Mexico City Guide

Hot-air balloons over the pyramids of Teotihuacan at dawn
CDMX · The field guide to the capital

The city that never runs out.

Balloons over Teotihuacan at dawn, Frida’s blue house, mezcal after the wrestling, tacos on every third corner. Mexico City’s best days out, each one priced and told straight.

Start with the essentials Browse the city →
The shortlist

Seven days out that carry a first trip.

Teotihuacan before the coaches, the Anthropology Museum with someone who can read it, a canal boat with a mariachi band alongside. Book these first; the city fills in the gaps by itself.

All tour reviews →
The day out most people book first

Teotihuacan pyramids morning or afternoon without tourist traps

See Teotihuacan from Mexico City with an English-speaking guide, direct transport, included entry, and an early start to beat the crowds.

From $64 per person · 5 hours 30 minutes (approx.)

Read the review →
★ 4.5Safe betTeotihuacan Early Access Guided Tour with optional LunchFrom $398 hours (approx.) ★ 5.0Sells out at sunriseBalloon flight + pick up in CDMX + Breakfast in Cave + PyramidsFrom $1694 to 7 hours (approx.) ★ 5.0Crowd favouriteBalloon Flight + Cave Breakfast + Pick Up from CDMX or We FlyFrom $1663 to 9 hours (approx.) ★ 4.6Skip-the-lineMexico City: Teotihuacan, Tlatelolco & Guadalupe Shrine TourFrom $49 ★ 5.0Local favouriteTeotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Flight from Mexico City / VolareFrom $1553 to 9 hours (approx.) ★ 5.0Worth every pesoHot Air Balloon Flight with Breakfast Cave and Pyramids TourFrom $1408 hours (approx.)
The pyramid morning

Teotihuacan rewards the early alarm.

The Avenue of the Dead is a different place at opening time: cool air, long shadows, no queue on the Pyramid of the Sun’s steps. The early tours beat the coaches by two full hours and fold in the Basilica on the way back.

01Balloon flight + pick up in CDMX + Breakfast in Cave + Teotihuacan★★★★★★★★★★6 hours (approx.) · from $160→ 02Teotihuacan Private Tour from Mexico City★★★★★★★★★★1 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $140→ 03Balloon flight with breakfast in Cave and Pyramids tour from CDMX★★★★★★★★★★3 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $148→
Compare the pyramid days →
The planning question

Which day gets your one free day?

Most trips give CDMX less time than it deserves. If you only have one open day, these are the three ways it goes best.

The early start The pyramid day 9 hours (approx.) · from $39 Out of the city by seven, up the Pyramid of the Sun before the heat, back with the whole afternoon intact. Add the balloon and it becomes the story you tell about the entire trip. See the pyramid days → The art day The Frida day 9 hours (approx.) · from $34 Casa Azul’s timed tickets sell out days ahead; the guided versions carry them included, then walk Coyoacán’s plazas while the churros are still warm. The easiest great day in the city. See the Frida days → The floating afternoon The canal day 9 hours (approx.) · from $34 A painted trajinera, a table of tacos and micheladas, mariachis pulling alongside on demand. Xochimilco is loud and unashamed; bring friends or leave with new ones. See the canal days →
After dark

Masks on, mezcal after.

Arena México on a Friday is opera with folding chairs: villains, heroes, grandmothers shouting louder than anyone. The guided nights sort the tickets, explain the feuds and finish somewhere with good mezcal.

01Lucha Libre Experience in Mexico City★★★★★★★★★★3 hours (approx.) · from $68→ 02Lucha Libre Tour and Mezcal Tasting in Mexico City★★★★★★★★★★4 hours (approx.) · from $134→ 03Mexico City: Tequila and Mezcal Museum Tour with Tasting★★★★★★★★★★1.5 hours · from $40→ 04A Night of Tacos and Mezcal in Mexico City★★★★★★★★★★3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $135→
Plan the masked night →
The sunrise splurge

The pyramids, from above.

Dawn wind, a basket of strangers going quiet, and the Avenue of the Dead unrolling underneath. Most flights land to breakfast in a cave restaurant, which sounds like a gimmick until the coffee arrives. Book early; baskets are small.

01Balloon Flight with Breakfast in Cave and Pyramids of Teotihuacan★★★★★★★★★★2 to 7 hours (approx.) · from $160→ 02Balloon Flight + Breakfast in a cave + Pick up CDMX + Pyramids★★★★★★★★★★6 hours (approx.) · from $148→ 03Balloon Flight with Breakfast in a Natural Cave and Transportation from CDMX★★★★★★★★★★3 to 6 hours (approx.) · from $138→
Compare the flights →
Where to point the day

The city, one barrio at a time.

Pyramids north, canals south, Frida in Coyoacán, murals downtown. Every tile leads to days already reviewed and priced.

Teotihuacan90 tours Historic Center9 tours Frida & Coyoacán32 tours Xochimilco35 tours Chapultepec & Museums38 tours Roma & Polanco6 tours Lucha Libre9 tours
Know the city first

The barrios, before you book anything.

The guide half of this site covers the city street by street. Read the neighbourhood first; the tours make more sense after.

Every neighbourhood →
The old heartHistoric CenterThe Zócalo, the Templo Mayor underneath it, and four centuries stacked on an Aztec lake bed.Read the guide → Café societyCondesaArt deco avenues, dog parks and pavement cafés on the city’s greenest grid.Read the guide → The creative blocksRoma NorteGalleries, mezcalerías and the best coffee in the capital, block after block.Read the guide → Frida’s villageCoyoacanThe blue house, cobbled plazas and churros in the market: the village the city grew around.Read the guide → The polished sidePolancoDesigner avenues, the Anthropology Museum next door and the city’s most celebrated tables.Read the guide → The Saturday southSan AngelThe weekend art bazaar, colonial lanes and quiet convent courtyards south of the centre.Read the guide →
The landmarks

The buildings that explain the city.

Full guides to the places every first trip circles: history, tickets, opening hours and how long each really needs.

All attractions →
The castle on the hillChapultepec CastleThe only royal castle in the Americas, above the park and its museums.Read the guide → The sinking cathedralMetropolitan CathedralThree centuries of construction settling gently into the old lake bed on the Zócalo.Read the guide → Marble & muralsPalace of Fine ArtsRivera’s murals upstairs, the Tiffany glass curtain below, concerts most weekends.Read the guide → The main squareThe ZocaloThe plaza where the country happens: flag, cathedral, palace and protest.Read the guide → The last canalsXochimilcoAztec waterways best seen from a painted trajinera with a mariachi boat alongside.Read the guide → Twelve halls of MexicoNational Anthropology MuseumThe sun stone, the jade masks, and the context for everything else you’ll see.Read the guide →
How to spend it

Twelve kinds of chilango day.

Balloons, murals, markets, mezcal. Choose the shape of the day; everything behind each tile is priced and timed.

Balloon Flights39 tours Food Tours30 tours Cooking Classes8 tours Tequila & Mezcal18 tours Bike Tours15 tours Bus Tours5 tours Guadalupe Shrine28 tours Puebla & Cholula6 tours Tolantongo8 tours Taxco & Cuernavaca6 tours San Miguel1 tours Private Days55 tours
If it’s your first visit

Three days, done the chilango way.

History first, art and canals second, altitude last. The order matters: save the balloon for when your lungs have adjusted to 2,240 metres.

Day 1 Walk the Centro The Zócalo, Diego’s murals, the Templo Mayor sitting underneath it all. Street tacos when your feet vote to stop. Plan day one → Day 2 Frida, then float Casa Azul in the morning with tickets pre-solved, Coyoacán’s plazas for lunch, a trajinera on the canals until the sun drops. Plan day two → Day 3 The pyramids, properly The early tour or the balloon, your call and your budget. Either way you’re on the Avenue of the Dead before the heat and home by mid-afternoon. Plan day three →
The practical bits

Plan it like you live here.

Getting aroundmetro, metrobús, taxis and when to just walk→ The Metrocheap, fast and easier than the map suggests→ City historyfrom Tenochtitlan to megacity in one sitting→ Festivalswhat the city celebrates, month by month→ Day of the Deadwhere to be, and what it actually means→ With kidsparks, museums and days that work for small legs→
Fresh off the trajinera

New on the site.

All tour reviews →
★ 5.0Private Transfer from the Airport to Hotels in Mexico CityFrom $891 hour (approx.) ★ 5.0Exclusive Horseback Ride w/ Mexican Charros Family in México City6 hours (approx.) ★ 5.0Private Transportation Mexico Airport to Hotels in CDMXFrom $1591 to 2 hours (approx.) ★ 5.0Basilica de Guadalupe: Complete Walking TourFrom $322 hours ★ 5.0The best and most complete PRIVATE CITY TOUR through the Historic CenterFrom $683 hours (approx.) ★ 4.0Teotihuacan Pyramid and Basilica Day Tour from CDMXFrom $608 to 9 hours (approx.) ★ 3.5Balloon adventure: transfer+breakfast in the cave+guided pyramidsFrom $2429 hours (approx.) ★ 5.0Mexico City: Diego Rivera’s Murals Guided Walking TourFrom $783.5 hours