcal den on Luis Moya: small-batch mezcal by the copita and records on the turntable.
Map
Day 3: Chapultepec, then Polanco for dinner
Coffee at Odette, pedal boats on the lake, tacos at Siembra, the pre-Columbian collection at the Antropología, and the whole day earns its place when you sit down at Ticuchi and finish at Hanky Panky: book that reservation now.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Lago Mayor de Chapultepec
Pedal boats or a rowboat on the Chapultepec lake, easy, fun, and a total local favourite between museum visits.
Map - 12:30 PM
Siembra Taquería
Polanco taquería that presses its own heirloom-corn tortillas; order a spread of tacos to share.
Map - 2:30 PM
Museo Nacional de Antropología
The Aztec Sun Stone, Pakal's jade mask and the Teotihuacán halls: the finest pre-Columbian collection anywhere.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:30 PM
Hanky Panky Cocktail Bar
One of North America's best bars, reservation-only speakeasy. Book weeks ahead.
Map
Where to stay
Hotel Carlota
Hotel Carlota sits right between Roma and Condesa, walkable to Days 1 and 3, and its price point fits a value-over-flash trip without feeling like a compromise.
Hotel Parian
Hotel Parian is a solid mid-range pick in the same corridor, priced at $$ and well-placed for the Roma Norte start and the Centro day by metro.
Make Mexico City your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Teotihuacan: a few days ahead
- Museo Frida Kahlo: weeks ahead
- Arena México: a few days ahead
- Handshake Speakeasy: weeks ahead
- Tlecán: a few days ahead
- Hanky Panky Cocktail Bar: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Xochimilco quotes per person or above the posted per boat tariff, agree the total in pesos before boarding.
- Teotihuacan workshop tours that pad the day with gift shops, pay for a no stops operator or go by bus.
- Casa Azul disappoints non Frida fans, it is small with little major artwork and big crowds.
- El Califa de Leon queues can run 45 minutes, very good tacos but not a pilgrimage.
The full Mexico City travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around