MEXICO CITY: THE FIVE DAY ITINERARY FOR ANY EXPLORER

Outside Cuadra San Cristobal by Luis Barragan.

Without a doubt, Mexico City is having a moment. Commonly referred to as CDMX, or Ciudad de Mexico, the vibrant city was recently named the best architectural city, a feat that is most certainly true. However, the city itself contains much more than just spectacular design. It is filled with vibrant culture, eclectic spirits, colorful, spicy dishes to enjoy and so much more.

I knew my visit to Mexico would be vastly different from my previous experience; at the tender age of 10, my family and I took a trip to Cancun, where we lounged on beach chairs and virgin Pina Coladas. This time, however, I would be doing much more. My list of suggestions and research on places to see kept growing, and I found it necessary to create an itinerary, outlining what we wanted to see based on the days we were there. My partner and I did a decent job at staying on schedule (this was mostly because I forced us to).

Before I begin, I want to highlight a couple of facts about Mexico City. I visited in early March of 2019 for only five days-enough to get a sense of the city, but not long enough to truly understand both its complicated history and development as a whole. I believe it is important to not just touch the surface with the places we are fortunate to explore; rather, we should come to have a full understanding of the place, in order to better make a change in this world. Below, here are some basic facts about CDMX that I researched before visiting:

It is the capital city of Mexico, with an urban population (including surrounding areas and suburbs) at around 20 million inhabitants
The city itself lies in an inland basin, and was built on mostly large lakes. To see remnants of this, once can visit the “floating gardens” in Xochimilco, a part of the city
September 19, 2017 was the 32nd anniversary of the most deadly earthquake to occur in Mexico City; the 1985 earthquake killed over 10,000 people, ruining the cities infrastructure as well. Tragically, a similar disaster struck on this day, though not as deadly. The city is used to trembling surfaces, making it a safety hazard zone at times.
As noted in my last post, the city is dense, large and can be defined by neighborhoods, each with its own characteristics, culture and vibe that are all equally fascinating

I started my blog as a way to connect with fellow travelers and create a community of explorers compelled by similar interests and tastes, while simultaneously creating an online diary to keep the memories alive. I hope that by researching the history of the city, country or destination you visit provides a more in-depth experience, as well as connection to the space that extends beyond our phones and social media. And so, without further ado, I’ve listed our five day itinerary below, highlighting our activities and places we stopped to refuel:

DAY ONE ACTIVITIES:

Museo Soumaya was our first stop after arriving. A beautiful museum, with sweeping architecture and an inviting plaza that awes visitors, you can also find expansive open air shopping malls, with stores such as Prada, Louis Vuitton and more. However, I don’t recommend spending too much time at the Museum, as the exhibits themselves are lacking in display and interaction with visitors.

I loved the silhouette of the buildings juxtaposed together in this image.

Tortas are large sandwiches filled with various options, such as meat, egg, cheese and more.

DAY ONE FOOD:

We snacked on chips with chili power and lime from a street vendor, also stopping for mango. Mexico CIty is well known for its large amount of street vendors, with options such as hot, sweet maix, quesadillas, sweet breads, tacos and more. One of my favorites was the Torta stall, whose heavy and stacked sandwiches are delicious and can be found throughout the city.

For dinner, we headed to Villa Maria in Polanco, a family restaurant that serves the largest margaritas, plus great food. i recommend the Sea Bass option, as well as the duck tacos, which come with tortillas and side options for a kind of make your own taco feat.

DAY TWO ACTIVITES:

The Frida Kahlo Museum in the lively neighborhood of Coyoacan was our plan for our second day. We booked our tickets in advance from TripAdvisor prior to arriving. Although more expensive, we only waited about 20 minutes, as opposed to arriving and risking a longer wait. Insider tip: photos cost extra here, though not as expensive as other places ( $30 pesos, which is less than $1 dollar).

The interior gardens were my favorite part. Surrounded by brilliant blue, the greenery was a relaxing space.

We spent about two hours in the museum, which featured a fascinating exhibit on the dresses and jewelry she wore, as well as walking through her house. I particularly enjoyed the gardens, which are located in the center of the home and are a relaxing spot to take a quick break between exhibits.

Cinoteca Nacional was our next stop. One of the most beautiful movie theaters I’ve been too, the space contained areas both in the exterior and interior for seating, all under a large canopy that provides shading. The combination of spaces and areas, juxtaposed with stark lines and contrasts, was a designers heaven.

The library was captivating, with shelving and innovative use of daylight to create the space.

Our architecture tour continued at La Biblioteca Vasconcelos in Laguinilla. 4 pm on a Friday, and practically every seat was taken, with large sofas, desks and Mies Van Der Rohe seating options offered. A must see if you appreciate quality design and communal spaces for residents to enjoy. Insider tip: again, if you have a professional camera, photos are not allowed without a pass. We did not check how much it cost, but photos on your phone are fine.

DAY TWO FOOD:

Our second day began with breakfast at La Esperanza Bakery, which has several locations throughout the city offering rows of sweet pastries, breakfast bites and more (most are less than a $1 USD as well).

Street Tacos in Coyoacan with an indoor seating option.

The neighborhood of Coyoacan is amazing to explore (Frida Kahlo museum is here as well). We grabbed tacos at a street market, ordering four tacos each for only $8USD. There are several of these and I cannot remember the specific name of the one we went to.

Terrazza Cha Cha Cha, a rooftop bar and restaurant with beautiful views, was the choice for dinner. I highly, highly recommend (and so does Conde Nast Traveler). We went for sunset drinks and food (also a pre birthday celebration!) The drinks were amazing, as was the seafood we ordered. Make sure to go!

DAY THREE ACTIVITIES:

Cuarda San Cristobal by Luis Barragan was the plan for our third day. The hour long drive also took us past Torres Satelitte, another structure by Barragan that can be seen below from our uber ( the site is located in the middle of a large highway.

View of Torres Satelitte from the back of our Uber.

San Cristobal is a former horse stable built in the 1960’s, and is in a private gated community. Once there, we were free to roam around: we stayed for about two hours, walking through the property and enjoying just about everything from design, scale, details, authenticity, color and more.

Insider tip: Recent friends visited CDMX with the desire to visit San Cristobal. However, they were directed to buy expensive tickets based on group tour rates. I am unsure of why this happened, although it could have t do with the popularity of the site and the city in recent months. Regardless, I suggest still emailing the address above-mention you are a architect or design student and that might help as well!

In front of one of the structures at Cuadra San Cristobal.

The cascading pool, which looked super refreshing in the heat!

The dogs on the property are the cutest!

Sabato Mercado, or Saturday Market, in the neighborhood of San Angel was how we spent the rest of Day Three. Quite possibly one of the largest outdoor markets I’ve come across while traveling, this market was a tourists dream (or trap, depending on how you look at things).

Jewelry, blankets, traditional Mexican weaves and dolls, baskets and trinkets, ceramic bowls and paintings. With so many offerings, we stayed at the market until vendors began to pack up, which happens around 6/7 when the sun starts to set.

I picked up gifts for my family and 5 pairs of earrings, all for less than $15 (each of my earrings was only around $1 USD). I highly recommend this market: we had been searching for one in CMDX, and this is definitely curated, with great items to pick up and take back with you.

DAY THREE FOOD:

Our night ended with drinks and dinner at Pasillo de Humo in Condesa. This was one of the best meals we had; make sure to order the Jowl appetizer and the duck entree. We ended up getting way too much food (we had three appetizers, a main course and two drinks each) but only spent around $60 USD including tip.

Afterwards, we headed to bars in the neighborhood of Condesa, which is trendy and filled with many clubs and places to go out. I recommend La Clandenstina for great cocktails and an even better atmosphere.

DAY FOUR ACTIVITIES:

We were definitely a little exhausted (and feeling a little queasy) on our fourth day, so we decided to keep things low-key. We visited The Museo Nacional de Antropología, where we luckily were able to sneak in ( we wanted to admire the architecture only, as again the exhibits are not too spectacular).

The museum features an open air courtyard for visitors to wander in between exhibits.

The museums open air interior courtyard was stunning. We visited on a Sunday, and the museum was crowded with plenty of families.

Afterwards, we stopped at Le Casa de Tono, another great lunch spot that is extremely cheap. It was recommended by one of our Uber drivers the night before, who suggested we try Pozole, a traditional Mexican dish. While not my favorite, their tacos and enchildas were superb, service was fast and everything we ordered was incredibly cheap once again.

Pozole, a Mexican specialty dish. It’s spicy and tasteful, although I didn’t much care for it.

DAY FIVE:

Our last morning/afternoon before boarding our 3 pm flight was spent at Lardo, a brunch spot that is located in La Condesa. A great location, the restaurant is airy, light and well designed. We were lucky enough to not wait for a table: although this was a Monday morning, it was packed with travelers and business professionals alike conducting work from the many wood top seating options. The perfect way to spend my Birthday brunch and conclude an amazing trip :)

The perfect Birthday Brunch ( I need to get better at taking photos of my food clearly )

THINGS TO NOTE:

It’s important to note (also mentioned in my previous post) just how large and dense the city is. Because of this, we planned to visit 1 or 2 large tourist sites, then relax, explore and take in the city afterwards by walking through the various neighborhoods. And unlike other cities, I highly recommend not taking public transportation and instead use Ubers or Taxis, just because it is much easier and faster to get around (as well as cheap).

This post outlines the importance of researching and planning trips. A good itinerary can keep you on track, making sure you’re able to see experience key highlights in a relatively condensed amount of time. I love spontaneous trips (we booked our tickets to CDMX two weeks before departure) but I prefer to get just a little more understanding prior to touching down. What do you think? Comment below on your opinions regarding planning your trip out, and thanks for reading!

Travel Narrative

MEXICO CITY: THE FIVE DAY ITINERARY FOR ANY EXPLORER