The city is diverse and offers many interesting things to eat, see and do, so you’ll want to go with a plan. We don’t want you to miss out on anything, so we’re sharing the ultimate 3-day Mexico City Itinerary you can use to help you plan your ideal trip to Mexico’s capital city.
What is Mexico City known for?
Mexico City is known to be one of the most historically important cities in the country, as it was one of the original sites of the Aztec Empire. You’ll even find underground ruins of what was once the ancient town of Tenochtitlan, right in the current-day town square.
Today, most tourists visit Mexico City for its incredible food scene, rich history and culture, and beautiful green spaces. As travellers who’ve been back to Mexico City twice already, our favourite things about the city are the historical buildings and unbelievable street food.
Why is everyone visiting Mexico City all of a sudden?
Geovanny, who is Mexican, grew up in the south of the country always hearing the people around him exclaiming that Mexico City is bad, dirty and dangerous. You can imagine his shock when we first visited Mexico City together in 2020, where he first realised how beautiful, vibrant and diverse the city actually is.
Aside from the hoards of tourists who’ve flocked to the city in recent years to see the historical sights and try out some of the greatest street food you’ll find, digital nomads are the primary reason the city has become so popular.
With the rise of remote workers from Canada and The United States looking for more affordable places to live, Mexico City has undoubtedly become one of Latin America’s major digital nomad hotspots.
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Is Mexico City Safe?
Mexico City hasn’t always had the best reputation in terms of safety, but in recent years the city has become a decently safe place for foreign tourists to visit.
The only crime you might want to be aware of is pickpocketing, which mostly happens on the subway and at night.
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If you treat Mexico City like any major city in the United States and take the usual precautions, like avoiding dark alleyways, you should be just fine. One major tip for keeping safe in the city is to avoid visiting certain neighbourhoods, such as; Iztapalapa, Merced and Tepito. Even our local friends avoid those neighbourhoods.
Additionally, it’s always helpful to travel with an anti-theft backpack or a bumbag across your chest to keep your valuables inside, especially on the metro. Additionally, we’d highly recommend checking out the T1 Mini Translation device for quick and accurate real-time translation to make communicating much easier.
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How To Move Around Mexico City
Considering that the city is so big, you’ll need to consider the multiple transportation options available in Mexico City.
By Foot
Although the city is absolutely huge and you can’t see the whole place on foot, the city is still very walkable. You can easily see individual neighbourhoods like Centro Historico, Polanco and Condessa without needing any wheels.
Rental Car
A rental car will give you the flexibility of reaching the furthest points of interest, like the pyramids of Teotihuacán and the Frida Khalo Museum without having to take a tour.
However, the rules of the road here in Mexico can seem almost non-existent, so this wouldn’t be our first recommendation.
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Uber: Uber operates very well in Mexico City and the prices are very reasonable. For a comfortable and effortless travel experience, Uber would be our top recommendation. P.S. There is another app called DiDi, which works just like Uber, so this is an additional option.
Touribus: The Touribus is a fantastic option to get to see a lot of the city without having to walk too much. The well-maintained double-decker buses are an awesome way to not only see the city but to move from one neighbourhood to the next. This is also one of the most cost-effective and convenient modes of transportation and we loved using these buses to help cut down on walking time.
Take a Tour: For those attractions that are further away from the centre of Mexico City, sometimes taking a tour is one of the most comfortable and convenient options. The specific locations we’d recommend for taking a tour would include: the Frida Kahlo Museum, The pyramids of Teotihuacán and the floating gardens of Xochimilco.
Metro: The metro is without a doubt the most cost-effective way to move around the city. However, it is not recommended to use the Metro outside of peak hours, for safety reasons. It’s also important to know that most people, including the Metro cops, will not be able to communicate in English if you happen to need directions or assistance. We loved using the Metro because it allowed us to experience how real ‘Chilangos’ live. Just be aware of pickpocketers and keep your valuables secure at all times if you plan on using the Metro.
Where to stay in Mexico City
Mexico City is huge and safety can be an issue depending on the neighbourhood you choose to stay, so it’s important to know where to stay and which areas to avoid before booking your accommodation.
We’ve marked out all of the important sites to see in Mexico City on this map, which also gives you all the best accommodation options in each respective area. This is an awesome tool for finding your ideal location to stay in:
Centro Historico: You’ll find a lot of affordable, as well as upscale properties in Centro Historico, making it accessible to most tourists. If you’re planning on doing a lot of sightseeing of the historical buildings, Centro Historico is a great option to stay. We would however advise taking some precautions, especially at night because this area tends to be a hot spot for pick-pocketers.
Lomas de Chapultepec: This is the area where you’ll find the biggest park in The Americas – Parque Chapultepec. Staying near the park is awesome because you’ll have easy access to the beautiful park, which is widely known as the ‘Central Park’ of Mexico City.
Polanco: This neighbourhood is home to some of the wealthiest Mexicans in the city and you’ll find some of the most upscale restaurants and shopping malls in this area. As this is one of the biggest business districts within Mexico City, you’ll also find a lot of high-rises here. This area is pretty far away from the popular historic sites of the city, but you will have easy access to the incredible Museo Souymaya, which was built and houses the personal art collection of Carlos Slim, who is the wealthiest man in all of Latin America.
Reforma: This neighbourhood sits on the main thoroughfare that runs across the city, so you’ll have very easy access to transportation. You’ll also find a lot of high-rises in this neighbourhood and it’s a great option if you like to be right in the hustle and bustle of Mexico City.
La Condesa: This is easily one of the most trendy neighbourhoods in Mexico City right now, where you’ll find tons of immigrants and digital nomads. Like Polanco, La Condesa is an upscale area, but lacks the high-rise buildings, making it much cosier.
Roma Sur: If you’re looking for a safe, but more local neighbourhood in Mexico City, Roma Sur is a great option. It’s an awesome spot if you’d like to integrate into the local community and get a feel for how real ‘Chilangos’ live. You’ll also find some awesome parks here, like Parque Mexico, which is in our opinion way nicer than Chapultapec Park.
The 9-Day Mexico City Itinerary & Map
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The Ultimate 3-day Mexico City Itinerary
Mexico City is huge and incredibly diverse, but to be honest, three days is simply not enough to see the majority of what the city has to offer. However, if you’re on a bit of a time budget and only have 3 days in the city, this 3-day itinerary was designed to allow you to see the most culturally and historical important parts of Mexico City.
Day 1: The Historic Centre of Mexico City
The Historic Centre of Mexico City is an absolute must-see, as you’ll learn so much about the history and culture of Mexico, the Ancient Aztec civilization and the conquest of the Spanish Empire.
Although all the most important buildings and museums lie within this single neighbourhood, it is a full day of walking, so be sure to wear your comfiest shoes. We started our day at Palacio de Las Bellas Artes early in the morning and only completed our self-guided walking tour after the sunset.
We’d recommend following the exact route that we did, to see everything in one full day. Here’s the breakdown of day one in Mexico City:
Palacio de las Bellas Artes
Translated to The Palace of Fine Art, this is in my opinion the most beautiful historic building in Mexico City. The building itself is extremely intricate and interesting to look at from the outside, but you can also go inside for events in the performing arts, literature and gallery exhibitions.
💡You’ll get the best view of Palacio de Bellas Artes from Don Porfirios Cafe, which is on the top floor of the Sears building. You’ll have to buy a coffee to gain access, but in our opinion, this small expense is worth the view.
Torre Latino
This is one of the only tall buildings within Centro Historico, and from the outside, it just looks like an old boring skyscraper. However, if you pay to access the viewpoint, you can ride the elevator to the top floor to see one of the most gorgeous views of Mexico City’s Historic Centre.
Monumento a la Revolucion
This is another iconic building to get your photo taken at. The building itself is pretty to look at from the outside, but if you’re interested in learning more about the Mexican Revolution, you can take the elevator to the top floor, where you’ll find fascinating exhibitions.
Zocalo
The Zocalo is Mexico City’s main town square, and used to house the President of Mexico. Interestingly, the Zocalo you see today was the main ceremonial centre in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. This is also where you’ll be able to witness ‘El Grito’, which is performed each year by the president of Mexico on September 16th (Mexican Independence Day).
Aztec Cleanse
Within the Zocalo, you’ll find locals dressed in traditional Aztec wear, performing traditional songs and dance. You’ll also find people performing an Aztec cleanse, in exchange for a donation of your choice. Is the cleanse truly authentic? We can’t be sure, but it is a fun way to connect with the culture.
Templo Mayor
The current Zocalo you see today, was actually built on top of the Aztec City of Tenochtitlan by Spanish Colonizers. You can actually tour the remnants of this ancient city by visiting Templo Mayor, which is located right inside the Zocalo.
Garibaldi Square
If you’re looking for something traditional and fun, you can’t miss the famous Mariachis that perform at Garibaldi Square. You’ll pay per performance, but just be sure to agree on a price before the mariachis start singing. Additionally, as Garibaldi Square is just on the outskirts of Centro Historico, and not known to be the safest place we would recommend only visiting in the daytime and keeping an eye on your belongings.
China Town
We finished our day off by enjoying a nice Chinese dinner in Chinatown. This may seem very untraditional for Mexico City, which it is. However, the Chinese immigrants who run their stores and restaurants here have been living in the city for decades and make up a small percentage of the very diverse population of the city.
Day 2: Museums, Monuments and Chapultapec Park (Mexico City Itinerary)
After a full day on your feet exploring Centro Historico, getting on a tour bus to see the rest of the city is a great option! We loved using the Touribus because it’s clean, affordable, runs on time and offers many different routes. You can easily customise this schedule to see the things that are important to you. In addition, the double-decker bus means you can see so much of the city from a perspective you just cannot get on foot.
We took the Centro Hostorico circuit, which gave us a completely different perspective of all the things we saw the day before. We chose to do this circuit to see a few key spots within Mexico City.
Angel de la Independencia
The Angel Of Independence is an iconic monument and is displayed in many movies and TV shows that are set in Mexico City. El Ángel was constructed in 1910 under the presidency of Porfirio Díaz by architect Antonio Rivas Mercado, to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of Mexico’s War of Independence. You can easily see the monument from the top of the bus and don’t necessarily need to get off, unless you want a closer look at this gorgeous monument, located in the middle of a very busy traffic circle.
Anthropology Museum
Mexico City is home to numerous museums, but the Anthropology Museum is probably the biggest and most important of them all. As travellers who don’t typically gravitate towards museums, we really enjoyed wandering through this museum and learning a bit about The Aztec Empire. If you’re a history lover, you could easily designate an entire day here, as it is huge, and has so many interesting displays. We spent about 1.5 hours roaming around before we got bored and decided to head to our next spot.
Chapultepec Park
This park is an absolute must-see when you’re in Mexico City, and you can easily spend an entire day exploring the park. Chapultepec Park is the second largest park in Latin America, and is double the size of Central Park in New York. If you’ve only got limited time in which to enjoy the park, we’d recommend grabbing some street food to enjoy under the trees and paying a visit to Chapultepec Castle.
Chapultepec Castle
The Castle sits on top of the tallest hill within the park and offers spectacular views of the city. The castle itself is exquisite and is a lot of fun to explore. If you just want to do some self-exploration, you can just buy a regular entrance ticket, but if you’re into history, we’d advise booking a guided tour of the castle.
Monumento a los Niños Heroes
This spectacular monument is found in Chapultepec Park, just a short walk from the castle. This monument is not only beautiful to look at, but also commemorates the 6 boys who sacrificed their lives defending Mexico from US forces.
After a long day of walking and exploring, you’ll be able to hop back onto the Touribus to get off at a spot that sits closest to your accommodation.
Day 3: Trendy Neighborhood Walk
Since Mexico City has become so popular as a landing spot for digital nomads and immigrants over the past few years, certain neighbourhoods have popped up as clear favourites. Roma, Polanco and La Condesa are by far some of the most popular, not just for this influx of foreign guests, but also some of the wealthiest Mexicans living in Mexico City.
Day three on your itinerary will allow you to explore the quieter side of the city and, will give you an idea of what it may look like to live in the capital city. We chose to explore La Condesa, for no other reason than the fact that our favourite street food stand is just a short walk away.
Your third day in Mexico City will start off with a delicious breakfast at one of the most famous street food stalls in the city.
Traditional Street Food
La Esquina Del Chilaquil is translated to ‘the corner of chilaquiles’ and they serve something called ‘chilaquiles’ on a fresh bread roll. Chilaquiles are a very popular local dish, where crunchy tortillas are soaked in a very flavourful home-made sauce, and then served on a fresh bread roll and topped with cream and a soft white cheese. This is by no means a light or healthy breakfast, but it’s so tasty and definitely worth waiting in an inevitable queue for.
Parque Mexico
Unlike the overwhelmingly big and busy Chapultapec Park, Parque Mexico is located within the upscale suburb of La Condsa and is small, beautiful and peaceful. We’d recommend grabbing a coffee at one of the many trendy coffee shops you’ll find on your 15-minute walk from breakfast and enjoying it in the park. If you can visit the park on a Sunday, our local family friend told us that they have a beautiful hand-craft market all day long.
Lucha Libre
Unfortunately, we couldn’t attend a traditional lucha libre show because we didn’t plan ahead, but we wished we could have. It’s important to know that there are usually only shows on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays so plan accordingly. Lucha Libre is super traditional for this region of Mexico and from what our local friends have told us, it is an awesome night out. You can go alone by using an Uber. Or, you could book a tour that includes food, mezcal tasting, an insight into the world of lucha libre, and transportation to Arena Mexico, where you’ll watch the performance.
This 3-day Mexico City itinerary was created from personal experience, and in our opinion, we’ve included the best things to see and do within a limited time frame. As we mentioned earlier, Mexico City is huge and you easily spend an entire month in the city and still not feel like you’ve seen enough. Next, we’ll be listing our favourite Mexico City day trips that you may want to consider adding to your itinerary if you’ve got extra days available.
The best Mexico City day trips
There are so many day trips to take while in Mexico City, but we’ll mention the top 3 trips to consider adding to your Mexico City Itinerary.
The Xochimilco Floating Fiesta
The ‘Venice of Mexico’ that many tourists know Xochimilco for, has a whole other side to it. The gondolas (trajineras) that take you down the ancient canals of Xochimilco, were used many years ago to transport flowers and other fresh goods into the centre of the city, where they would then be distributed to local markets.
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Nowadays the gondolas are used to transport guests down the canals, while they enjoy the unique sights, smells and tastes of this family-friendly attraction. Culturally speaking, the locals of Mexico City have enjoyed Xochimilco as tourists for many years and now thousands of tourists visit each year to get a taste of this unique experience. You can either go on your own using Uber or book a tour.
To the tens of thousands of tourists who visit Mexico City, Xochimilco is known as a fun day trip. Some tourists go for the culture, while many others go for the fiesta. Either way, Xochimilco is a Mexico City must-do!
The pyramids of Teotihuacán
The Pre-Hispanic Aztec ruins of Teotihuacán is probably one of the coolest things you can see on your visit to Mexico City. We haven’t done this personally (yet), but you can either just enjoy the ruins, or you can go on a hot air balloon to see this impressive sight from above. Keep in mind that the pyramids are located about 1.5 hours from Centro Historico, without traffic, so plan on designating a full day for this experience.
Watch the football at Azteca Stadium
If you’re at all into football (soccer), you’ll know that Mexicans sure love the game. Watching a football game at Azteca Stadium may have been the highlight of our trip. As someone who couldn’t care less about football, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of spectator-watching, as they get so into the game. We’d recommend travelling to and from Azteca Stadium using Uber over the pink and white taxis, which might try to charge you way more than they should.
Is Mexico City worth visiting
I remember when we booked our first trip to Mexico City, and had super high expectations. Well, I can tell you that the trip did not disappoint. In fact, we’ve been back once already and are planning our return at the end of 2024.
There are so many incredible things to eat, see and do in Mexico City that you’ll never be bored. Even if you’re not a huge city lover, this city seriously has so much on offer that I believe it can be enjoyable for just about anyone.
So in short, yes, Mexico City is absolutely worth visiting in 2024!
