City: Mexico City
Top Things to do in Mexico City
The 10 Best Things to do in Mexico City, Mexico
Rising from the ruins of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, Mexico City offers a unique collision of contemporary city life and historic preservation. World-class museums, restaurants and parks rub shoulders with the remains of several cultures. The nightlife, the shopping and the history make it a must-see regardless of your travel style.
Restaurants in Mexico City
1. Museo Nacional de Antropologia
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 19,688 reviews
Considered one of the world's most comprehensive natural history museums, this famous institution houses four square kilometers of exhibits in 23 exhibition halls.
Reviewed By LauraGrabs4 - Hamburg, Germany
Huge museum, amazing exhibition halls, everything sehr explain, a wonderful way to get to know about the beginnings of Mexico's history and all about the prehispánico cultures, great guides, beautiful spaces, a shame the moctezuma´s headress is a copy, the original is in Vienna. Must visit!
2. Museo del Templo Mayor
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,327 reviews
The ruins of the temple the Aztecs believed to be center of the universe.
Reviewed By murali8121 - Kochi (Cochin), India
Located in the historical centre next to the Metropolitan Cathedral and the national Palace. Open 9.00 - 5.00 except Mondays Entry ticket 80 pesos Time required to see two hours and more depending on interest The temple construction began around 1325 and was rebuilt multiple times. The Spanish partly destroyed the temple to make way for a cathedral in 1521. Templo Mayor was built as the main temple in the ancient capital city of Tenochtitlan for worshipping the God of war Huitzilopochtli, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture, on top of pyramids with separate staircases. Do not miss the museum behind the excavations which exhibit plenty of the findings in several floors.
3. Bosque de Chapultepec
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,364 reviews
This 1,600-acre bucolic park has enough activities to fill days at a time and is particularly popular among families with children.
Reviewed By 759elib - Sydney, Australia
Its got to be one of the largest, best planned green spaces in the world, twice the size of NYC’s Central Park. There are nine museums within its confines giving me access to some of the best art and artefacts in the entire city. Lungfulls of clean oxygen in a city chocking with pollution. One of my fav spots is home to the Fuente de Tlaloc and the Carcamo de Dolores, featuring two of Rivera’s more unique and lesser known works of art- the massive mosaic tile fountain and mural. Its nice to sit and contemplate one’s navel or watch the never still locomotion of the populace at play or rest. I am in the reading garden audiorama sitting on the comfy multicoloured bench while all around me children, elderly folk and tourists like me take time out to let this marvel of great planning, seep- in and invade my pleasured sensorium. Its perfectly positioned opposite the amazing Anthropological Museum on the Paseo de la Reforma. Its a zig-zag kind of adventure with terrific views like nowhere else. All roads bordering the park have the best preserved Art Deco buildings which form a non ending eye-candy for this architectural buff. the best in my time in the capitol were: Avenida Mexico, Avenida Amsterdam, Campeche and Queretaro.
4. Zocalo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,522 reviews
One of the largest public plazas in the world, the Zócalo is the heart of Mexico City and is one of the city's most famous attractions.
Reviewed By susanaquerida - Vancouver, Canada
We saw the zocalo for the 2nd time at Christmas. Wow. The lights on the municipal hall, there was a stage for performers, an ice rink, it was amazing. Of course it's very crowded, but that's Mexico City.
5. Museo Frida Kahlo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9,703 reviews
The lifelong home of Frida Kahlo is now a museum dedicated to the work of this famous 20th-century artist.
Reviewed By Seanspacifica - St. Albans, United Kingdom
I highly recommend visiting the Frida Kahlo museum, and if you’re English it’s worth paying the extra pesos to have an audio guide. The house is beautiful with so many original artifacts and paintings, and it’s a great way to get a feel for the colourful character that Frida Kahlo was. It’s a very popular attraction so to avoid VERY long queues, it’s best to book ahead.
6. Coyoacan
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 7,805 reviews
Coyoacan, a former village and now one of the 16 boroughs of Mexico City, is a historic center. It is a popular place to visit, especially on weekends, because many of the original layouts, plazas and narrow streets have been preserved and date from the 16th to the early 20th centuries.
Reviewed By lorrainew241 - San Francisco, United States
We stayed in this neighborhood in an AirBnB and loved this charming and historic part of Mexico City. Especially wonderful is the main square in which you can see all types of people of all ages enjoying the outdoors, kissing on benches and enjoying the fountains and performers. We delighted in how vibrant and alive everything was in the evenings - so many families and kids strolling even after 10-11pm. Loved it!
7. Basilica de Santa Maria de Guadalupe
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 7,783 reviews
This famous church, located on the site where an Indian claimed to have seen the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531, contains an image of her that is the most famous religious icon in all of Mexico.
Reviewed By yzababa - Guadalajara, Mexico
This place its visit by more than 8 million People a year the feling to see this magnificent place its overwhelming you feel the peace and the good vibe, the best way to get there its by subway but be careful with the pickpocketes also try not to use the cell phones because they can be snatch be vigilant theres enought police but its better yo be careful, theres a lot of street food around but Also i think theres a macdonalds theres two churchs but the virgin image its on the new one, also you can go. Up to the very first church that was built in honor of the virgin mary with great murals very old, for me its a place of worship and spiritual healing i love it
8. Palacio de Bellas Artes
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10,780 reviews
This historic white marble building serves as both the city's top performance hall and an art museum.
Reviewed By mhex2 - London, United Kingdom
If you have the chance to catch the folk dance troupe at the palace, it's a worthwhile show (beautiful dancing and great music) and you'll also see the amazing stained glass curtain in the theatre!
9. Chapultepec Castle
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10,597 reviews
This 18th-century palace, known for its impressive gardens, served as the home of the Mexican President until 1939 and now houses the famous Museo Nacional de Historia.
Reviewed By myom624 - Coquitlam, Canada
To describe this "great & sprawling" castle in somewhat succinct terms (the way I see it) would be to think of it as a "two-part" structure with one part on the near side (meaning just after the entrance gate) and the other on the far side (and yes each part with a "grand staircase" to its 2nd level, especially so in the case of the "near-side staircase" with great murals covering the walls on two sides & the ceiling above), and yes to also easily distinguish between the two sides is just from the "layout or presentation" of the National History Museum inside the Castle (big rooms to enter on the near side & small rooms to just take a look "from right outside" on the far side); and as for the displays of history (miscellaneous items from religious relics to weaponry to some precious memorabilia likely of the social elites including a few "long-stemmed pots & trays" made of gemstones or such to the biggest of all displayed objects which are 2 or 3 "beautiful carriages"), I would say though that a "prevailing percentage" of all there is to see (and covering a great part of the walls of the interior of the Castle) are these "awesome scenes" of the country's history (some stately portraits, some battle scenes & some more of a collection of miscellaneous scenes including actually one "super scene" which covers the floor from top to bottom); and yes although just seen from outside, really with quite a bit of "elegant beauty" are the small rooms on the far side (with ornate furniture, great paintings & actually some "amazing corridor" on the 2nd level with colorful stained-glass scenes along one side) which as I learned were once rooms occupied by the presidents & their families. Then also in addition to the beauty of the displays inside is what I would describe as the "grounds beauty" of this castle: the terrace with a great "skyline view" seen past the trees of the "big park" right below (at the back of the 1st level on the far side); the set of "tall statues" of soldiers & the fountain nearby (on the far side of the front grounds); the "lovely garden" with also a tower & a fountain although with not that much of flowers (at the outdoor part of the 2nd level on the far side); and the garden with some sizeable "Mayan monument", a fountain which is "the biggest" of all 3 fountains of the Castle & also the view of the "golden balconies" on one side of the garden (on the near side of the Castle which is actually just directly to the left from the entrance gate). And yes, I would say it's mostly for the beauty of the castle grounds that this national history museum, in my opinion, is not necessarily the best but the "most memorable" among about 6 such museums visited in South & Central Americas (among which just as impressive as this one being three other national history museums namely those of Chile in Santiago, Brazil in Rio & Colombia in Bogota, all four museums including this one with "great coverage" of the countries' colonial & early republic periods). If coming by metro, Chapultepec Station (on Line 1) is where to get off from which it's about a half-hour walk through a "big park" where at about halfway is a monument for the U.S. - Mexico War (a set of columns & a nice-sized sculpture of some human figures with also its own small plaza) followed by the path which is "just slightly uphill" to the entrance gate.
10. Museo Soumaya
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,876 reviews
This museum explores the role of art and culture in human life and includes art by such luminaries as the French sculptor Rodin.
Reviewed By sharianl2017 - Cumbaya, Ecuador
I had no expectations on this museum, but was blown away by it. They have such a beautiful collection of art and the architecture of the building is stunning too, museum is free to the public and we ended up staying all morning there!
