On a fairly recent Sunday morning, my partner and I spontaneously bought tickets to Mexico City. Commonly referred to as CDMX, this is the most last minute trip I have ever planned ( at least internationally). Initially, I did not think there was too much planning to be done. However, there were a couple of things we wish we knew before and prepared for. Below, I’ve listed plenty of requirements that are necessary prior to arrival and while there.

Where to Stay:

Mexico City has plenty of amazin apartments listed on AirBnB, which is what we ended up doing. The average stay is relatively cheap, with whole apartments for multiple guests at less than $50 if you’re lucky. However, many of the best ones, as we found while trying to book two weeks before arrival, were booked months, even a full year, in advance. We stayed in Polanco, renting a room that came to less than $130 for four nights. A safe and beautiful neighborhood, Polanco is known as the Beverly Hills of CDMX, with ritzy homes and shops nearby. If you are looking for more authenticity, I would recommend either La Condesa, Roma, San Angel or Coyoacan.

Restaurants:

Mexico City has become known for its Michelin starred restaurants. Since we booked so last minute, the more popular ones were all booked. Here is a list for your reference (make sure to try and call at least two months in advance if you are already thinking of visiting Mexico City). Most restaurants do not require reservations- more to come on some of our favorite places we dined at!

Museums:

My partner and I were obsessed with seeing as much of Luis Barragan’s work as possible (he’s an architect, I’m an exhibition/interior designer). Once we booked our flights and stay, we quickly began googling every sight we could find by him. However, we found that many of the museums and sites of his work were either booked, or are tours of private homes that must be booked through owners. It took plenty of searching to find email addresses and Facebook profiles for some of the places, which do not have traditional websites to purchase tickets from. Below, I’ve listed some of his work and instructions on how to plan your visit in advance.

Casa Luis Barragan: A popular tourist destination, this detailed tour will take visitors on a journey throughout the house in which the famous architect lived and worked. I would suggest booking at least 2 months prior to visiting, as all of the tickets were sold out on the days we wanted, and were booked for months in advance as well.

Casa Gilardi: A current private residence, the only way to schedule a tour is by messaging the owners page through Facebook (linked in the title). However, we found this tour to be a bit too expensive ( $300 pesos) as well as the owners charge a fee for taking photos (this was $500 pesos).

Cuarda San Cristobal: Located forty five minutes outside of Mexico City in the suburbs, this work by Barragan is a must see. To visit, email cuadrasancristobal@gmail.com with the days and times you might be able to go. Be flexible and don’t expect an answer right away; it is best to email some time in advance (we emailed a week and a half prior to the day we wanted to go). 

Frida Kahlo House Museum: This was relatively easy to book. I suggest booking your tickets online (we booked through TripAdvisor) and arriving early to the time slot you have picked, as many reviews prior to our arrival noted that standing/waiting in the hot sun for hours is not a great idea!

Many of the other museums we visited in the city did not require booking in advance or prior scheduling. Some other favorites were Museo Soumaya and Museo Nacional de Antropología (the architecture and design of both is breathtaking, although I found the exhibits to be lacking).

Weather

We visited in early March, where the days are relatively warm (around 80-85 Fahrenheit) and sunny, but the night is known to drop into the 50’s. Carry light jackets and you should be fine.

Arrival:

The airport and terminal we arrived in was pretty small, with only about 30 kiosks to accommodate all the arriving flights at immigration. We waited online for about 45 minutes, so factor this time period when estimating when you will arrive at your final destination. 

IMPORTANT: Do not lose your immigration form when staying in CDMX. When leaving the country, this form is required. If you do not have it, immigration will make you pay $558 pesos (around $25 dollars) to replace it. They only accept cash, and when you first arrive in the country, no one tells you this information. This was definitely a teaching moment, as we did not have our forms on us and were forced to pay.

Transportation:

We took Uber everywhere. CDMX is a sprawling city, and it is very dense. Many of the neighborhoods we visited were at least 30-45 minutes away by car. There is also quite a lot of traffic in the city during certain hours. Ubers are cheap and affordable, with the average price below $200 pesos, which is less than $10 dollars.

I hope you enjoy all that Mexico City has to offer. A colorful, creative, artistic and beautiful city, this was easily one of my favorite trips I have ever taken. It is easy to see plenty of neighborhoods and experience all that CDMX offers in a relatively short amount of time (we stayed for four days). I look forward to writing more posts on just how much I enjoyed the city: thanks for reading!