5 days in Mexico City, what to know before you book

Cash, cards, and the dollar trap

Mexico is on the peso, not the US dollar. Restaurants will accept dollars at a brutal rate to be polite, do not do that. Pull MXN 4,000 to 6,000 per person from a Citibanamex or BBVA ATM on arrival. Skip the casas de cambio at MEX airport, the spread is theft (7 to 12 percent off the real rate).

Cards work in Roma, Condesa, Polanco, the chain restaurants, and museums. Cash is required for street tacos, mercados, most pulquerias, and any cantina older than you. Tipping is 10 to 15 percent at restaurants and 10 pesos per bag for hotel porters.

The altitude (and how to survive day one)

CDMX sits at 2,240 metres. The first 24 hours feel sluggish, headaches show up around evening, alcohol hits at 1.5x normal strength. The local remedy is coca de mate (coca tea) at any cafe, three litres of water, and skipping the heavy mezcal session night one.

Sleep eight hours that first night. Heavy meals (a 90-minute Pujol tasting menu) on day one are bad strategy; eat a simple taco lunch instead and save the splurge for night three. By day three the body adjusts.

What foreigners get wrong in Mexico City

A few common tells:

Booking a hotel in Polanco expecting "the safe area", it is fine, but the food is worse and you Uber back to Roma for dinner anyway.

Eating at the Zócalo restaurants for dinner, tourist-priced and the area dies after 9pm.

Tipping in dollars, Mexican servers want pesos, dollar tips end up as a 4 percent tip at the actual exchange rate.

Calling the city "Mexico", locals call it CDMX or Distrito Federal (DF). "Mexico" is the country.

Trying to walk between far neighbourhoods (Roma to Coyoacan is 8km), Uber is €3 to €6 across the city, take it.

Drinking the tap water, no, even locals do not. Ice in restaurants in Roma, Condesa, Polanco is filtered and fine; street stalls are riskier.

Where to base the crew

Roma Norte is the best base for 4 to 6 people. Tree-lined, walkable, the highest restaurant density in the city, every other building is a coffee bar. Boutique hotels (Casa Pancha, Brick) and full apartments work for groups.

Condesa is the slightly calmer cousin, more residential, parks instead of bars, families and crews who want quiet at night. Both are walking distance to each other.

Polanco is for higher-end (Four Seasons, St Regis) and the crew that wants chain-hotel comfort, but the streets are wider and the social energy is lower. You will Uber back to Roma for dinner.

Skip Zona Rosa (dated, loud, dodgy at night) and the Centro Historico for accommodation (functional in daylight, closed by 11pm).

Hidden corners worth knowing the names of

Not the headlines. The names locals reach for once the crew has done Frida and Teotihuacan.

Pulqueria Las Duelistas, a 1912 pulque bar reopened in 2010, flavoured pulques for MXN 35, locals on the radio playing it loud.

Mercado de Medellin on a Sunday, the Latin American food market, no tourists, Colombian arepas and Cuban black beans.

San Juan market early morning, the chef-supply market, eat insects and exotic meats at the stalls before lunch.

Casa Luis Barragan on a Saturday tour, the modernist architect house in San Miguel Chapultepec, advance booking only.

Xochimilco trajinera on a weekday, skip Saturday party boats, go Tuesday for the quiet canals and the chinampa farms.

A lucha libre match at Arena Mexico (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday), louder and cheaper than fine dining, the crew talks about it for a year.

The booking timeline (and the Pujol problem)

Eight weeks out, Pujol. Quintonil and Sud 777 around 6 weeks. Contramar (lunch only, tuna tostadas, the institution) opens reservations 30 days out at midnight Mexico time and books out in 20 minutes; set an alarm.

Four weeks out, Frida Kahlo Museum (Casa Azul) timed entry, sells out 2 to 4 weeks before any weekend.

Two weeks out, a Teotihuacan private driver (€60 to €100 split across the crew, leave at 5:30am to beat the heat and the buses).

A week out, casual dinners (Lardo, Maximo Bistrot, El Califa, Tetetlan), lucha libre tickets (walk-up is fine).

On the day, mezcal bars, pulquerias, the standing-bar tacos. Walking in is the way.

Getting around (and the safety reality)

CDMX is safe in Roma, Condesa, Polanco, Coyoacan, and the Centro Historico in daylight. The reputation is 15 years out of date. Uber after dark, do not flash watches at intersections, do not pull big stacks of cash on the street.

Uber is the only sensible transit. Street taxis (cabs at airport ranks) are not safe, even today; never get in an unmarked car. Metro is fine for short hops in daylight and crowded at rush hour; the pink women-only carriages exist for a reason.

From MEX airport, Uber is €10 to €15 and 30 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. Skip the metro from arrivals, the line is convenient but luggage and crowds do not mix.