Eats at every hour, runs on pesos, and rewards crews who skip the obvious neighbourhoods.
Mexico City uses Mexican pesos, not US dollars. Cards work in Roma, Condesa, Polanco, and chain restaurants; cash is required for street tacos, mercados, and most pulquerias. Pull MXN 4,000 to 6,000 per person from a Citibanamex or BBVA ATM (avoid casas de cambio at the airport, the rate is theft). Altitude is real (2,240m), the first 24 hours feel sluggish, drink water and skip mezcal night one. Tipping is 10 to 15 percent at restaurants, 10 pesos per bag for porters. The water is not drinkable, but the ice in established restaurants is filtered and fine.
Not the headlines. The spots Mexico City locals reach for after the famous ones are done, and why each one is worth the detour.
A 1912 pulque bar reopened in 2010, flavoured pulques for MXN 35, locals on the radio playing it loud.
The Latin American food market, Colombian arepas, Cuban black beans, Venezuelan hallacas, no tourists.
The chef-supply market, you can eat insects, exotic meats, and sea urchin at the stalls before lunchtime.
The modernist architect house in San Miguel Chapultepec, advance booking only, the colour theory in person.
Skip the Saturday party boats, go Tuesday or Wednesday for the quiet canals and the actual chinampa farms.
March to May (warm, dry, jacaranda blossom in March) and October to November (Día de Muertos is exceptional but book six months ahead). June to September is the rainy season but afternoons clear, December is mild.
In Roma, Condesa, Polanco, Coyoacán, and the Centro Histórico in daylight, yes. Take Uber after dark instead of street taxis, do not flash watches, do not pull cash on the street. Skip Tepito and the metro after 10pm. Pickpocketing on the metro at rush hour is common; foreign-tourist violent crime is not.
Drink 3 litres of water, skip alcohol the first night, and walk slowly. A coca de mate (coca tea) at any cafe is the local remedy. Headaches and shortness of breath fade by day three. Avoid the heaviest mezcal nights and the high-altitude side-trips (Nevado de Toluca) until day four.
Zona Rosa for hotels (loud and dated), Polanco for street food (the tacos are not better, the prices are double), and the Centro Histórico for nightlife (everything closes at 11pm). Base in Roma Norte or Condesa, both walkable, dense, with the best food per square block in the city.
Everyone votes, nobody argues, the itinerary builds itself. Free for the first trip.
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