Things to Do in Mexico City: 15 Best Experiences in CDMX

Mexico City was the last stop on our Mexico trip. We'd built it up for five weeks across Guadalajara and Oaxaca (Puerto Escondido, Zipolite, Oaxaca City), fueled by an Instagram feed that wouldn't stop serving us perfect tacos and pyramid sunrises. The bar was embarrassingly high.

CDMX cleared it anyway.

We're Ryan and Fabio, the two guys behind The Fabryk. We travel with an LGBTQ+ lens, which shapes who we trust for recommendations and where we end up at night. We spent about three weeks in CDMX total. Still not enough. Tourlane ranked it the cultural capital of the world, ahead of Paris and Tokyo, and you'll feel why on day one.

Here are the 15 things we'd do again in CDMX.

1. Take a Tour First

The best decision we made in Mexico City was booking a tour on day one with Divercitours. A friend in Guadalajara passed us the recommendation specifically because the tours are LGBTQ+-run and LGBTQ+-focused. Not performatively inclusive... just authentically so, in the way that a close friend showing you around their hometown is.

We did the Downtown Centro tour, which turned out to be the perfect primer for almost everything else on this list. You'll pass Bellas Artes, pick up the backstory on the Zócalo, discover which bakery to return to later (Pasteleria Ideal... more on that below), and hear neighborhood stories you'd never stumble across alone. There are also North, South, and specialized food-focused tour options if the Downtown itinerary doesn't fit your interests.

The key thing about starting with a tour: CDMX is huge and dense. A first day without orientation is a first day mostly spent figuring out what you're looking at.

2. Walk the Zócalo & Centro Histórico

The Zócalo, formally Plaza de la Constitución, is where the city started. Since Aztec times, this square has been the gathering place for everything: religious ceremonies, military parades, independence celebrations. You haven't set foot in Mexico City until you've stood in it.

On our first full day in the city, we explored the Zócalo with our tour guides. Later, we grabbed a table at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the square, eating enchiladas while watching the massive Mexican flag wave proudly in the wind. Incredible timing, too... Andrea Bocelli performed a free concert right there in the plaza just after we left!

A few things worth your time in the surrounding Centro Histórico:

Catedral Metropolitana: the oldest and largest cathedral in Latin America. Construction began in 1573, and every successive architect added their own style, which is why it looks like four different buildings that agreed to share a plot. It's free to enter.

Templo Mayor: the ruins of the most important temple of Tenochtitlan, the great Aztec capital that was destroyed during the Spanish conquest. The conquistadors used the stones from Templo Mayor to build the cathedral directly on top of it. The on-site museum houses thousands of artifacts and tells that story with appropriate weight. This is also thought to be the exact spot where the Aztecs saw the eagle perched on a cactus with a snake: the origin of both Mexico City and the image on the Mexican flag.

Palacio Nacional: Diego Rivera's History of Mexico murals live here, covering the main staircase in full. Access has been restricted since 2022, but guided tours are still available through the museum across the street.

3. Palacio de Bellas Artes & MUNAL

Two museums, one neighborhood, and worth planning as a full half-day at minimum.

Palacio de Bellas Artes is the easier sell... it's one of the most photographed buildings in CDMX for good reason. The exterior blends Art Nouveau and Art Deco in a way that shouldn't work but absolutely does, with a rooftop that catches the light differently at every hour. Inside, the collection of murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo is the real draw. Rivera's murals in particular cover Mexico's full history from pre-colonial civilization through the revolution, in a single room. We spent close to an hour just in front of one panel trying to figure out what was going on.

A guided tour of Bellas Artes gives you significantly more than walking through independently. This exclusive tour of the Palacio de Bellas Artes is led by a cultural ambassador who covers the murals, the architecture, and the temporary exhibitions:

MUNAL (Museo Nacional de Arte) is a few minutes' walk away and often gets skipped. We almost skipped it ourselves... after two hours at Bellas Artes our feet had opinions, but very glad we didn't. The neoclassical building is stunning, and the main staircase alone is worth the entrance. The collection spans Mexican art from the colonial period through the mid-20th century and it's a good complement to Bellas Artes if you want to trace the arc of Mexican artistic identity.

4. National Museum of Anthropology

If you do one museum in Mexico City, make it this one.

The Museo Nacional de Antropología is the most visited museum in Mexico and one of the largest on the continent. More than two million people come through each year. We spent three hours there and still felt like we were rushing toward the end.

The building is worth noting before you even step inside... built between 1963 and 1964, it's organized around a massive central courtyard with a vast umbrella fountain that acts as a canopy over the whole space.

Inside, the exhibitions walk you through every major Mesoamerican civilization: the Aztecs, the Maya, the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacán cultures. Each has its own gallery. The centerpiece is the Aztec Sun Stone, which is more arresting in person than any photograph suggests.

Think of it as the perfect primer before the pyramids. You'll arrive at Teotihuacán understanding why it matters, not just that it does.

If you want to make the most of a 2.5-hour visit, this private guided tour lets you choose three rooms to focus on... you can pick Mexica, Teotihuacán, Maya, Olmec, or Toltec based on what interests you most:

5. Chapultepec Park & Chapultepec Castle

We came to Chapultepec on a day we needed a break from the sensory overload of central CDMX.

Chapultepec is the city's green lungs... the second-largest city park in Latin America, covering over 680 hectares. The eastern section near Polanco and Condesa is where most of the main sights are: two lakes, a botanical garden, the Museo de Arte Moderno, the National Museum of Anthropology (see above), and Chapultepec Castle up on the hill.

The castle is one of only two royal residences ever built in the Americas. Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota made it their home during the Second Mexican Empire in the 1860s. After that regime fell, it became the presidential residence. Today it houses the National Museum of History, and the views down Paseo de la Reforma from the balcony are among the best in the city.

Take metro Line 1 to Chapultepec Station and you're practically at the gate.

6. Visit the Teotihuacán Pyramids

You knew this was coming.

The Pyramids of Teotihuacán sit about 50 km northeast of the city... roughly an hour by car or tour bus. The site predates the Aztec Empire by several centuries. At its peak, Teotihuacán had an estimated population of 200,000, making it one of the largest cities in the ancient world. Nobody knows for certain what people built it or what they called themselves.

The two main structures are the Pyramid of the Sun (third-largest pyramid in the world) and the Pyramid of the Moon, connected by the broad Avenue of the Dead. Climbing the Pyramid of the Sun is no longer allowed... mainly to protect the structure and for safety reasons. The Pyramid of the Moon is still accessible.

Our first ruins of the trip were Monte Albán near Oaxaca City, which feel intimate and dramatic on a hilltop. Teotihuacán is something else: vast, organized, and genuinely humbling in the way that only truly ancient places are.

Going by tour is easier than doing it independently, and going early (before the bigger groups arrive in waves) makes a real difference in atmosphere. This is the tour we took. Be prepared to walk a lot and bring more water than you think you need.

7. Hot Air Balloon over the Pyramids

This is a continuation of #6, which is why they're back to back.

Instead of (or in addition to) walking the site at ground level, you can take a hot air balloon at sunrise above the pyramids. Breakfast is usually included. It tends to work out cheaper than equivalent balloon experiences elsewhere in the world... Cappadocia, for comparison, typically costs three to five times as much. The view is the pyramids emerging from morning mist with Cerro Gordo in the distance and hard to argue with.

We'd done a hot air balloon ride over Vang Vieng in our Laos trip the year before, so we skipped this one. But every local and every traveler we spoke to who'd done it was enthusiastic.

This tour includes optional add-ons: a guided tour of the archaeological site, an obsidian workshop, a tequila tasting, and a visit to the Guadalupe Shrine on the way back:

8. Ride the Cable Cars (Cablebús)

Most tourists stay in Roma Norte, Condesa, and Polanco. That's understandable. It also means you see one version of Mexico City... the gentrified one. The Cablebús fixes that.

Mexico City has two lines of cable cars, and both run through neighborhoods that almost no tourist visits. Line 2 is the one worth prioritizing: it passes over Iztapalapa, one of the most populous municipalities in the entire country, with sweeping panoramas of the city's full sprawl and enormous murals painted on rooftops and hillsides that you'd never see otherwise.

I'm generally scared of cable cars and was pissing myself for the first two minutes. Then the view takes over and you stop caring. We just stayed on from start to end without getting off, which is a perfectly valid approach.

To ride, pick up a Tarjeta MI from any metro station. Each boarding costs 7 pesos... probably the best value activity in the city.

If you want context for what you're seeing (and Iztapalapa has a lot of history worth understanding), these two tours go deep:

City Highlights Cable Car Ride with Taco & Tour: starts at Downtown, takes the metro out to Iztapalapa, flies the world's longest cable car, visits a local market for tacos, sees a plane converted into a cultural venue, and ends at a local bar for pulque.

Cable Car Tour and Urban Art From the Heights: covers the murals, the history of Iztapalapa, the volcanoes visible in the distance, and includes a tortilla-making activity.

9. Attend Lucha Libre

A few things to know going in: it's part theater, part athletics, and entirely surreal. You will ask yourself "is this real?" The correct answer is both yes and no.

We attended Lucha Libre in Guadalajara before coming to CDMX, which means we can confirm that every venue has its own personality. The Mexico City version, at Arena México (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday) or Arena Coliseo (Saturday, the oldest arena in the city), is the most iconic setting you'll get anywhere in the country. The atmosphere is amplified by a constant rotation of beer vendors, michelada carts, and food stalls loading chili sauce onto things that arguably don't need chili sauce. It's perfect.

This is for real one of those things you do once and talk about for years. If you want the full evening... tequila and mezcal tasting, a history of the mask and the tradition, a walking tour of the historic center including lucha libre shops, AND the arena... this tour covers it all:

Mexico City: Mexican Evening, Lucha Libre and Tequila

Prefer to go independently? Buy direct at the arena box office or via Ticketmaster.

10. Eat Well (Especially the Tacos)

Instagram actually undersells the food here. That's saying something.

Tacos first. The place that won us over... and that we returned to twice... was Taqueria Orinoco. It's a chain, apparently made famous by Dua Lipa's visit, and yes, that would normally be a warning sign. Ignore it. Get at minimum four items: the taco chicharrón is non-negotiable, order a quesadilla, and then experiment from there. The Michelin-starred Taquería El Califa de León is on most best-of lists, but we didn't get to it this trip... it's on the next one.

Beyond tacos, Casa de los Azulejos earns a meal. It's housed in an 18th-century Baroque palace covered on three sides in blue and white Talavera tiles... the building is notoriously sinking (a consequence of Mexico City being built on a former lakebed), and you can actually see the floor inclining from one side to the other. The food is solid, the atmosphere is impossible to replicate, and it's less touristy inside than you'd expect from the exterior.

For something more immersive, the markets of CDMX are an experience in themselves. This tour of Mercado de la Merced and Mercado de Sonora is led by second-generation market vendors, people who grew up selling and eating there, covering 6 to 8 food stops over 3 to 4 hours:

Mexico City: Mystic Markets La Merced & Sonora Culinary Tour

For a broader downtown crawl... 8 stops including cantinas, street stalls, and specialty stores in the historic center... this food tour handles it:

Mexico City: Authentic Downtown Food Tour

And if you want to make something yourself, this salsa workshop makes for a fun morning. You source fresh ingredients at a traditional market near an ancient church in Tacuba, learn all four preparation methods (raw, fried, boiled, roasted), make quesadillas, and leave with a jar of salsa. Fully plant-based, small group, and you take the recipes home:

Authentic Mexican Salsas Workshop

11. Desserts: Pasteleria Ideal and El Moro

These two are so good they get their own section.

El Moro is the legendary churro spot. Open 24 hours and running since 1935. Churros come hot and fresh, served with a chocolate dipping sauce.

Pasteleria Ideal has been open since 1927 without interruption. We walked in right after El Moro (bad timing for our decision-making ability) and the problem is immediately apparent: every shelf has something more compelling than the last. Breads, cookies, cakes, pastries in every configuration. Our solution was returning every day and choosing something completely different each time.

Both are in Centro Histórico, within a few blocks of each other. Divercitours took us to both on the Downtown tour... which is partly why we booked the tour.

12. Look Up at the Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico

This one is low effort, but high reward.

Walk into the Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico on the Zócalo and look up. The stained-glass ceiling, designed by Jacques Grüber and installed in the early 20th century, is an Art Nouveau Tiffany-style canopy spanning the full atrium. It's probably the most beautiful ceiling I've seen in any building, anywhere.

We stopped in for a drink at the bar (the food wasn't recommended to us, but the bar gave us a reason to linger). The hotel is right on the Zócalo, so it fits naturally into a morning or afternoon walking the historic center. This is one of those random architectural wonders you stumble across in CDMX that make the city feel unlike anywhere else.

13. Xochimilco

Mexico City is built on the remnants of a lake. Xochimilco is the last surviving canal network from that ancient waterway... about 170 km of channels winding through chinampas (artificial floating gardens) that predate the Spanish conquest by centuries. UNESCO designated the system a World Heritage Site in 1987.

The classic experience is renting a trajinera (a colorful flat-bottomed boat) and drifting the canals while mariachi boats pull up alongside. We went on a Sunday, which meant the whole place was operating at full volume... family boats packed with grandmothers and toddlers, food vendors paddling between the trajineras, cold beers, cumbia playing from every direction simultaneously. It's joyful and chaotic in a way that's impossible to replicate anywhere else. We weren't expecting to love it as much as we did.

Here are two approaches, depending on what you want:

For something quieter and more nature-focused, this kayak experience offers sunrise, sunset, and morning options with stops at a ranch and seasonal crops:

Mexico City: Kayak Experiences in Hidden Xochimilco

For the full social experience — unlimited tequila and beer, traditional Mexican games, a chinampa island stop, music, and food... this boat party is exactly what it sounds like:

Mexico City: Xochimilco Boat Party with Unlimited Drinks

14. Explore Coyoacán & the Frida Kahlo Museum

South of the CDMX core, Coyoacán was once its own village... the Spanish headquarters during the Conquest of Tenochtitlan. It wasn't absorbed into the city's sprawl until around 1857. That colonial-era layout survived, which is why walking around Coyoacán today feels like being in a different city: cobbled streets, low buildings in yellows and terracottas, squares lined with cafés where people actually sit and stay.

The main draw for most visitors is Museo Frida Kahlo... Casa Azul, the blue house where Frida Kahlo was born, lived with Diego Rivera, and died. The museum holds her personal belongings, her paintings, and her letters, and the house itself is the exhibit as much as anything inside it. Book tickets in advance. It sells out, especially on weekends.

The neighborhood beyond the museum is worth half a day. We ended up in Jardín Hidalgo for longer than planned... got coffees, found a spot under the trees, and just stayed there. The market stalls around it do excellent churros. The side streets toward Plaza de la Conchita have some of the best-preserved colonial architecture in the city.

This Coyoacán history tour covers the key squares, the Church of Santa Catarina, the Church of St. John the Baptist, the hidden alleyways, and some of the important historical homes in the area:

15. Experience the Gay Nightlife

This one deserves its own section, and its own post... which we wrote.

Mexico City's queer scene is one of the best in Latin America. Zona Rosa has long been the LGBTQ+ hub, but queer venues now extend well beyond it into Roma Norte, Condesa, and neighborhoods further afield. Our favorite spot from this trip was Revuelta: a bar, karaoke hall, art exhibition, and rooftop lounge all packed into a sinking old house in one of the city's quieter streets. It feels like a house party from the moment you walk in.

Since the nightlife scene moves quickly, we've put together a full guide to the best gay bars in Mexico City, including a quiz to help you figure out which spots match your vibe. If you're planning around Pride, check the Mexico Pride Calendar too... CDMX Pride (usually June) is one of the biggest in Latin America.

FAQs: Things to Do in Mexico City

Practical Tips for Mexico City

Getting around: Uber and Cabify are the safest and most convenient options. The metro covers the city well and costs just 5 pesos per ride regardless of distance... great during off-peak hours. Watch your belongings in crowded carriages. Only get into official pink-and-white taxis or rides booked through an app.

Safety: The main tourist neighborhoods — Centro Histórico, Roma Norte, Condesa, Polanco, Coyoacán — are safe to walk around during the day. After dark, Uber home rather than walking long distances through unfamiliar areas.

Sunday tip: Most major museums are free on Sundays. They get crowded, but it's manageable. We visited the National Museum of Anthropology, Bellas Artes, and MUNAL in a single Sunday and only slightly collapsed by the end.

Cash: Always carry pesos. Street food, smaller restaurants, and some museums (Bellas Artes) only accept cash. ATMs are plentiful in tourist areas.

Altitude: CDMX sits at 2,240 meters (7,350 feet). Take it easy the first day or two. The sun hits harder than it looks at altitude... use sunscreen and drink more water than you think you need.

Don't drink tap water. Bottled water is cheap and everywhere. Most hotels provide it.