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Voykit pocket guide · Mexico

Mexico City

Ciudad de México

Mexico City is a morning-and-lunch city at altitude: do the Centro and the museums before 14:00, eat a long lunch, and take an app car between neighbourhoods.

Mexico City is huge, at about 2,240 m, and spread over neighbourhoods a taxi ride apart. The trips that work pick one bed, do one cluster per half-day, and put a seated lunch in the middle. Four clusters cover a first visit: the Centro Histórico, Alameda and Bellas Artes, Roma Norte, and Chapultepec. Teotihuacán, Puebla and Xochimilco are day trips from the same bed.

Centro Histórico (Zócal…Alameda & Bellas ArtesRoma NorteChapultepec (Anthropolo…Centro Histórico hote…Roma Norte hotels1 kmpins: sleep areas · dots: places
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
Mexico
Local name
Ciudad de México
Best months
Jan · Feb · Mar · Oct · Nov · Dec
Time zone
America/Mexico_City
Stay
2 days: Centro Histórico morning + Chapultepec museum

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
MXN
Money
Keep MXN 500 in small notes for tips, snacks and site taxis; use ATMs inside banks or malls and choose to be charged in pesos.
Daily spend
Budget MXN 700–1,400 excl. bed · Mid MXN 1,400–3,000 excl. bed · High MXN 3,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
Telcel has the widest coverage; AT&T and Movistar are cheaper in cities. SIMs sell at OXXO shops and phone stores; registration with an ID may be requested — check.
Emergency
Emergency (police 911 · Tourist assistance / Green Angels 078 · Anonymous crime report 089 · Federal consumer office (PROFECO) 55 5568 8722
Plugs
Types A, B · 127 V · 60 Hz · US plugs fit; many older sockets have no earth pin.
Tipping
Restaurants: 10–15%; check the bill for an included 'servicio'.; Bars: MXN 10–20 per drink or 10%.; Petrol station attendants: MXN 10–20; more for windscreen and tyres.; Guides and drivers: 10% or MXN 200–400 a day.; Supermarket baggers (often older volunteers): MXN 5–10.
Water
Not drinkable from the tap; garrafón (20-litre jugs) and filtered water in hotels.
Toilets
Put paper in the bin, not the toilet, in most places; public toilets charge MXN 5–10.

Get in

By air

Mexico City International Airport (MEX)
MEX to the Centro: one authorised airport taxi or app car, 30–75 minutes depending on traffic — the risk is the street-taxi touts, not the ride.
Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU)
NLU to the Centro: one pre-booked car or authorised taxi, 60–120 minutes because the airport is about 45 km north — the risk is treating it as a city airport.

Get around

Walk inside a cluster; app car or hotel taxi between clusters.

Passes
No pass. App fares show upfront; for the Metro use a rechargeable card and avoid rush hour with bags.
Late at night
The Metro closes around midnight (check the line): app cars run all night.

See and do

  1. 01National Museum of AnthropologyMuseo Nacional de Antropología

    Mexico's great archaeology museum: allow 2.5 hours for the Aztec and Maya halls; go at opening, and skip the upper floor if you are tired.

  2. 02Templo MayorTemplo Mayor y Museo

    The excavated Aztec temple precinct and its museum: 90 minutes; the open ruins are in sun, the museum is indoors, and it is closed one weekday a week.

  3. 03Chapultepec CastleCastillo de Chapultepec

    The hilltop castle and history museum: 75 minutes including the climb; go after the museum, take the lift or the shuttle if offered, and mind the altitude.

  4. 04Palacio de Bellas Artes

    Marble palace with the big murals inside: 60 minutes for the halls and the murals; see it from outside at dusk, or go in mid-morning.

  5. 05Zócalo & Metropolitan CathedralZócalo y Catedral Metropolitana

    The great square and the cathedral on its north side: 40 minutes; go before 11:00, then Templo Mayor next door; the square can be fenced off for events.

  6. 06Plaza Río de Janeiro

    The circular plaza with the fountain and the Roma Norte cafés around it: 30 minutes on a shaded bench; the easiest first walk after a flight.

Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.

Eat

Café de Tacuba
Historic Mexican restaurant a few minutes' walk from the Alameda: a seated lunch with chairs and AC; go before 14:00.
Churrería El Moro
Churros and hot chocolate counter open late: a quick sweet stop near Bellas Artes; queue before 10:00 or after 21:00.
Contramar
Seafood restaurant in Roma Norte known for a long lunch: reserve ahead or arrive at opening; it fills by 14:00.

Sleep

Centro Histórico hotels
For a first visit with an early Zócalo morning: a hotel with a 24-hour desk on a street a taxi can reach; the square is a walk, the rest is a short ride.
Roma Norte hotels
Calmer nights and better food streets: a hotel with a night desk on a tree-lined block; museums and the Centro are a taxi ride away.

Language

Spanish everywhere, with a Mexican vocabulary; English is common in resorts and upscale Mexico City, much less elsewhere. Millions speak indigenous languages, especially in Oaxaca, Chiapas and the Yucatán.

  • '¿Mande?' means 'pardon?'; 'ahorita' can mean now or much later.
  • WhatsApp runs business: hotels, tours, drivers.

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake; a kiss on the right cheek among friends; avoid: Skipping 'buenos días' when entering a shop
  • Punctuality: Be on time for tours and buses; avoid: Expecting social events to start on time
  • Talking: Warm small talk, family, food, football; avoid: Jokes about cartels, the wall or migration
  • Churches: Covered shoulders, quiet; avoid: Photos during mass
  • Dining: Say 'provecho' to other diners when leaving; avoid: Rushing the waiter

Red lines

  • Do not photograph inside museums where signs forbid it.
  • Keep phones out of hand on Metro platforms and in crowds.
  • Bags are checked at the big museums: leave large packs at the hotel.

Scams (Mexico page)

  • Fake VISITAX and entry-form sites: Only visitax.gob.mx and gob.mx/inm; entry by air needs no paid form.
  • Airport 'free transport' desks and timeshare pitches: Walk past the desks inside; book transfers in advance or use the official counters outside.
  • Dynamic currency conversion: Always choose to be charged in pesos.
  • Short-changing and note swaps: Say the note value out loud; check the pump starts at zero.
  • Express kidnapping in street taxis: App rides or taxis from official sitios only.
  • Fake police and bribe demands: Stay polite, ask for the written fine to pay at the station, film if safe.

One and two days

1 day

The first day of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Zócalo, Templo Mayor, 14:00 lunch at Café de Tacuba

  1. 08:30Zócalo & Metropolitan Cathedral
  2. Templo Mayor
  3. 14:00Lunch table 14:00 (Café de Tacuba)
  4. Hotel or AC café 15:30–17:30; Alameda at dusk if energy allows. First day at altitude: keep the pace easy.

2 days

The first two days of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Zócalo, Templo Mayor, 14:00 lunch at Café de Tacuba

  1. 08:30Zócalo & Metropolitan Cathedral
  2. Templo Mayor
  3. 14:00Lunch table 14:00 (Café de Tacuba)
  4. Hotel or AC café 15:30–17:30; Alameda at dusk if energy allows. First day at altitude: keep the pace easy.

Day 2 — Chapultepec museums, 14:30 lunch in Roma

  1. 09:00National Museum of Anthropology
  2. Chapultepec Castle (optional)
  3. 14:30Lunch table 14:30 (Contramar)
  4. Evening: Roma Norte café streets on foot.

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Mexico CityCiudad de México

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

Take me to

  • Museo Nacional de AntropologíaNational Museum of Anthropology
  • Templo Mayor y MuseoTemplo Mayor
  • Castillo de ChapultepecChapultepec Castle
  • Zócalo y Catedral MetropolitanaZócalo & Metropolitan Cathedral
  • Emergency (police911
  • Tourist assistance / Green Angels078
  • Anonymous crime report089
  • Federal consumer office (PROFECO)55 5568 8722

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/mexico-city). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.