A few years ago, we almost canceled a trip we had planned to Mexico City in August.

The rainy-season photos and videos we saw as we were planning made it seem like we’d be trapped indoors, facing a nonstop deluge, with no hope of exploring the city’s charming streets and green spaces.

Those photos and videos aren’t wrong, exactly. But they’re sensationalized. They capture a snippet of a day that probably started with hours of clear skies and sunshine.

Here’s the truth: If you plan a trip to Mexico City in the summer, there’s a good chance you’re going to face rain. Maybe a lot of rain. But that doesn’t mean you should reschedule, and it doesn’t mean you’re going to have a lousy trip.

💧Does it rain all day during the Mexico City rainy season?

No, it does not rain all day. A typical summer day in Mexico City starts with clear, beautiful skies and warm sunshine in the morning. Clouds roll in by mid-afternoon, and, some days, you can expect heavy thunderstorms in the late afternoon or evening.

The rainy season usually runs from late May through late September, and July and August are the wettest months.

Think of it like Florida rainy, not Seattle rainy.

📅Planning your days during Mexico City’s rainy season

The rainy season isn’t all bad. We like it because:

• The rainfall clears the air, reducing pollution

• Daytime high temperatures are comfortable

• Cool, rainy nights are great for sleeping

• The rain keeps a lot of locals home in the evenings, which makes it easier to get into restaurants and cocktail bars

Here’s what we recommend:

• Plan your walks, visits to parks like Chapultepec, and outdoor dining for mornings and early afternoons.

• If you want to walk and the weather is iffy, head to Condesa. The trees give you some protection, and you’ll find shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants to duck into while you wait out a storm.
  

• Schedule museums, concerts, and indoor dining for the late afternoons and evenings. Most museums are open until 5 pm. Here are a few later options:

  • Palacio de Bellas Artes (Centro Historico): Open until 6 pm. Ideal if a downpour strikes when you’re downtown.

  • Museo Soumaya (Polanco): Open until 6:30 pm and admission is free, so it’s a good option for a day with a high chance of storms.

  • Museo Jumex, next door to Museo Soumaya: Open until 7 pm on Saturdays.

• The last Wednesday of every month is Noche de Museos (Museum Night). Lots of the city’s museums are open late and have free or discounted admission. So that’s an excellent rainy day option if it coincides with your trip.

• Taking Ubers will minimize the amount of time you’re out in the elements. Just keep in mind that when it rains, lots of people who would otherwise walk or bike take Ubers, too. So build in some extra wait time for the Uber and expect higher fares. Plan for travel time in traffic, too.

• The Metro is another transit option, though it will probably be crowded when it’s raining, too.

Thanks for exploring Mexico City with 💜 Eternal Spring! Consider becoming a subscriber so you never miss our exclusive tips and guides. — Paul and Steph

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⛈️Here’s what you should bring

Don’t expect any light sprinkles or drizzle when it rains in Mexico City. The thunderstorms bring the kind of downpours that mean you’ll get drenched in seconds, even if you’re just crossing the street.

🛍️Shop for your gear before your trip

Don’t plan to buy a raincoat or shoes during your trip, especially if you’re taller than average.

Most visitors are bigger than most Mexicans, so you might have a hard time finding clothes or shoes in your size.

Plus, if you only have a few days in the city, you’re not going to want to spend them shopping for necessities.

Here’s what you’ll want to bring:

🧥A raincoat

You can’t manage the Mexico City rainy season without a raincoat. Keep it lightweight—it’s usually not that cold when it rains, and you can always layer a light sweater under it if you need to.

We have Eddie Bauer (Paul) and Land’s End (Steph) raincoats that are about mid-thigh length. They work well, although if I were buying something new, I’d get something knee-length or longer, like this one. (Option for men)

👞Waterproof walking shoes

It’s pretty much a guarantee that your feet will get soaked, so keep them dry with the right footgear. Otherwise, you’ll be spending your valuable vacation time blow-drying your wet shoes.

I love these waterproof On sneakers because they’re comfortable, and I can wear them all day, whether it’s raining or not. (Option for men) These highly rated waterproof sneakers are more affordable. (Option for men)

🌂An umbrella

Even with a raincoat, your pants will probably end up wet unless you add some coverage from a good umbrella.

This umbrella is big enough for two people and still folds up to a relatively small size.

👜A tote bag or day bag

When you’re out all day, you’ll need a way to carry around your raincoat and umbrella so your hands are free for taking photos, looking up addresses, and, of course, planning your days with our digital guidebook.

This tote is affordable, durable, and can fold up to keep on hand as a shopping bag when you don’t need it for your rain gear.

If you want something more secure where you can keep your wallet, passport, phone, or anything else valuable, this expandable, waterproof day bag is a nice option.

📱A phone wrist strap or lanyard

I got caught in a downpour with my phone in an open pocket on my purse. I thought it got protected but the charging port got wet and never quite worked properly again.

With a phone wrist strap or lanyard, you can tuck your phone in your sleeve or under your raincoat.

It can also help keep your phone safer from pickpockets and from the risk of dropping it if you’re taking photos from a rooftop, hot-air balloon, or boat ride.

🧥Layers

Did you see all those low temperatures in the 50s in the forecast? It won’t be much warmer than that in the early mornings and after storms comer through in the evenings.

In Mexico City, life happens outside, so I usually bring a light sweater so I’m comfortable sitting outside at a restaurant or bar.

👎What not to bring

Don’t pack flip flops or sandals. You’re visiting a big city, not a beach resort, and you’ll want to keep your feet clean and protected. Save the swimwear for Cancun or Puerto Vallarta.

This post contains one or more affiliate links. We only recommend products and services that we believe are of high quality and helpful to readers. Making a purchase through an affiliate link is one small way you can support💜Eternal Spring, and there’s no additional cost to you.

🛍️Other shopping options

I’m a fan of more affordable and climate-friendly shopping options, so I buy quite a bit of what I need from these two retailers. These aren’t affiliate links; I’m just a fan. With both, you’ll want to check the sites frequently because the inventory changes all the time.

• Relay Goods: They sell returned but unworn, previous season, and damaged-box running and walking shoes, including some waterproof options. I got my On waterproof sneakers here for $35 less than full price. Shipping has been quick, in my experience.

• ThredUp: They sell all kinds of secondhand clothing, accessories, and bags. They’re a great place to shop if you need affordable travel gear in a climate that’s different from where you live. You can sort by “new with tags” if you’re not into used clothing. Shipping can take a while, so give yourself plenty of time before your trip to shop.

If you found these rainy season strategies helpful, our complete digital guidebook, Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City, contains more than 500 pages of neighborhood breakdowns, curated restaurant guides, and real-world logistics designed to work seamlessly on your phone, e-reader, tablet, or computer. Click below to download your copy.

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💧More Mexico City rainy-season tips

Here are a couple of early morning activities we think are worth it. Book them for early in your trip so there’s time to reschedule in case you hit some rare inclement weather early in the day.

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The dining scene in Mexico City showcases cuisines from around the world, brought from people who have made the city their home over the decades.

explains how these restaurants live alongside the traditional Mexican restaurants you expect to find here, so we’re sharing his guest post with you.

Find more of his work at goodfoodmexico.

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When I came to live in Mexico City in the late 1990s, I was obsessed with finding the best Mexican food. There were no restaurant guides for outsiders—I would later write the first one. Street food was still regarded with suspicion by most foreign visitors. The only indispensable guidebook I found was the mythical, spiral-bound Guía del Pleno Disfrute de la Ciudad de México, produced by a circle of writers and intellectuals and as rare as a three-peso bill. It became my bible.

In his introduction, the essayist, urban chronicler and bon vivant Carlos Monsiváis posed a question that has stayed with me ever since:

“What does a city offer? What are its mysteries, its hidden corners, its underground paradises? And what mechanisms does it provide for pleasure?”

For years, I thought the answer lay entirely in local food. I chased late-night taquerías, weekend barbacoa, mole made by anonymous women in hole-in-the-wall kitchens, forgotten fondas and bustling market stalls. I was still captivated by that troublesome word “authentic”—a concept I have long since abandoned. I believed that understanding Mexico meant eating nothing but Mexican food. But Mexico City has changed; so have I.

One of the most rewarding ways to understand the city today is by eating everyone else’s food. That may sound like a contradiction. Why fly halfway around the world only to eat Chinese noodles or Korean barbecue? Because those meals are just as much a part of contemporary Mexico City as tacos al pastor.

One of the great misconceptions about “eating local” is that it assumes a city’s identity can be reduced to its traditional cuisine. But cities aren’t museums. They evolve with the people who live in them.

Mexico City was cosmopolitan long before anyone coined the phrase “digital nomad.” Chinese immigrants founded the cafés de chinos more than a century ago. Spanish, French, Lebanese and Jewish communities have all left lasting marks on the city’s culinary landscape. More recently, Indians, Koreans, Japanese, Venezuelans and, increasingly, Chinese immigrants have added entirely new chapters.

Contrary to what one occasionally reads in newspaper trend pieces, none of this has diluted Mexican cuisine. During the thirty years I’ve lived here, I’ve witnessed precisely the opposite. Regional Mexican cooking has flourished. There are more excellent taquerías, seafood restaurants, fondas and fine-dining venues than ever before. The city’s table hasn’t become less Mexican; it has become bigger.

So when people ask me what I miss most about New York, I usually answer: family, friends… and good Chinese food.

For years, finding it in Mexico City felt like searching for the Holy Grail. Every so often someone would whisper about a place above a shopping arcade or hidden behind an office building where nobody spoke much Spanish, the menu wasn’t translated, and every table seemed occupied by people who clearly hadn’t come because the restaurant had five stars on Yelp or appeared in a guidebook. Half the time, the rumors proved disappointing. Then, every once in a while, I’d strike gold. Those discoveries thrilled me every bit as much as finding an extraordinary taco stand. Eventually I realized why. The best foreign restaurants in Mexico City are the ones that don’t really care whether you come or not. That isn’t meant as criticism. Quite the opposite. Their purpose isn’t to introduce Chinese food to Mexicans or Indian food to tourists. They exist because someone misses the food they grew up with. They serve homesick students, engineers, factory managers, visiting relatives and families who simply want dinner to taste like home. The rest of us are welcome, of course. We’re just not the intended audience, and that’s precisely what makes them so exciting.

There is something deeply satisfying about eating another person’s comfort food. Food that hasn’t been adjusted, translated, sweetened or explained. Food that assumes you already know what it is and if you don’t, you’ll learn.

In the last few years, that world has expanded dramatically in Mexico. A growing Chinese community—driven in part by investment in the electric vehicle and technology sectors—has brought with it a new generation of restaurants serving regional cuisines that would have been unimaginable here a decade ago. Some don’t even have Spanish menus, requiring Google Translate and a willingness to take chances. The dining rooms are filled largely with Chinese customers. Exactly as they should be.

I find myself increasingly drawn to these places—not because I’m tired of Mexican food, but because they reveal another Mexico City. The same is true of Korean restaurants crowded with Korean families, Japanese noodle shops serving Japanese office workers, or even American-style cafés feeding brunch to homesick digital nomads. These aren’t “ethnic restaurants,” they’re neighborhood venues serving neighborhoods most of us never knew existed.

Carlos Monsiváis asked what hidden pleasures a city proposes. After almost three decades, I’m still answering that question. Some of those hidden pleasures are still found in tiny taquerías and market stalls. Others arrive in bowls of hand-pulled noodles, sizzling Korean grills, or plates of food whose names I still can’t pronounce.

That’s one of the great pleasures of living in a city that never stops becoming itself.

If you’re curious to explore this other side of Mexico City’s dining scene, I’ve written about many of these discoveries—including outstanding Chinese restaurants and other immigrant cuisines—on Good Food Mexico.

Consider it the beginning, not the end, of the treasure hunt.

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Quick guide: San Ángel walk details

• Starting point: San Ángel Inn

• Ending point: Plaza del Carmen

• Distance: About a half mile

• Time: 1 to 2 hours, depending on shopping and photo stops

• Best time to visit: Saturdays, when the parks are filled with Mexican artists selling paintings, sculptures, and fabric art.

With its tree-lined streets and understated affluence, San Ángel is one of the prettiest neighborhoods in Mexico City. It’s also an ideal place for a stroll. Just be sure to wear comfortable sneakers or walking shoes—you’ll be glad you have them when you’re navigating the cobblestones.

An 💜 Eternal Spring subscription is a smart investment in your Mexico City experience. For just $7/month or $49/year, you get access to all of our paid content, plus our archive of more than 100 articles covering neighborhood walks, what to pack, safety considerations, and more.

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San Ángel Inn

Start at San Ángel Inn (1). This is one of our favorite restaurants in Mexico City, and we begin many San Ángel visits with a meal here and then walk it off.

Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo

Cross the street to the northeast to Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo (2). This often-overlooked gem is worth a visit, and unlike Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul, you can walk right up and buy tickets on the spot.

You can also simply enjoy its cactus-lined exterior if you don’t have the time to explore inside right now.

Head east on Avenida Altavista (3) then rurn right (south) and stroll down Calle Reyna (4).

Crucifix statue

Check out the crucifix statue tucked into the corner of Calle Reyna and Gral Aureliano Rivera (5), then continue south on Calle Reina (6).

Plaza de los Licenciados

Cross the street to visit the small Plaza de los Licenciados, then turn left (east) onto Calle Benito Juárez (7).

Parroquia San Jacinto

Turn into Parroquia San Jacinto (8) on the right (south). Check out the pretty garden inside the wall and take a look inside the church if you like.

Bazar San Ángel

Head east on Calle Benito Juárez (9) and where you’ll find Bazar San Ángel (10), a collection of shops selling Mexican handicrafts.

If you’re ready for a break, you’re close to Oxa, where you can get a meal or a drink. We’re fans of their brunch menu.

Plaza Tenanitla

Plaza Tenanitla hosts Bazar Sábado, a charming outdoor art market, on Saturdays.

Plaza san Jacinto

Kitty-corner from Plaza Tenanitla is the larger Plaza san Jacinto (11). The park surrounds a fountain and hosts local artists selling their work on Saturdays.

Calle Madero

Head northeast on Calle Madero (12) and explore the shops and stores on both sides of the street.

Plaza del Carmen

Finish your walk at Plaza del Carmen (13), a small triangular park, which also has a wonderful art fair each Saturday.

From here, you can relax on a park bench, grab a quick drink—we recommend a glass of wine at Bistro 83 across the street to the north in the Mercado del Carmen—or see if there’s an event at Centro Cultural San Ángel, across the street to the south.

Then, you can catch an Uber back to your vacation rental or hotel of, if you’re still feeling adventurous, to Coyoacán.

If you can’t get enough of San Ángel and have the time, you could wander through the three blocks or so behind the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo between Calle Diego Rivera and Calle Reyena (north of Avenida Altavista), or the other streets that parallel Calle Reyana south of Avenida Altavista.

This is where Mexico City’s wealthiest residents live, not in Polanco. Most homes have private security with a dedicated security booth that’s manned 24/7, and yet the area retains a subdued, quiet, and natural beauty.

If it’s your first time visiting Mexico City, there are a handful of neighborhoods that should be at the top of your list of places to stay.

This is an excerpt from our downloadable book, Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City, which is designed to work seamlessly on your phone, e-reader, tablet, or computer. Use it to plan your itinerary, and refer to it any time you need to when you’re in Mexico City.

Get our Mexico City guidebook!

🗺️ Where should you stay in Mexico City?

🌴 Condesa ⭐

Quieter and less chaotic than Roma Norte to its east, Condesa is full of cafés and the home of some of our favorite restaurants and bars. There is even some terrific street food if you look past the tourist zones.

It’s a good choice for if you want a quiet base to explore the rest of a loud and chaotic city. It’s our top pick for visitors, especially on a first trip.

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Condesa is really three separate neighborhoods—Colonia Condesa, Colonia Hipódromo, and Colonia Hipódromo Condesa—but they’re referred to as a single place called Condesa.

🏠 Roma Norte ⭐

To us, Roma Norte is the perfect Mexico City neighborhood. It’s walkable, safe, and friendly, and home to some of the city’s best restaurants, bars, cafés, and street food.

If you’re looking for a risk-free, traditional local experience, Roma Norte is it. We love it so much that we made it our home.

🏛️ Centro

Centro refers to the European-style center of Mexico City made up of the Centro Histórico and Alameda Central neighborhoods, plus a bit of the surrounding area.

It extends from the Zócalo (main square) in the east, past the Palacio de Bellas Artes ands the Alameda Central park in the center, and out to the Monumento a la Revolución (Monument of the Revolution) in the west.

An 💜 Eternal Spring subscription is a smart investment in your Mexico City experience. For just $7/month or $49/year, you get access to all of our paid content, plus our archive of more than 100 articles covering neighborhood walks, what to pack, safety considerations, and more.

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The whole area is quite walkable, and you could spend days exploring its sights, restaurants, bars, and cafes.

🌸 Juarez and Reforma

You’ll find Juarez, San Rafael, and Colonia Cuauhtémoc on either side of Paseo de la Reforma, west of Centro and north of Roma Norte.

These neighborhoods aren’t as gentrified as Condesa and Roma Norte, but they are catching up, with plenty of restaurants, some of the cities top cocktail bars, and many of the city’s biggest hotels. It’s also home to Zona Rosa, an LGTBQ-friendly community.

This area is most interesting on Sundays: That’s when Reforma closes its streets to car traffic so that walkers, joggers, bicyclists, and others can enjoy its monuments and fountains from a unique perspective.

You’ll also find Mexico City’s best art fair at the Jardín del Arte Sullivan on Sundays.

🍸 Roma Sur

If Condesa and Roma Norte are too gentrified for you, take a look at the busier, grittier, and smaller neighborhood to the south, Roma Sur. It’s light on sights, but full of incredible, authentic restaurants, bars, and street food.

It’s also the home of our favorite park, the enormous Jardín Ramón López Velarde, our favorite farmer’s market, Mercado El 100, our local market, the authentic and diverse Mercado Medellín, and our favorite bar, Café Tacobar del Sur.

🛍️ Polanco

Upscale Polanco is full of expensive hotels, restaurants, and embassies, and one of Mexico City’s best museums, Museo Soumaya, is nearby. The neighborhood is even more Americanized and gentrified than Condesa, and is considered a sort of Beverly Hills of Mexico City.

It’s a bit remote, however, because it’s not served by the Metro and there is a traffic choke point separating the area from the rest of the city.

It’s worth seeing, but the long Uber rides to and from elsewhere in the city make Polanco less desirable as a base for visitors.

🐺 Coyoacán and San Ángel

Geographically separated from most of the areas we recommend, Coyoacán and neighboring San Ángel are very much worth the 25- to 30-minute Uber ride to the south.

Both feature traditional markets, gorgeous parks, and wonderful restaurants, bars, cafés, and weekend art fairs.

Coyoacán is also home to one of Mexico City’s most popular sights, Museo Frida Kahlo, a museum dedicated to the country’s most famous artist that’s located in her former home, the walled Casa Azul (the Blue House).

San Ángel is home to two of our favorite restaurants, Oxa and San Ángel Inn. While we love these neighborhoods, but we don’t recommend staying in either because they’re so far from most of the places you’ll want to see.

📅 How long should you stay in Mexico City?

You can get a good feel for what makes Mexico City so special in 5 to 7 days. So we recommend that most first-time visitors try and spend the better part of a week here if possible.

That said, if you have more time for traveling, you could easily stay for two weeks or more without running out of things to do.

And, you can see quite a bit in a short time, if that’s all you have. Here’s what we did with friends who tacked a weekend with us onto a trip to Acapulco:

Need tips for booking a vacation rental?

We’ve made a few mistakes booking vacation rentals, and you can learn from our mistakes:

Quick Guide: Reforma Walk Details

• Starting point: Estela de Luz at the entrance to Chapultepec Park

• Ending point: Monumento a la Madre/Jardín del Arte Sullivan

• Distance: About 1.5 miles

• Time: 1 to 2 hours, depending on photo stops

• Best time to visit: Sunday mornings and early afternoons, when the street is closed to cars for biking and walking

The best way to experience Avenida Paseo de la Reforma is on foot or riding a bike. While it’s a great walk any day of the week, Sundays are the best time to visit.

That’s when when the city closes Reforma to motorized vehicles, and the pedestrians cyclists, roller bladers, and dog walkers take over.

Whether you are looking for local street vendors selling homemade items, unique public art installations, or historic Mexican monuments, this self-guided walking tour covers everything you need to see from west to east.

1: Estela de Luz (The Starting Point)

Begin at the Estela de Luz monument just outside the entrance to the Bosque de Chapultepec. You can’t miss it: It’s over 340 feet tall, looks as thin as a pencil, and it commemorates the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence from Spain.

2: Reforma’s south side

You can walk on either side of Reforma, but we recommend the south side for this stretch.

3: Fuente de la Diana Cazadora

Head northeast, taking in the many statues that line the sidewalk and the gorgeous, wide, cement city benches.

When you reach the intersection of Sevilla and Reforma, you’ll find the Fuente de la Diana Cazadora (Fountain of Diana the Huntress). Here, you can switch to the north side of Reforma or stick with the south side.

4: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz memorial

There are statues on both sides of Reforma for the entire stretch of this walk. But there’s a particularly notable example on the north side of Reforma: The Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz memorial celebrates the famous Spanish nun and writer.

5: Alas de Mexico

Further along on the south side of Reforma, you will run into the Alas de Mexico, a statue of two golden wings that’s ideal for a photo op: Just stand between the two wings and smile like an angel.

6: El Ángel de la Independencia

Proceed northeast to the intersection of Florencia and Reforma and the iconic Ángel de la Independencia (Angel of Independence) monument.

Tip: Just past the Angel of Independence on the north side of Reforma, you’ll find Amici at the Sheraton Hotel and Cityzen at the Sofitel.

Amici has an impressive Sunday brunch buffet, and Cityzen has breakfast, snacks, and cocktails with an unmatched view of Reforma and Mexico City. Reservations recommended at both.

7: Glorieta del Ahuehuete

Continue northeast on the south side of Reforma. You will pass the Glorieta del Ahuehuete, the only major intersection on this part of Reforma without a monument. It’s at the intersection of Rio Rhin and Calle de Niza.

8: Leonora Carrington Sculpture

Proceed northeast on the south side of Reforma. Keep an eye out for the quirky, surrealist Cocodrilo de Leonora Carrington, a particularly notable sculpture.

9: Avenida Insurgentes Intersection & Monumento Metrópoli

As you continue to the northeast, you will run into the massive intersection of Avenida Insurgentes Sur and Reforma. Cross Reforma to the north side just before this intersectionm where you’ll find the white, tree-like Monumento Metrópoli.

Reforma is notable for its many benches, some unique one-offs you won’t see anywhere else. There’s such a bench here: It has a fun playing card motif that’s almost as much a work of art as the Monumento Metrópoli.

10: Monument to Cuauhtémoc

Cross Avenida Insurgentes Sur to see the Monument to Cuauhtémoc.

11: Monumento a la Madre

From here, check out Monumento a la Madre (Monument to the Mother), just to the northwest on Calz. Manuel Villalongin.

12: Jardin del Arte Sullivan

The Jardin del Arte Sullivan, adjacent to the Monumento a la Madre, is a park where, on Sundays, you’ll find artists offer their work for sale in an open-air market.

An 💜 Eternal Spring subscription is a smart investment in your Mexico City experience. For just $7/month or $49/year, you get:

Our Paseo de la Reforma walk on Google Maps

All of our paid content, including Our archive of more than 100 articles covering neighborhood walks, what to pack, safety considerations, and more

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See our Paseo de la Reforma walk on Google Maps.
Thanks for being a paid subscriber to Eternal Spring. Your support makes a difference, and we appreciate it! — Paul and Steph

More of our Mexico City walks

The FIFA 2026 World Cup is taking place in North America this year, and these five matches will be played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City:

• Mexico v South Africa: Thursday June 11

• Uzbekistan v Colombia: Wednesday, June 17

• Czechia v Mexico: Wednesday, June 24

• Group A winners v Group C/E/F/H/I third place: Tuesday, June 30

• Winner match 79 v Winner match 80: Sunday, July 5

If you’re headed to Mexico City to watch the World Cup matches, this guide can help you plan your trip.

While we outline our top advice here, you’ll need a subscription to drill down into most of the content in the links.

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🏨Where is the best place to stay for the World Cup in Mexico City?

Estadio Azteca (Estadio Banorte), where the Mexico City matches will be played, is in the southern part of the city’s Coyoacán neigborhood.

Depending on how long you plan to stay in Mexico City, you may want to stay in:

• Coyoacán: The more visitor-friendly part of Coyoacán, where you’ll find Casa Azul, parks, the Coyoacán market, street food stalls, and more, is about a 20-minute drive or 30-minute subway ride from the stadium during typical traffic.

  

• Roma Norte/Condesa: These neighborhoods, popular with visitors, are even further north. But they are loaded with walkable streets, green parks, stunning architecture, and bars and restaurants that will be showing the World Cup matches from throughout North America.
  They’re our top pick for a base you can use to explore the city, as long as you don’t mind a longer trip to the stadium, compared to Coyoacán.

  

• Centro Histórico: This “downtown” area is even further north. It’s where you’ll find some of the city’s top sites, including the Zócalo (main square) with its cathedral and palace, the stunning Palacio de Bellas Artes, and the Torre Latinoamericana (Latin American tower), with the views of Mexico City in all directions from the top.

  

🧳What should you pack?

In Mexico City in June and July, you’re in the rainy season. That usually means sunny mornings and thunderstorms in the late afternoons or evenings. It typically doesn’t rain every day.

The rainy season can be nice, because the rain clears the pollution from the air and keeps the temperatures comfortable.

However, last year’s rainy season brought a surprising amount of nonstop rain, so plan for that.

We recommend a light raincoat, waterproof shoes, and maybe an umbrella.

If you get soaked and you don’t have laundry access, you can have your clothes washed, dried, and folded, usually that same day, in one of Mexico City’s many lavanderías (laundromats) or tintorerías (dry cleaners, which usually do regular laundry as well).

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🏟️What should you expect in and around Estadio Azteca?

Estadio Azteca holds almost 90,000 people, so expect big crowds on game days. Give yourself plenty of time to get there and find your seats.

You can get there by:

• Car

• Bus

• Light rail

Outside the stadium, you’ll probably find vendors selling food, drinks, and all kinds of items related to the teams that are playing. You should also expect a strong security presence.

Only bring what you need to have with you to the stadium—ID, cash for food and drinks, a credit card, and your phone. You can bring personal items in a small bag, but make sure you don’t bring any prohibited items.

🚅How can you get around in Mexico City?

The best way to get from place to place in Mexico City depends on how far you’re going and how crowded your options will be.

• Walking: Most of the parts of Mexico City that are popular with visitors are walkable, so that’s probably your best option for nearby places.

• Driving: Don’t rent a car. Drivers follow local customs that you won’t know and understand. And even if you manage to drive, you’ll have to find someplace to park.
  Uber works fine in Mexico City and, as a visitor, it’s probably the way you’ll want to get to places that are too far to walk. Just check the traffic so you know how long to expect your trip to take.

• Metro/Metrobus: You can get to most parts of the city inexpensively on the Metro or Metrobus. But these options can get very crowded at rush hour.

• Biking: You can get an Ecobici pass for 1 day (128 MXN/~6.40 USD), 3 days (254 MXN/~12.70 USD), or 7 days (425 MXN/~21.25 USD). The passes give you unlimited rides of 45 minutes or less for the number of days you choose. Mexico City has a lot of cyclists and bike lanes, and biking is often about as fast as taking a car.

📺Where can you watch the matches?

If you’re going to be in Mexico City for the World Cup but you aren’t going to the games in person, you’ll find plenty of bars and restaurants showing the matches.

We know some places that are putting in TVs just so they can attract visitors. If you see a TV, there’s a good chance it will be showing the World Cup.

❓What should you know about visiting Mexico City?

You can make your visit smoother and less stressful if you know a few things ahead of time.

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• Mexico City has 2 airports, so know which one you’ve booked.

• You might feel tired or low-energy or have trouble sleeping at first, because of the altitude.

• We find Mexico as safe as any major city. Be aware of your surroundings and take precautions against pickpockets, like you would anywhere.

• Don’t be vocal about how “cheap” you think everything is. It’s not cheap to most people who live here.

• A lot of smaller restaurants, bars, and shops are closed on Sundays and Mondays.

• Know where the closest pharmacies, doctors, and hospitals are, just in case. Call 911 for an emergency.

💲What to know about money in Mexico City

You should be able to withdraw pesos at ATMs with your debit card, and your US credit cards should work at places that accept credit.

Most places take credit cards, so you only need to carry enough cash for things like buying street food and tipping musicians.

For all our tips, recommendations, and itineraries, grab a copy of Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City. It’s optimized for your phone, with links to everything you need for your trip.

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🎟️What is there to do in Mexico City?

When you’re not watching World Cup matches, you’ll find plenty to do in Mexico City.

• Book your tickets ahead of time if you want to see Casa Azul.

• If you can fit it into your schedule and budget, we highly recommend a hot-air balloon ride.

• You can visit the Xochimilco canals on your own during the day, and it’s a lot of fun. For a more peaceful experience, take a sunrise tour.

• Watching a Luche Libre match is ridiculously fun. Friday nights are the “spectaculars.”

• Focus on different neighborhoods each day you’re here and minimize the time you spend in traffic.

• We definitely recommend making time for the Plaza de la Constitución (Zócalo), Museo Nacional de Antropologia (National Anthropology Museum), and Palacio de Bellas Artes.

• CDMX Secreta and other sites and apps list live music, local art exhibits, festivals, and other events that will be happening when you’re here.

👣Neighborhood walks

You can easily wander around these neighborhoods on your own, but our walks can help if you want more guidance and details.

🍽️Restaurants and bars

Mexico City is loaded with great restaurants and bars, from little taco stands to Michelin-starred restaurants.

• For a homemade and affordable meal, look for a cocina economica.

• To see what the city’s top chefs and mixologists are crafting, book ahead at these top restaurants and bars.

🗺️More of our guides

Check out these guides for detailed looks at sights, restaurants, and bars in some of Mexico City’s neighborhoods.

Roma Norte

Coyoacán and San Ángel

Condesa

Centro Histórico

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Odds are good that when you’re out exploring Mexico City, nature will call. If you’re ready to stop for a snack or a drink, you’re probably covered.

Restaurants and bars have bathrooms customers can use. Same with museums and other attractions. In a bigger place, an attendant might be working in the bathroom. It’s polite to tip a few pesos.

But there are times you might need to use a public restroom. Here’s what to know.

An 💜 Eternal Spring subscription is a smart investment in your Mexico City experience. For just $7/month or $49/year, you get access to all of our paid content, plus our archive of more than 100 articles covering neighborhood walks, what to pack, safety considerations, and more.

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How can I find public bathrooms in Mexico City?

Look for a sign that says “Banos,” “WC,” or “Sanitarios.” You’ll probably see that illustration of a man and a woman that’s usually the sign for a bathroom. Sometimes, you’ll see the word “limpias,” which means clean.

Most of the time, public bathrooms in Mexico City are in fact pretty clean. They may even have a full-time attendant taking care of them.

Do you have to pay to use a public bathroom?

Usually, yes. If you’re headed out for the day and you think you might need a public bathroom, make sure you have change.

Five pesos is a typical amount. Mexico uses the same symbol for the peso that Americans use for the dollar, so look for a sign that says $5 (or another amount). That’s about 25 cents USD. We’ve seen public bathrooms that charge up to 9 pesos.

You might drop your coin in a slot and enter through a turnstile, or pay an attendant. You’ll want to have the right amount or at least be close. An attendant won’t want to give you change for $20, $50, or $100 pesos.

Where do you get toilet paper in Mexico City bathrooms?

Usually, the toilet paper is inside the stall, where you probably expect it to be.

But sometimes it’s not, and you don’t want to figure that out too late.

There might be a toilet paper dispenser in the central area of the bathroom, so you can take (or buy) the amount you think you need and bring it into the stall with you. So, look for that, or check inside the stall before you get started doing what you need to do.

Sometimes, the attendant hands some toilet paper to you.

If you’ve been to Mexico City restaurants, you might have noticed that Mexico doesn’t supply the nearly endless number of napkins you’re used to in the US.

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That can be true for toilet paper, too. You might get an amount of toilet paper that feels wildly insufficient, especially if Mexican food isn’t agreeing with you.

You can ask for more: “Mas, por favor?”

Why is there a trash basket next to the toilet?

If you’re in a building with old plumbing, the basket is there for the toilet paper. Older places weren’t designed to handle anything other than human waste.

Good luck remembering to use it—a lifetime of muscle memory will probably have you throwing the paper in the toilet, even if you know to use the basket. Or maybe that’s just me.

What’s the most important thing for English speakers to know?

“M” stands for “Mujeres,” which is Spanish for women. “H,” for “Hombres,” is the men’s room.

Get our Mexico City guidebook!

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably the type of person who likes to be prepared. You may also like these articles:

If you’re a cocktail enthusiast, you’ll find lots to sip in Mexico City, especially in the trendy Roma Norte, Juarez, and Condesa neighborhoods.

This guide highlights the 8 Mexico City cocktail bars on the 2026 North America’s 50 Best Bars list, plus a few of our favorite bars that didn’t make the cut.

A few things to know about the city’s cocktail bar scene:

• Expect to pay $200 to $3050 MXN (about $10 to $17.50 USD) per cocktail.

• Generally, you’ll find more of a visitor/expat crowd early in the evening at Mexico City cocktail bars, with more locals and Mexicans visiting from other parts of the country later at night.

• A lot of people in Mexico City don’t like to go out on rainy nights, so those evenings can be a good time to try to get into a cocktail bar if you don’t have a reservation.

• A lot of cocktail bars are closed on Sundays and/or Mondays.

• As is true in most places, going on a weeknight and earlier in the night gives you better odds of getting in.

If you’re planning dinner around your bar reservations, our Roma Norte and Condesa restaurant guides can help you choose where to eat:

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Paul has a word for these tourists—“gringbros.”

They’re a block away, and yet their voices are all you can hear. They’re dressed like they’re in Cancun, not Mexico City. They’re taking up the whole sidewalk, and they all have beers in their hands, like they can’t manage the five-minute walk between bars without drinking.

You don’t want to be like them.

Th…

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In the past few years, cocktail bars have been popping up all over Mexico City.

And you’ll find lots of them in the Roma Norte neighborhood, where you can walk from place to place and try different cocktails or settle in for a few drinks and something to eat at one spot.

A few tips:

• Go early on a weeknight when it’s less busy if you want to improve your odds of getting a good seat, maybe even a seat at the bar. Go later and on weekends for a better feel of a bar’s vibe, when it’s packed.

• Plan to pay $200 to $350 pesos per drink ($10 to $17.50 USD) in upscale, stylish bars like these. You can pay with credit cards.

• You may have to be a little more assertive when you want to get a server’s attention, compared to in the U.S. Waiters in Mexico City are more likely to leave you to enjoy the people you’re with than to interrupt you to check on you.

  An 💜 Eternal Spring subscription is a smart investment in your Mexico City experience. For just $7/month or $49/year, you get access to all of our paid content, plus our archive of more than 100 articles covering neighborhood walks, what to pack, safety considerations, and more.

Read more

From arriving at the right airport to downloading the apps you’ll need to getting into that top restaurant, there are things you can do ahead of time to make sure your trip goes smoothly and you don’t miss anything.

Some of these tips might be obvious, but it can be a major headache if you overlook something. Following our Mexico City checklist can help …

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Roma Norte is a charming neighborhood full of incredible restaurants and bars, interesting buildings in the Belle Époque, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco architectural styles, and tiny stores and shops selling vintage items, clothing, Mexican handicrafts, art, and more.

The neighborhood’s pretty, leafy streets are ideal for walking. Be sure to look at the doorways and entryways, windows, courtyards, and more. There are little details everywhere.

You could easily wander the streets on your own and explore the shops and sights that appeal to you along with way. If you’d prefer to have a plan, follow our walk.

This walk goes east from the El Palacio de Hierro Durango department store through the heart of Roma and up into two tiny but special spaces, Plaza de Romita and Plaza Morelia. But as with any other walk, you can go in either direction.

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The first time we visited the Frida Kahlo Museum, back in 2021, We were lucky(ish). People were just starting to get back into traveling post-Covid, and Mexico City didn’t have quite the influx of visitors it has today.

The good news: We could book tickets to the Frida Kahlo Museum just a couple of days in advance.

The not-so-good news: We had to walk through the museum single-file, six feet behind the person in front of us, effectively making our way through the museum at the pace of the slowest person in line.

Luckily, today you can see the museum at your own pace. But you need to make sure you buy your tickets in advance.

🎨 Who was Frida Kahlo?

Kahlo was a Mexican artist born in 1907. After a streetcar accident left her seriously injured in 1925, her parents gave her art supplies and a special easel so she could paint in bed while she recovered. She painted her first self-portrait in 1926, and her career as an artist began.

Kahlo lived with her husband, famous Mexican artist and muralist Diego Rivera, in Casa Azul, and she created a lot of her art within its walls.

Her reputation grew over time, and she became even more famous after her death in 1954.

• The museum’s website highlights key moments in Kahlo’s life and work.

• You might also want to watch the acclaimed 2002 movie Frida, which starred Salma Hayek as Kahlo.

🖼️ What do you see at the museum?

The exterior of the museum is painted a stunning blue—you’ll probably recognize it from photos. That’s where you’ll line up in front of it at your scheduled entrance time.

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Kahlo and Rivera intended the home to become a museum after her death, and Casa Azul opened in 1958. Once you get inside, you’ll see:

• Personal items, photos, books, documents, and furnishings, including the bed where Kahlo started painting while recovering from her accident

• Paintings by Kahlo and Rivera

• Folk art and sculptures that Kahlo placed around the home

• The courtyard garden

  

🎟️ How do you get tickets?

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You’ll find markets (mercados) in lots of Mexico City’s neighborhoods. They can be big enough fill a city block, and inside you might find everything from ripe avocados to whole fish to fresh flowers, and so much more.

Mercados are fun to explore, and while tourists have discovered them, they’re still places where you see how locals shop.

For all our tip…

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Paseo de la Reforma is one of Mexico City’s main thoroughfares, and you’ll see a lot of influencers posting videos of themselves biking down the roadway on a Sunday, the breeze blowing through their hair and the sun shining down on them.

“How did they get a bike?” is probably not what you are asking yourself as you watch one of these videos.

But that is what you should be asking yourself, if this is an activity you would like to try.

Here’s the thing: As we discovered with two friends, even though there are probably thousands of people biking on Reforma on any given Sunday, actually renting a bike can be frustrating and time-consuming.

It took our friends about an hour of downloading apps, logging into webpages, and requesting free bikes before they were ready to ride.

It was worth it at the end. We got to be out on bikes in the sunshine, enjoying the day. But we could have gotten started a lot sooner.

Here’s what we learned. Hopefully, these tips will help you get rolling more quickly than we did.

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We’ve been working on our book a lot this past month, focusing mostly on the organization, or layout, of the content. Our goal for this second (2026) edition is to clean the design, add and revise dozens of reviews, photos, and other content, and expand the book with a short chapter describing other places to visit in Mexico for those with longer stays.

…

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Two of our friends had never been to Mexico City before but they recently had a full weekend to spend here. So, we showed them our greatest hits—the city’s top sites, plus some of our favorite restaurants.

Unlike the recent New York Times’ 36 Hours: Mexico City itinerary, we didn’t try to drag them from museums in Centro to shopping in Juarez to drinks …

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We love spending time in Mexico City, but some friends invited us to stay with them in Acapulco, so we decided to check it out.

You can drive to Acapulco from Mexico City in less than 5 hours, or fly there in about an hour, which is what we did. You can get a cheap, round-trip fare for as low as $125 USD.

Acapulco is divided into three zones:

• Acapulco Di…

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