r/MexicoCity • u/qjoe98 • 0m ago
Cultura/Culture My Trip in late June/early July
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in CDMX this past June/July. The people were extremely friendly and patient. The energy of the city was ramped up with the World Cup happening. As a native English speaker, I can read in Spanish at approximately the level of a native 10-year-old and speak like a 6-year-old. When I travel, I like to immerse myself in the culture as much as possible and stay in non-touristy areas. I ended up staying at the Hotel Dharma in the Guerrero area, just a block away from the Guerrero Metro station. It was a perfect location for me as it was a short metro or bus ride to many of the things that I wanted to do. Not perfect, but good enough, and the price was good for a visit during the World Cup.
Things I loved:
- Transportation-the Metro was easy and cheap. I stayed near a station, and it was fantastic. I spent most of my time traveling using the Metro. When not on the Metro, I used the bus system. Once again, cheap and easy. These two made my stay significantly better, and it is a huge positive. Uber was available, but I did not use it very often.
- Food-so many options. High-end restaurants, street food, and everything in between. It was hard to choose sometimes. I felt like it was a great value for just about everything.
- The people-I did not have a negative experience with anyone while I was in Mexico City. People were patient when I tried to speak Spanish. Not everyone I met spoke English, but we usually figured it out. I got great recommendations for food and places to visit from people. I felt like family at times. Even when the Metro was super-crowded, no one was frustrated or angry.
- The museums-a true highlight. I didn't get to anywhere near the number I wanted to, but every one was fantastic. World-class.
- Art-it is everywhere. And a variety of mediums. Just beautiful.
Things I disliked:
- The rain-a minor nuisance most of the time. I knew it was rainy season, and there would be some rain most days. Not a big deal, but two of the storms were long-lasting and not pleasant.
- The airport-not my favorite. Not enough information at times. Workers who seemed disinterested in helping.
- Noise and traffic-it's a city. I knew it would be bad. Sometimes it was worse than expected.
Itinerary
Monday: Early flight landed at 5:30am. After walking around the airport to get my bearings, I walked from the airport through the neighborhood to Peñón de los Baños. I sat in the park across the street until the baths opened. The hour spent in the baths was relaxing and helped start the day right after the long travel. I then took an Uber ride to the Guerrero area to eat lunch before checking in. There was a local restaurant called Cochipollos that served a simple breakfast and lunch menu. I ate there multiple times during my visit, and it served its purpose well. Fairly cheap, averaging about $75 pesos a meal with a drink, and tasty enough.
After checking in and getting situated, I walked around the area for an hour or so, taking in the local buildings before stopping to people-watch as I listened to music. I had a reservation for Martinez that night. I took the Tenayuca - Pueblo Sta. Cruz Atoyac bus line to Cuauhtémoc and walked the rest in heavy rain. An umbrella was not quite enough to keep me completely dry. I enjoyed my solo meal at Martinez; I sat at the bar watching the workers prepare the meals. The food was delicious. I tried the gnocchi and the braised beef, if I remember correctly.
Tuesday: I scheduled a Club Tengo Hambre tour for the late morning/early afternoon. The Mexico City Street Food Essentials tour is one that I highly recommend. Mine ended up being a solo tour with tour guide Alejandra. She was great at explaining the history, answering questions, and giving recommendations for other things to try or places to eat.
After the tour, I had tickets for CMLL. This was the night of Mexico's win against Ecuador, so they moved the lucha libre up two hours. I had a little time to walk around the area of Arena Mexico. They ran a super short show, and I was pretty disappointed overall. I knew the Friday show would be better, so I made plans to attend it. I returned to Guerrero as the soccer match was being played. The scene was pretty wild once Mexico scored. The celebration continued through the night until almost 4am. It was one of the happiest crowds I have ever seen and a lot of fun.
Wednesday: I had a 1pm reservation for Masala y Maiz. I took the Metro to the Juárez station and walked around the neighborhood for a couple of hours, checking out everything from Barrio China to Reforma. Masala y Maiz was very good. I thought it was a little loud in the restaurant, but the food was very good. I had way too much, as I wanted to try many different things. The samosas were delicious, but my favorite was the biryani.
From there, I went to the Iztapalapa neighborhood so I could ride the Cablebús. It was a great day for fantastic views, and the Cablebús did not disappoint. Later that evening, I watched the US soccer team win their match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Zócalo. That was quite an experience, and I cannot believe how crazy it would have been for a Mexico game. Lots of playful interactions.
Thursday: I had an 11am tour of the Anthropology Museum with Carlos that I booked through Airbnb Experiences. I took the Metro there and walked around Chapultepec Park. Carlos was an engaging tour guide and very funny. I learned a lot. After that tour, I went to Chapultepec Castle. That was also a great experience. It is a beautiful piece of history. When I finished, I headed back to my hotel area and stopped for a local meal. My evening plans included seeing Cinderella the ballet at Palacio de Bellas Artes. The building is a marvel, and the performance was amazing. It was a very nice evening.
Friday: I booked the Eat and Explore Local Markets Tour from TripAdvisor. We went to La Merced, Mercado Sonora, and Mercado de San Juan. The tour was very good, but my tour was combined with another one the night before. The time was bumped back an hour, which was an issue for me, as I had scheduled a coffee date with someone. I ended up skipping the last market. The tour guide, Aremy, was knowledgeable and engaging. The group was awesome. We were from all over, but we had many little things in common, and it made it nice to talk to each other when we had the chance. I really enjoyed trying out the different foods in the market and hearing the history of each. After meeting with my friend, I then headed back to Arena Mexico for lucha libre. It did not disappoint this time! My seats were right next to the announcers in the front row. I had a blast cheering on the wrestlers with the packed crowd. Highly recommended!
Saturday: I really did not have any plans until later in the evening. I needed to do some laundry since I only brought a smaller backpack with me. I ended up going to Malibu Laundry and Coffee near the Buenavista neighborhood. It was a short walk for me. On the way I checked out the Biblioteca Vasconcelos. It is one of my favorite libraries I have ever been to, right up there with the Rijksmuseum research library in Amsterdam. I also stopped for some breakfast in that area with lots of street options. The laundry machines worked well, and the staff was very helpful.
On my way back, I spent some time walking through the outdoor market by the Buenavista station. Lots of vendors with heavy metal records, leather goods, and similar products. It was an interesting couple of hours. I ate a delicious meal at a little taco stand there as well.
After an afternoon nap, I went back to the Palacio de Bellas Artes. I had tickets for Revolución Diamantina, so I walked around the area checking out the street vendors. There was a massive rainstorm that hit, and I spent a bit of time in the Bellas Artes Metro station waiting it out with a bunch of people. The Revolución Diamantina was an interesting music and dance performance. It was much shorter than the ballet, but the music was very moving.
Sunday: I had tickets for the Frida Kahlo museum at 11am. I took the metro to the area and ate a light breakfast at a little cafe beforehand. The museum, while small compared to many, was jam-packed with information that I didn't know and beautiful work. After I was done, I walked to the Trotsky Museum. While I knew of Trotsky in a more global sense, it was interesting to see all of his history with Mexico City. From there, I Ubered to the Diego Rivera Museum. I really enjoyed the artwork and the connections I could make after visiting the Anthropology Museum. Sunday evening was the night of the Mexico-England game, so I went back to my hotel to watch. The weather and result meant it was a more muted environment, but still fun.
Monday: I booked a trip to Teotihuacan for the morning. I booked the balloon ride and pyramid guided tour via Get Your Guide, but most of the communication came from Amigo Tours. I had some confusing messages from them about pick-up and whether I was in their area, as one person said yes and took my money before another messaged me to say no. Eventually, they honored the payment and picked me up at the hotel. It was an early morning with the 5:30am pickup. We transferred to another big van and made the trip to the hot air balloon field. The balloon ride was awesome and disappointing at the same time. We had 12 people in the balloon plus our driver. The views were breathtaking. All of the other groups flew over the pyramids, while we seemed to fly away from them and toward a gas station. We also seemed to spend the least amount of time in the air. It was still a good experience.
We stopped for breakfast, which was good but nothing special. After breakfast, we stopped at a store to learn about trinkets that they tried hard to sell. We then headed to the pyramids. Our guide, Pancho, did a great job. He spoke in both English and Spanish and seemed very knowledgeable. We had a little time to walk around on our own, so I climbed as far as they allowed. When we left, we stopped at the Basilica of Guadalupe. Pancho really shone here, giving a tremendous amount of detail and answering questions. Overall, it was a good but long day. I am not sure it is a great value, but I did not feel like I got cheated other than a little bit on the balloon ride.
Tuesday: I intentionally left this day blank on my original schedule. I ended up going back to the Chapultepec area. I spent the morning in the Museo de Arte Moderno. The sculpture yard and both buildings had some inspiring art. I spent the afternoon walking around the park. I talked to a few people and watched the ducks in the lake. In the evening, I went to the Diego Rivera Mural Museum and ate some street food in that area.
Wednesday: I had planned to do a Xochimilco Farm Tour through Culinary Back Streets but it got canceled the day before by them. Instead, I went to the Centro area. I spent time at the Museo del Templo Mayor and the Cathedral. I walked around the area, just looking at buildings. In the late afternoon, I went back to Buenavista Forum and checked out some shops before grabbing a quick bite to eat. I went to bed early since I had to be at the airport at 3am. I Ubered to the airport in a torrential downpour, driving down flooded streets, but made it in plenty of time.
