The capital of Mexico, the second most populous city in the world, is one of the cities that I have visited with the kindest people. Strangers will smile at you and everyone in the service industry treats you kindly and genuinely wishes you well. Even in a huge metropolis, you can still feel the small town kindness. I would suggest anyone able to visit Mexico, to visit Mexico City instead of a resort on the beach. You’ll learn so much more about the beauty of Mexico’s Culture. P.S. there is a first part of my travel diary Here:
General Tips:
When to visit:
Although Summer is a great time to visit most places, I wouldn’t recommend it for Mexico City as it rains almost every day during the afternoon. Plan on bringing an umbrella if you do decide to visit during summer months. The best time to visit would be between March and May.
Where to stay:
La Roma or La Condesa neighborhoods are so beautiful, safe, and quiet. They are known for being very “hipster” with a wide array of restaurants, bars, and shops. For a more upscale experience, Polanco would be a great neighborhood to stay at.
How to get around:
Do not rent a car. Millions of people living in Mexico City which cause so much traffic and parking would be a hassle. Trust a local to do the driving by using Uber or Lyft, which is really affordable! We planned on visiting a different neighborhood each day, we took an uber to the neighborhood and walked for about 7 miles each day.
What to do:
Mexico City has something for everyone to enjoy, below are the places that I visited, fell in love with, and would recommend.
El Moro
A little corner shop filled with locals at any time of the day, with awesome branding and hands down the best churros I have had. (and I’ve had a lot of churros) The churros are freshly made literally in front of you and topped with sugar or cinnamon! I highly recommend getting a Consuelo: an ice cream sandwich filled with strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, or the ice cream of the day: which on this day was Banana with Dulce de Leche (mouth drowning emoji)
La Fonda Fina
On our second night in Mexico City, we had dinner at La Fonda Fina and it was amazing! After, becoming a little bit more comfortable with elaborate Spanish menus, we discovered that most restaurants have a menu in English if you ask for it.
That night we had dinner at Fonda Fina, we enjoyed a glass of their house drink: Mescal, Jamaica, and watermelon along with a tamal, sope, meat.
Magnolia Bakery
While strolling through the Polanco neighborhood, trying to find a place to have dinner we found the cutest bakery, which is actually a super famous NYC bakery- Magnolia Bakery and decided to come back and have breakfast. So on Saturday morning, we had brunch! We both had turkey and eggs benedict and split a banana cupcake.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine and Cathedrals
I grew up in a very Catholic household, so I had to visit the Lady of Guadalupe shine and cathedrals not only for the amazing architecture but for the spiritual experience.
Palacio De Bellas Artes
The Palacio de Bellas Artes is an absolute must on a visit to Mexico City. The building sits in the heart of downtown Mexico city, displaying beautifully designed architecture on the outside and hosting events- plays, concerts – as well as art exhibits on the inside. We were able to visit the Diego Rivera and Pablo Picasso art exhibit that showed works during the same time period from two very different, but similar artists and how they portrayed current world events.
Mercado De Jamaica
Mexico City’s summer weather is pretty consistent, with chilly mornings/nights and sunny days around 70 degrees and an afternoon rain shower making it perfect for a lot of vegetation to grow and blossom! Before visiting I had found on Pinterest a great article about the best flower markets in Mexico City. I pinned it for later in case we had some free time and we actually were able to visit the famous Mercado de Jamaica, flower market. It’s basically a bodega filled with bunches of every flower you can imagine -a flower lovers dream! But not only do they sell flower arrangements, there are also a lot of decorations involving flowers perfect for any type of party! I wish I could have taken so many flowers home with me but I couldn’t.
Rosetta
Our last night, we had dinner at Rosetta, an Italian Restaurant with a Mexican twist.
Protip: make a reservation for dinner on weekend nights
Lalo
Our last morning, we had breakfast at Lalo before our plane. Funny story we actually missed our plane ride, moral of the story: always check in before arriving at the airport, and get to the airport at least an hour before boarding.
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