Things to do in Mexico City, splurging
Great bars, destination dinners, and the best coffee from Roma to Polanco.
This is Mexico City for people who want to eat and drink at the top of the food chain: serious cocktail bars, acclaimed restaurants, and mornings that start with genuinely good coffee and pastries. The plan moves through Roma Norte, Condesa, and Polanco without rushing any of it, and every evening has a reason to get dressed.
Day 1: Roma Norte: pastries, seafood, cocktails
The day opens at Panadería Rosetta, works through a proper marisquería lunch and a browse of Mercado Insurgentes, then finishes with dinner at Meroma and a late round at Handshake Speakeasy, one of the best cocktail bars on the planet.
- 9:30 AM
Panadería Rosetta
Critic-lauded bakery café famous for its guava-ricotta pastry, the best morning stop in the neighbourhood.
Map - 10:30 AM
Glorieta de los Insurgentes
The sunken round plaza over Insurgentes metro, ringed by murals and street vendors, between Roma and Juárez.
Map - 12:30 PM
Mi Compa Chava Marisquería
Sinaloa-style seafood with a queue out the door: aguachile, seafood tostadas and a cold michelada.
Map - 2:30 PM
Mercado Insurgentes
Zona Rosa crafts market for silver, leather and textiles; browse the stalls and haggle politely.
Map - 7:30 PM
Meroma
Mercedes Bernal and Rodney Cusic's Roma Norte room: a short seasonal menu built on Mexican produce.
Map - 9:30 PM
Handshake Speakeasy
The heart of the whole trip, consistently rated one of the world's best cocktail bars, a speakeasy a short ride from dinner.
Map
Day 2: Condesa: culture, Contramar, wine
A morning at Chapultepec Castle earns a long lunch at Contramar, the afternoon unwinds in Parque España, and the night peaks at Étranger before a final glass at Hiya Wine Bar.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Chapultepec Castle
Chapultepec Castle, the only royal castle in the Americas, set in one of the world's great urban parks; gives you a solid two hours of culture and views.
Map - 12:30 PM
Contramar
Contramar, great-value seafood institution; order the tuna tostadas and the red-and-green grilled fish.
Map - 4:30 PM
Parque España
Condesa's small leafy park with shaded benches, five minutes' walk from Parque México.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:30 PM
Day 3: Polanco: museum, Masaryk, and a final splurge
The Museo Nacional de Antropología anchors the morning, Antara gives the afternoon a design-minded drift, and Er Rre un Bistró followed by Mantequilla Social Club closes the trip at its highest pitch.
- 9:30 AM
Lázaro Focacceria
Roma bakery for focaccia and good coffee, a quiet start before the day fills up.
Map - 10:30 AM
Museo Nacional de Antropología
The Aztec Sun Stone, Pakal's jade mask, and the full sweep of Mexica, Maya, and Teotihuacán halls, the city's unmissable museum, a short ride down Reforma.
Map - 12:30 PM
Taquería Selene
No-frills taquería for a cheap plate of tacos between the museum and an afternoon in Polanco.
Map - 2:30 PM
Antara Polanco
Antara is Polanco's design-forward open-air mall, local boutiques, international labels, and a calm afternoon browse a few blocks north of Masaryk.
Map - 7:30 PM
Er Rre un Bistró
Polanco bistro for a relaxed last dinner of seasonal plates and a good wine list.
Map - 9:30 PM
Mantequilla Social Club
Late cocktail bar for one last well-made drink; it's a cab ride west of Polanco, so plan the ride home.
Map
Where to stay
Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City
Sits on Reforma between Roma and Polanco, so every day's plan is an easy ride in either direction, and the service matches the spend.
The St. Regis Mexico City
The St. Regis puts you a short walk from Handshake and Meroma on night one, with Chapultepec right across the park for day two.
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