Mexico City?

[TR]

I think I'm going to book a long weekend in Mexico City for H's birthday present. I'm thinking the last weekend in March. Get there late morning Thursday, fly out late morning Sunday.

Any suggestions on what neighborhood to stay in? We like good food and walking around to explore, not into loud places/clubs/nightlife so much. More quiet enjoyment of a city, getting as much of an authentic experience as possible as tourists, lol.

[wildrice]

Vespasia was just there!

[Vespasia]

I was indeed!

Roma and la Condesa are popular areas. I have friends there and ran locations by them. We stayed near Centro and our neighborhood definitely was not touristy. We were able to walk to many of the main sites though and had good food options!

I have a Google doc with all the places we ate that I can share tomorrow.

It is so damn cheap there. We couldn't get over it and want to go back soon! Hopefully our Spanish will be a bit better.

[TR]

Jan 3, 2019 21:36:30 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I was indeed!

Roma and la Condesa are popular areas. I have friends there and ran locations by them. We stayed near Centro and our neighborhood definitely was not touristy. We were able to walk to many of the main sites though and had good food options!

I have a Google doc with all the places we ate that I can share tomorrow.

It is so damn cheap there. We couldn't get over it and want to go back soon! Hopefully our Spanish will be a bit better.

Awesome, thanks! We were recently in San Miguel de Allende and loved it and it inspired us to want to see more Mexican cities/towns.

[scout8]

We stayed in Roma Norte when we were there in September and it was a good place to base ourselves. Condesa was the other area we considered.

I love Mexico City! There's so much to do. I've been twice now and still feel like there is so much I haven't seen.

[Vespasia]

TR here are my notes. They're a bit random and sort of centered around where we were staying. I bolded a few favorites.


Food:
El Cardenal - multiple locations in Centro. Excellent food recommended to me by local friends. Whole grilled octopus for $12. www.restauranteelcardenal.com/

Comedor Lucerna - food hall style with table service from multiple options. The seafood place is excellent and cheap. Great empanadas from the pizza places. Good cocktails, ok beer list. www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g150800-d8834436-Reviews-Lucerna_Comedor-Mexico_City_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast.html

Taqueria La Luptia Ayuk - local friends brought me here for tacos al pastor, which they claimed are the best anywhere. They did not disappoint! Dirt cheap too, $15 for 4 of us including non-alcoholic drinks. www.facebook.com/pages/La-Lupita-Ayuk/107534155995053

Cafe Nin - the baked goods looked amazing but we didn’t try any. Food we did have was excellent, as was the coffee. J had fresh squeezed mandarin juice that was delicious. www.cafenin.com.mx/

Azucar y Sal - bakery near our apartment where we went for breakfast most days. www.azucarysal.com.mx/

The Beer Company - tons of beers from Mexico and around the world. Good food but more American style (wings, burgers, sausage) www.facebook.com/TBCHistorico/ Other locations too.

Cafe in Sears - 8th floor balcony overlooking the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Food and coffee were fine but the view makes it worth it.

Restaurante Humbertos - friends took us here for Mayan/Yucatan-style food www.facebook.com/Rhumbertos/


Shopping:

Mexkall Tienda Boutique - Tienda de Mezcal Artesanal - Mezcal shop that allowed us to taste most of the available liquors. Very helpful staff that spoke English. www.facebook.com/mexkall/

La Ciudadela - market with hundreds of craft vendor stalls laciudadela.com.mx/



Activities:

Templo Mayor - ruins and a fantastic museum

Anthropology Museum - you need multiple trips to see this huge collection

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México - friends showed me around their campus. Gorgeous tile murals.

Cathedral at Zocalo - impressive building, free

Lucha Libre @ Arena Mexico - cheap fun!



Restaurants high on my list I didn’t make it to:

Contramar

Pujol

Limosneros

[ESF]

Mexico City is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vespasia's list is a good one!

I stayed in Zona Rosa, which does not meet your criteria. I loved Coyoacan, but it's really far removed from most things (except the Frida Kahlo house), so I'm not sure it's the best place to stay for a first visit, but you should spend an afternoon over there. The other suggestions in the thread are good.

My favorite thing there is the collection of Diego Rivera murals in the Ministry of Education. The collection doesn't make it on to a lot of lists because they are just inside of a government building. But its open to the public and free (times that it's open might be a little wonky so look that up).  And it's one of the most amazing collections of art I've ever seen. I LOVED it. 

Cheap eats are everywhere and are amazing. For a nicer place, Contramar is so damn good. Vespasia - you have to go back to try it!!!!  Someone I work with goes to Mexico City 1-2 times a year, and eats there at least twice every trip.  And Panderia Rosetta has incredible pastries. 

Assuming you do Teotihuacan (the temples outside of the city), you should also get lunch at La Gruta. It's a little touristy, but the kind of place that is touristy because it's super fun and unique and a really beautiful spot to eat. If you guys are adventurous eaters, it's got a lot of very traditional Mexican dishes, like chapulines (grasshoppers) and escamole (ant larvae), which is really delicious. So it's fun from that perspective too.

[Vespasia]

ESF I think we will stay in Coyoacan next time. We spent some time there and really enjoyed it. It's also near my friends, since they're all current/former grad students at the university there. Agree that it's probably not ideal for a first trip.

The area we stayed was definitely authentic! Possibly too authentic for people who aren't used to general city life. We felt completely safe but it was definitely a area of the city for residents and not tourists. We were in a shiny new building next to a ruined shell from the '85 earthquake that people were still living in. The neighborhood itself was home to a million auto part stores. That was actually one of the things I found interesting that my friends pointed out. There's the area you by car parts, the appliance part block, the restaurant supply block...

This was the apartment we rented: www.airbnb.com/rooms/plus/20901436

[scout8]

One activity that I haven't seen mentioned yet is a visit to Xochimilco. It's such a fun, unique experience. Try to go on a weekend when it will be busier.

Also, some of our friends wanted to go to a Lucha Libre show when we were there. I had absolutely NO interest in doing this at all, but of course, went along. It was so much fun!

A few restaurants that we enjoyed:
MeroToro
El Moro (for churros)
Taqueria Arandas (for tacos al pastor)
Maximo Bistrot

[TR]

Thanks for all of the info Vespasia and scout8! Do you think a room not having air conditioning for the last weekend in March would be a deal breaker? It doesn’t look like it gets too hot that time of year and opens up hotel options a lot.

[Vespasia]

Jan 4, 2019 13:26:03 GMT -5 TR said:

Thanks for all of the info Vespasia and scout8 ! Do you think a room not having air conditioning for the last weekend in March would be a deal breaker? It doesn’t look like it gets too hot that time of year and opens up hotel options a lot.

I don't think you would need ac there unless you had some freak summer weather. The weather is so mild, and nights cool, that I can't imagine many places have it. 

[TR]

Jan 4, 2019 13:30:31 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Jan 4, 2019 13:26:03 GMT -5 TR said:

Thanks for all of the info Vespasia and scout8 ! Do you think a room not having air conditioning for the last weekend in March would be a deal breaker? It doesn’t look like it gets too hot that time of year and opens up hotel options a lot.

I don't think you would need ac there unless you had some freak summer weather. The weather is so mild, and nights cool, that I can't imagine many places have it. 

Good to hear! I booked a room here for now: www.booking.com/Share-8Jnqgm

I can cancel for free, but quite a few places are booked already so I wanted to get something reserved.

ETA: fixed link

[TR]

I’m really nervous booking this as a surprise for H, lol. Flights right now are $688 for both of us for the flights I want. I may wait until next Tuesday to see if they drop at all, but then I’ll book. I’m too nervous to wait it out much longer.

[scout8]

I don't think you will need a/c. It doesn't get very hot during the day and is cool at night.

[Vespasia]

Jan 4, 2019 15:43:42 GMT -5 scout8 said:

I don't think you will need a/c. It doesn't get very hot during the day and is cool at night.

That's how our trip first came up. I was telling MH we should move there for the good weather all year long. There's actually a small chance we might consider it, at least short term.

[TR]

Jan 4, 2019 17:08:52 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Jan 4, 2019 15:43:42 GMT -5 scout8 said:

I don't think you will need a/c. It doesn't get very hot during the day and is cool at night.

That's how our trip first came up. I was telling MH we should move there for the good weather all year long. There's actually a small chance we might consider it, at least short term.

We grabbed real estate brochures in San Miguel de Allende, lol.

[ESF]

Jan 4, 2019 17:08:52 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Jan 4, 2019 15:43:42 GMT -5 scout8 said:

I don't think you will need a/c. It doesn't get very hot during the day and is cool at night.

That's how our trip first came up. I was telling MH we should move there for the good weather all year long. There's actually a small chance we might consider it, at least short term.

DO IT!!!!

About a month ago, H and I met an American woman who lived in Mexico City. Her partner had gotten a job at an American school there, and she worked as a freelancer. She was just raving about it. We were so jealous.  She had last lived in NYC, and NYC people almost never like other cities more than NYC.

It's seriously one of the best cities in the world.