visit Mexico City

Hollywood has a habit of portraying Mexico City as a dangerous and dystopian place that’s best avoided, but in fact the contrary is true. As one of the oldest cities in the Americas, Mexico City (CDMX, as it’s abbreviated to by locals) has become home to architecture spanning centuries, with each building revealing the city’s storied past - from the Aztec city of Teotihuacan, built between 1 and 7 AD, to the Gothic and Baroque styles introduced by European Colonialism over a period of 250 years. In more modern years contemporary Mexican architecture shows off how diversity has made the city into what it is today, with buildings such as the Museo Nacional de Antropología modernising their cultural history.

A more established method for story-telling in CDMX is the cuisine and, much like the architecture, Mexico’s history is hidden in each and every dish, or taco - and there are A LOT of tacos. One of the city’s favourite tortilla-wrapped delicacies is the al pastor taco, introduced because Lebanese immigrants brought shawarmas to the country in the 1930s. While the Lebanese Mexican community now only makes up around 5% of the immigrant population, the taco’s popularity has spread to different regions of the country and even north, into the US. It’s a true testament to how CDMX embraces those who influence the culture in a country already home to 68 indigenous groups.

Mexico City Old Town rooftop view — Historic Center of Mexico City seen from Círculo Mexicano rooftop.

Stone Cathedral building seen from roof of circulo Mexicano — Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México.

Circulo Mexicano Rooftop — The rooftop bar at Circulo Mexicano

Wine Bottles on the roof at Circulo Mexicano — Natural Wine at the rooftop bar of Circulo Mexicano.

monumental building with exhibit halls surrounding a courtyard with a huge pond and vast square concrete umbrella supported by a single pillar — Museo Nacional de Antropología, the largest and most visited in Mexico.

A mayan building behind jungle foliage — Outdoor exhibitions at Museo Nacional de Antropología.

Pillar at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City — Museo Nacional de Antropología was designed in 1964 by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Jorge Campuzano, and Rafael Mijares Alcérreca.

parque Mexico — Parque México in Colonia Hipódromo, Mexico City.

Tacos Chupacabras on red plate — Tacos Chupacabras from Coyoacán in Mexico City.

Bone Marrow with dips & limes — Bone Marrow Tacos from Mercado Roma.

El Tacos Pastor on yellow plate with limes — El Vilsito, auto repair shop by day and taqueria by night serving al pastor tacos.

tree covered in ivy at Chapultepec Park — Chapultepec Park, considered the first and most important of Mexico City’s lungs with trees that replenished oxygen to the Valley of Mexico.

A stone manmade waterway lined with trees in Chapultepec Park — Chapultepec Park is two times bigger than Central Park in New York.

Hotel pool with black and white tile back & sun shining over from left side — Habita Hotel rooftop pool.

Three floors of the museum of Arte exposed in the open lobby w/ artwork on show — Museo Nacional de Arte showing numerous artists, including Diego Rivera (husband of Frida Khalo).

Front of the Museo Nacional de Arte — Museo Nacional de Arte, housed in the old Palace of Communications.

Looking for more restaurants, bars or hotels in Mexico City? Maybe our map can help.

‘The Story of My Teeth’, in our book club picks, is a piece of collaboration work, conceptualised by Valeria Luiselli, that takes place in the Jumex District of Mexico City. It is translated into English by Christina MacSweeney.

For more places to visit in Mexico, check out our photo journal for San Miguel de Allende and photo journal for Tulum. Headed to more capital cities in The Americas? Check out our photo journal for New York City for more inspiration.