Travelling to Mexico City?
Mexico City is built on top of a lake that was drained on purpose, and it’s still paying for it: it sinks several centimetres a year, some parts faster than others, so there are visibly tilted colonial buildings in the middle of the centre. It sits at 2,240 metres in a valley ringed by volcanoes, and beneath the ground lies an Aztec city that still turns something up whenever a trench is opened.
MEX · NLU
What to see in Mexico City
8 ROUTESOur routes, not a list of everything. Places that have been there for centuries: no opening times or prices, which go stale.
- 01
Mexico City in a day
9 hAn Aztec temple found in 1978 because electricians were digging a trench, and a cathedral above it that is sinking.The Zócalo and the Cathedral · The Templo Mayor · The Palacio Nacional and Rivera’s murals · Bellas Artes and the AlamedaRead the full guide - 02
A weekend in Mexico City
20 hOne of the world’s great museums, Frida Kahlo’s blue house, and Aztec canals where crops still grow on the water.Saturday: the National Museum of Anthropology · Saturday afternoon: Chapultepec Castle · Sunday: Coyoacán and the Casa Azul · Sunday afternoon: XochimilcoRead the full guide - 03
What to see in Mexico City
14 hA country that decided to tell its own story on enormous walls, and a university campus clad in coloured stone mosaic.Muralism, and where to see it · The University City (UNAM) · The Basilica of Guadalupe · Lucha libreRead the full guide - 04
Eating and drinking in Mexico City
3 hThe taco al pastor descends from Lebanese shawarma, and there’s a dish that exists two months a year and comes with pomegranate.Tacos, and how to order them · Mole and chiles en nogada · Mezcal and pulque · Breakfast and the marketRead the full guide - 05
Where to stay in Mexico City
1 hLa Roma and La Condesa are twenties art deco under trees, and were marked by the 1985 earthquake.La Roma and La Condesa · The Centro Histórico · Polanco · Coyoacán and San ÁngelRead the full guide - 06
Day trips from Mexico City
10 hThe largest city in the Americas before anyone arrived from Europe, and nobody knows for certain who built it.Teotihuacán · Puebla · Tepoztlán and Cuernavaca · The monarch butterflies, in seasonRead the full guide - 07
From Mexico City’s airports to the centre
1 hThere are two and they’re a long hour apart. And since April 2026 there’s a train to the second one that no guide mentions.First: check which airport you’re flying to · From AICM: Metrobús and metro · From AIFA: the new train · The taxi: at the desk, not in the hallRead the full guide - 08
Mexico City: practical tips
1 hYou’re at 2,240 metres and you feel it on day one. And if an alarm sounds in the street, it isn’t a drill except on 19 September.The seismic alert · Altitude, sun and water · Traffic, and how to get around · Day of the Dead and the dates · Mobile dataRead the full guide
Airport to city centre
4 OPTIONSThe real options, with what actually decides it: which terminal it leaves from and where it drops you. Fares and timetables live with the operator, who keeps them current.
- BusMetrobús Línea 4MEX → Buenavista y el Centro HistóricoThe best public option from AICM: the airport-route buses have a reserved area for bulky luggage, which the rest of the city’s transport doesn’t. It calls at both terminals and runs down to the historic centre and on to Buenavista, which is also where the train to the other airport starts. Luggage space is limited and fills up.·Fares and timesMetrobús
- MetroLínea 5: Terminal AéreaMEX → Pantitlán, y desde ahí el resto de la redThe Terminal Aérea station is a step from Terminal 1 and is the cheapest thing going, but the metro isn’t designed for travelling with big cases and at rush hour it is genuinely packed. With hand luggage, fine. With two suitcases, take the Metrobús. Good news for 2026: Line 1 fully reopened on 16 November 2025 after three years of works.·Fares and timesMetro CDMX
- TrainTren Felipe ÁngelesNLU → Buenavista (Ciudad de México)New: it opened on 26 April 2026 and completely changes how you reach AIFA, which previously had only buses or taxis. It links the terminal with Buenavista, in the centre, and was announced with an initial journey of around an hour and departures every half hour, with a plan to bring both figures down as more trains arrive. Being so recent, check the times on the day.·Fares and timesTren Suburbano
- TaxiMEX · NLU → Toda la ciudad, con tarifa por zonasThe rule here is specific: you book the taxi at the authorised counters inside the terminal, pay in advance, and the fare goes by city zone, not by meter. You don’t take a car touted in the arrivals hall. From AIFA the ride into the centre is long, so with the new train open the taxi loses much of its point except late at night.·Fares and timesTaxi autorizado
VIP lounges in Mexico City
9Before you fly, or on the layover. Pay per visit, whatever airline.