When to go to Mexico City?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: November to April
At a glance
Why go to Mexico City?
Mexico City is home to 9 million people, 22 million with its suburbs, set at 2,240 m in a basin ringed by volcanoes. It layers three cities on top of one another: Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital built on a lake, whose Templo Mayor emerges 50 m from the cathedral; the Spanish colonial city of the historic centre, with its palaces of red volcanic stone; and the 20th-century metropolis, with its muralist frescoes, the towers of Reforma and the Roma and Condesa neighbourhoods where life is lived outdoors. Few capitals offer such depth for the price of a single metro ticket.
It is also the city where you eat best on the continent, at every price point. A taco al pastor costs less than a euro on a Roma pavement, the lunchtime comida corrida comes to €5, and two of the city's restaurants regularly feature among the fifty best in the world. The markets of San Juan, La Merced and Coyoacán have fed entire neighbourhoods for centuries. Pulque, mezcal and the cantinas complete the picture for those who like to linger over a meal.
Finally, Mexico City is a base. Teotihuacán and its pyramids are an hour away by bus, Puebla and Cholula two hours, Taxco and its silver-lined lanes three. The high-altitude climate keeps the days mild all year round, at around 22-27°C in the afternoon, and the dry season from November to April brings clear skies over the two volcanoes. A week here is not too long: the city reveals itself neighbourhood by neighbourhood, and each one is worth a day.
Map of Mexico City: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Centro Histórico
- Teotihuacán
- Chapultepec Park
- Coyoacán
- Roma and Condesa
- Xochimilco
How much does a trip to Mexico City cost?
Mexico City can be done well for under €60 a day in hostels and eating in the markets, the real expense being the flight. Museums cost €5 and the metro almost nothing; only the Casa Azul, Xochimilco and the renowned restaurants push the bill up.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €40-65/day | Hostel or simple hotel in the centre, tacos and comida corrida, metro, €5 museums, Teotihuacán by bus |
| Comfort | €100-160/day | Boutique hotel in Roma or Condesa, Uber, one good restaurant a day, Casa Azul, trajinera in Xochimilco, guided excursion |
| Premium | €300+/day | Polanco hotel or a palace in the centre, private driver, hot-air balloon at Teotihuacán, tasting menu at Pujol or Quintonil |
The Mexican peso trades at around 20 pesos to the euro. Cards are accepted in hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, but taquerías, markets and small museums take cash only. Withdraw from bank cash machines (BBVA, Banorte, Santander) located inside branches or shopping centres, and decline the machine's offer to convert into your home currency.
Is Mexico City safe?
Mexico City is not the dangerous place its image suggests, as long as you stay in the neighbourhoods frequented by visitors: the historic centre by day, Roma, Condesa, Polanco, Coyoacán and San Ángel. Tepito, La Doctores and the area around La Merced can be crossed by day with care and should be avoided at night. Pickpocketing on the metro and crowded buses is the most common risk: wear your bag in front and keep your phone out of your hand near the doors. Take taxis via an app or from ranks, never in the street. The altitude is tiring for the first two days, and the sun burns quickly. The city lies in an earthquake zone, and the 1985 and 2017 earthquakes, both on 19 September, left their mark on residents: alarms sound 60 seconds before the tremors, so follow the instructions posted in every hotel. Tap water is not drinkable, and air pollution can affect asthma sufferers in the dry season.
What to see and do in Mexico City
- Zócalo and Metropolitan Cathedral
- Templo Mayor
- Teotihuacán
- National Museum of Anthropology
- Palacio de Bellas Artes
- Chapultepec Castle
- Frida Kahlo Museum
- Xochimilco Trajineras
Centro Histórico
The UNESCO-listed centre fits into a rectangle roughly 1.5 km across around the Zócalo. Here you can take in the cathedral, the Templo Mayor, the National Palace and its Rivera murals, then the pedestrian streets of Madero and 5 de Mayo as far as the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Torre Latinoamericana, whose 44th floor offers the most convenient view over the city (about €10). The district lives by day: shops close around 8pm and the streets empty, except around Plaza Garibaldi, where mariachis wait for customers until late.
Teotihuacán
The city of the gods can be visited in half a day from the capital, by bus from the Terminal del Norte or on an organised excursion. The Avenue of the Dead runs for 2 km from the Citadel and its Temple of Quetzalcoatl to the Pyramid of the Moon, passing the foot of the Pyramid of the Sun, the third largest in the world by volume. Climbing has been banned since 2021, but the side platforms offer good viewpoints. The site museum explains the mural painting and the ball games. Bring a hat, water and two and a half hours of walking without shade.
Chapultepec Park
The largest urban park in Latin America covers nearly 700 ha and packs into a single walk the National Museum of Anthropology, the castle and its history museum, the Museum of Modern Art with The Two Fridas, the Tamayo Museum and a free zoo. On Sundays, families picnic on the lawns, hire rowing boats on the lake and buy chicharrones from street vendors. On Mondays, everything is closed except the park itself. Chapultepec or Auditorio metro stations drop you at the entrances at either end of the first section.
Coyoacán
A former village swallowed up by the city, Coyoacán keeps its tree-lined squares, its brightly coloured low houses and its cobblestones. The Jardín Centenario and its coyote fountain, the 16th-century church of San Juan Bautista and the covered market, where you can eat ceviche tostadas, take an hour to cover in the centre. Ten minutes' walk away, Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul and the fortress-house of Trotsky, murdered in his study in 1940, draw the crowds. On Saturdays, Plaza Hidalgo fills with craftspeople, musicians and churro sellers.
Roma and Condesa
Two neighbouring early 20th-century districts, with avenues planted with jacarandas and Art Deco buildings, which have become the heart of café life, gastronomy and nightlife. Parque México and Parque España serve as open-air living rooms, while Avenida Álvaro Obregón is lined with bookshops, galleries and terraces. This is where most of the restaurants that matter are found, from pavement taquerías to tables you have to book, along with a good share of the boutique accommodation. The area was hit by the earthquakes of 1985 and 2017, and a few buildings are still propped up.
Xochimilco
The canals of Xochimilco are 40 minutes away by Tren Ligero from Tasqueña, or by taxi. An hour or two on a trajinera is enough to see the cultivated chinampas, the plant nurseries and the floating party atmosphere at weekends, with boats of mariachis and food vendors mooring alongside yours. The Cuemanco ecological park, further north, offers quieter trips to the axolotl conservation areas. The Cuemanco flower market is the largest in the city and gets going at dawn. Bring a jumper, as it gets cooler on the water late in the day.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Three days cover the historic centre, Chapultepec and Coyoacán. Five days add Teotihuacán and Xochimilco, and a week gives you time to live Roma and Condesa at the locals' pace and head out to Puebla or Taxco.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Mexico City guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of Mexico
The essentials (3 days)
Day 1: the Zócalo at opening time, the cathedral, the Templo Mayor, the National Palace murals, lunch in the centre, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, then sunset from the Torre Latinoamericana. Day 2: the National Museum of Anthropology in the morning, Chapultepec Castle in the early afternoon, an evening in Condesa. Day 3: Coyoacán, the Casa Azul booked in advance, the market and Plaza Hidalgo, then a dinner of tacos al pastor in Roma. Everything can be done by metro and Uber.
Mexico City and around (1 week)
The three-day core, then sunrise at Teotihuacán, by hot-air balloon or on the first bus. A morning in Xochimilco on a trajinera, an afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art and the Tamayo Museum. A day in Puebla and Cholula, the largest pyramid in the world by volume, two hours away by bus. On the last day, the San Juan and La Merced markets in the morning, then lucha libre at the Arena México on Friday night. The pace stays relaxed, which matters at this altitude.
Mexico City to start a longer trip (10 days)
The most common format: four to five days in the capital to acclimatise to the altitude and see the centre, Chapultepec, Coyoacán and Teotihuacán, then a one-hour domestic flight to Oaxaca (mezcal, Monte Albán, markets) or a two-hour flight to Mérida and the Yucatán for the cenotes and Mayan sites. Arriving in Mexico City rather than Cancún makes for a far richer introduction than the Riviera Maya.
Getting there and getting around
The metro has 12 lines and costs 5 pesos a ride (~€0.25), with a rechargeable card costing 15 pesos. It is packed from 7am to 10am and 5pm to 8pm, with women-only carriages at the front. The Metrobús (6 pesos) runs along the main roads in dedicated lanes, including Insurgentes and Reforma.
Uber and DiDi work everywhere, and a ride from the centre to Condesa costs €3-5. Avoid taxis hailed in the street: use those from taxi ranks (sitios) or the app. From Benito Juárez airport, 10 km from the centre, allow €12-18 by authorised taxi prepaid at the counter or by Uber.
Long-haul flights from Europe, including Air France and Aeromexico, land at Benito Juárez Airport (AICM). The second airport, Felipe Ángeles (AIFA), is 45 km to the north and mainly handles low-cost domestic flights: check the airport carefully before booking a connection.
For excursions, four bus terminals cover the four points of the compass: the Terminal del Norte for Teotihuacán and Querétaro, TAPO (east) for Puebla and Oaxaca, and the Terminal del Sur for Taxco and Cuernavaca. ADO and Primera Plus buses are comfortable and can be booked online.
Where to stay in Mexico City?
Historic centre: hotels in colonial palaces and hostels a stone's throw from the Zócalo, €20-60 for a hostel or simple hotel, €80-150 for a room with a view of the cathedral. Handy for the museums, but deserted and less reassuring after 9pm.
Roma and Condesa: the most common choice among travellers, with design guesthouses and boutique hotels in Art Deco buildings, €90-200 a night. You can go out on foot in the evening, have breakfast on a terrace, and the centre is fifteen minutes away by Uber.
Polanco: the district of international hotels and big chains along Reforma and Chapultepec Park, €200-500. Safe, chic, a little bland, five minutes' walk from the Museum of Anthropology.
Coyoacán and San Ángel: a few guesthouses in colonial homes, €70-150, for a quiet stay with a village feel. Allow 30 to 45 minutes to the centre depending on traffic, which is the real issue in this city.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Mexico City?
Tacos al pastor, pork marinated in achiote and cooked on a vertical spit, served with pineapple, onion and coriander: 15 to 25 pesos each, less than a euro, at any hour. Tortas, filled sandwiches, and morning tamales round out the street food.
The markets double as canteens: San Juan for rare produce and seafood tostadas, La Merced for its sheer scale and its chillies, Coyoacán for ceviche tostadas. The set lunch, comida corrida, with soup, main course and drink, costs 80 to 120 pesos (€4-6).
Mexican fine dining has its addresses here: Pujol and Quintonil, in Polanco, serve tasting menus at around €150-200 and are booked weeks ahead. In Roma, Rosetta, Contramar (fish, lunch only) and Máximo Bistrot also need booking but are more accessible.
Pulque, a thick, slightly sour fermented agave drink, is served in the pulquerías of the centre for €1-2. Mezcal is best sampled in the bars of Roma. Traditional cantinas serve free botanas with drinks, La Peninsular and Tío Pepe in the centre being good examples.
Entry requirements
No visa for stays of up to 180 days with a passport, for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens. An officer writes the number of days granted on entry, so check it.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Mexico City
Is Mexico City safe for travellers?
Yes in the central and tourist neighbourhoods, with the usual big-city precautions: no valuables on show, taxis by app, Uber home in the evening. The most frequent incidents remain pickpocketing on the metro. The neighbourhoods to avoid are well known and come down to a few names, Tepito and La Doctores first among them.
Is the altitude a problem?
At 2,240 m, most visitors feel unusually breathless and tired for the first two days, sometimes with a headache. Drink plenty of water, go easy on alcohol the first night and save the long walks for later. People with heart conditions or asthma should see their doctor before leaving.
How many days should I spend there?
Three days for the centre, Chapultepec and Coyoacán, five to add Teotihuacán and Xochimilco. A week lets you settle into the city's rhythm and head out to Puebla or Taxco. Many travellers then move on to Oaxaca or the Yucatán on a domestic flight of one to two hours.
When is the best time to go?
From November to April, in the dry season: clear skies, 22-27°C in the afternoon, cool nights in December and January. March and April are the hottest months. From June to September, showers fall almost every day around 4pm or 5pm, short but violent, which does not stop you sightseeing in the morning.
Do you need to book museums in advance?
Only Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul requires an online booking, to be made one to two weeks ahead for a specific time slot. The national museums (anthropology, Templo Mayor, Chapultepec Castle) can be visited without booking for about €5. Almost all close on Mondays, so plan accordingly.
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