⚽World Cup 2026 in Mexico City: Where to stay, eat, and drink, and how to get around
A practical guide to Mexico City's neighborhoods, restaurants, bars, money, safety, and things to do.
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.
🏨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.
The Coyoacán fountain is in the middle of Plaza Coyoacán, which is surrounded by shops and restaurants and usually full of vendors. 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.
We’ve never stayed in this Roma Norte guesthouse (because we have an apartment nearby) but it looks lovely. 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.
The view of Bellas Artes from the Latin American tower.
🧳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).
🏟️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:
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.
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.
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.
Paid subscribers get a copy for free!
🎟️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
Subscribe to 💜 Eternal Spring and get all of our content, including more than 100 searchable articles where you can find answers to your questions about Mexico City.