Top 15 things to do in Mexico City
Visiting Mexico City had been on my bucket list for some time, and it seriously lived up to expectations. This vibrant destination is not one to be missed when visiting Mexico. The food is some of the best I’ve had anywhere in the world, the people are extremely welcoming, and the culture is rich!
Due to its huge size, it can be a difficult destination to navigate and narrow down which areas you should visit. Here’s where I (and this blog post) are here to help! So let’s jump right into it, here are my top 15 things to do in Mexico City and why I loved them.
Explore the Roma & Condesa districts
Spend a morning or afternoon simply wandering the streets of these districts. Both known as the up and coming ‘trendy’ neighbourhoods of Mexico City, with stunning architecture, countless street food vendors / stalls (which are all incredible!) and gorgeous little cafe’s, shops and restaurants. The perfect place to practice your photography skills snapping all the unique little corners of this area.
2. Visit the Mercado Coyacan in the Coyacan district
The Mercado Coyacan is a food market with every food you could possibly imagine. This place is an amazing place to just look around and you could spend ages in here gawping at the different delicacies on offer. We had the BEST tostados of our entire 2 month Mexico trip in this market. If you walk into the centre area you will see mini food stalls where you can sit down at a bar style set up. We ate at the yellow stall which mostly sold a variety of tostados for really cheap prices and fast service. I’d recommend the crab tostados!
3. If you love dogs, go to Parque Mexico!
As a huge dog lover, this was one of my favourite things we did in Mexico City. Parque Mexico is filled with hundreds of dogs. There’s so many because there are several dog trainers which work all over the park which bring large packs of dogs there during the day. You will see so many running around, sleeping, playing and generally having a fantastic time!
4. Grab a coffee at Cafebrieria El Pendula Roma
This is an iconic cafe and library located in the Roma district of Mexico City. It is exactly as I’ve just described - just a cafe and library, but it’s a really cool spot where you’ll see digital nomads and locals alike enjoying a book, having a coffee or working in a unique library setting.
5. Eat the best churros in Mexico at Churreria El Moro
This is another iconic spot in the city, where the churros are considered to be the best and most authentic churros you will find in Mexico. We can confirm - they were delicious! You can choose from a variety of different sauces to accompany your churros, we went for chocolate and caramel (both were amazing). Lots of people around us ordered a hot chocolate with their churros and were dunking them (maybe we missed the memo?), this looked super tasty so I’d recommend giving that a try too!
6. Visit Mirador Torre Latino
This spot is where you’ll find the best views over the whole of Mexico City and is not to be missed. From one side you can see the famous National Palace, and from the other the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
7. Enjoy rooftop drinks at Balcon del Zocalo
This is a really lovely bar which offers spectacular views over the central square outside the National Palace. Order a cocktail and watch the world go by!
8. Check out the House of Tiles
This unique spot is an 18th-century palace covered in beautiful blue and white tiles. A great photo spot and it is now even home to a popular restaurant. It is located just round the corner from Mirador Torre Latino.
9. Visit the National Palace
Take the tube to the stop ‘Zocalo’ and walk out onto the huge main square called the ‘Plaza de la Constitution’, there are many events and demonstrations held here, we were lucky enough to be there for Mexico City Pride which was a spectacular event.
10. Eat at street food stalls
The BEST and CHEAPEST way to eat in Mexico City is at the street food vendors. You can find them all over the city and the food is incredible. You will find any type of typical Mexican cuisine here from tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tostados, you name it with any filling you can think of. Most vendors will sell a taco for between 10-20p.
11. Wander around the Mercado de Artesanias de Coyacan
Another really cool spot in the Coyacan neighbourhood worth looking at is this artisanal market full of traditional, handmade and authentic Mexican produce. This was one of the most authentic markets we visited in the whole of Mexico and its the perfect place to pick up a cool souvenir or gift. This market is only open on weekends so make sure you plan to visit on either a Saturday or Sunday!
12. Visit the Polanco neighbourhood
This neighbourhood is considered the most wealthy in Mexico City. Here you will find designer shops, expensive & fancy restaurants and lots of lavish tourists wandering around. It isn’t really our vibe and we didn’t stay for long but its definitely an interesting spot to see in the city if you want to take the time to go. A huge contrast from the more cultural and authentic spots on this list. It is also where you will find the famous ‘Mexico mi Amor’ light up sign where lots of people (including us) take photos. The sign is outside the ‘TANE’ jewellery store on the main shopping strip in Polanco.
13. Visit the Palacio de Bellas Artes
A cultural spot in the centre of the city where you can buy tickets to view the exhibitions of painting, sculpture and photography. We didn’t go inside but the building itself is extremely impressive and great to wander by whilst in the centre if you don’t fancy the exhibition.
14. Look round the Juaraz neighbourhood
Similarly to the Roma & Condesa neighbourhoods, Juaraz is another trendy & hip area filled with boutiques, coffee shops and street food. We actually stayed in this district in a hostel called U-Co Juaraz which is a great place to stay for digital nomads and travellers. Opposite the hostel is the most amazing burrito stand where we had the best burritos we’ve ever had in our life! It is worth visiting this neighbourhood just to eat those burritos. The stand is ran by a lovely couple and there are burrito options for everyone, they also sell great french fries too.
15. Explore the Templo Mayor ruins
Right in the city centre you can find the Templo Mayor museum which showcases archaeological finds & exhibits related to the Aztec civilisation. You can walk around the edge and kind of get a feel for the ruins but if you want to really explore further then get tickets for the museum and spend a few hours learning about the history and view the ruins in closer detail.
And that brings me to the end of this Mexico City blog post! I really hope you enjoyed it and it gives you a good insight into lots of the wonderful activities and sights you can explore in this impressive city! Unlike other major cities Mexico City had a really unique feel to it, its not just ‘another city’ and it was one of my top 3 places we visited in Mexico. Thank you for reading and HAPPY TRAVELLING :)
