Mexico city - Travel

Get in
By plane
Most travellers arrive to Mexico City by air, to Benito Juárez International Airport (http://www.aicm.com.mx) (MEX), located in the eastern part of the city. There are frequent flights to and from most larger cities in the Americas, as well as Amsterdam, London, Paris, Madrid, and Frankfurt.

In the arrival hall, carriers will offer you to carry your luggage. This is a service supported by the airport officials and is safe. There is no fixed price for this service, but 15-25 pesos should be fine. The airport has a system of licensed and secure taxis (yellow with black airplane symbol), where you buy a ticket inside the airport, and hand it over to the cab driver outside. Prices range from 5 to 25 US dollars for the taxi service, depending on the size of the car what zone of the city you are going to. Although the official airport taxi service is safe, be sure to check that you get a ticket for a proper sized car. A drawing of a car on the ticket will tell you what type of car the ticket is valid for. The ticket vendors are known to sell more expensive tickets for huge vans to single persons with moderate amounts of luggage. The airport is not located in the best area of the city, so it is not recommended for tourists to walk out of the airport area to look for cheap taxis. If you are looking for a more economical mean of transportation and you're not carrying too much luggage, use the Metro witch is next to the airport terminal (to the left when coming out).

By bus
The city also has four large long-distance bus stations, including one at the airport, with connections to hundreds of large and small Mexican locations, as well as Guatemala, Belize, and the southern USA. Bus fares range from 10 US dollars round trip to towns close to the city, up to around 150 dollars roundtrip for distant locations. Buses are generally airconditioned and well kept, providing reasonable comfort even for the longest trips. Several bus lines arrive at each station, and they give preference to the cities in Mexico that are relative to each station; for example, to go to the cities in the Eastern part of Mexico, use the East bus station.

Central Camionera del Norte)
(Northern bus station)
Central Camionera del Sur
(Southern bus station)
Central Camionera del Oriente
(Eastern bus station)
Central Camionera del Poniente
(Western bus station)
Airport bus station

Get around
If you get absolutely lost and you are far away from your hotel, hop into a pesero (mini bus) or bus that takes you to a Metro station ; most of them do. Look for the sign with the stylized metro "M" in the front window. From there you can get back to a more familiar place. If you are in downtown area you are always close to a metro station, ask the locals before embarking in a pesero adventure.

Metro
The city's subway system is one of the most used in the world, transporting millions of people every day. It's relatively quick and efficient, especially as an alternative to taxis during rush hours, and extremely cheap (tickets for one trip with unlimited transfers within the system are about 20 cents). However, trains are often filled to capacity, and it can be hot and uncomfortable. There are also incidences of pickpocketing. The metro is most useful when your destination is on a metro line you're already close to, to minimize train changes. In those cases, the metro can be the absolutely quickest way to travel longer distances within the city.

Bus
All large avenues in the city have regular buses. There are two general types of buses, the "peseros", or small buses, and the normal-sized ones. Both types usually use the same bus stops. Generally, the full-sized buses are more comfortable, since the peseros have much lower ceilings, and are fuller. Peseros cost 2 pesos for shorter trips, and 3 for longer (6 km+) trips. Full-sized buses are 3.50 pesos for shorter trips, and 4.50 for longer, with the exception of the orange state-run buses, which are always 2 pesos cents (note that these don't give change, you either pay with exact change, or more than the actual price).

Buses can be packed during rush hours, and you have to pay attention to your stops (buses make very short stops if there's just someone getting off, so be ready), but they are very practical when your route aligns with a large avenue. There's usually a button above or close to the rear door to signal that you're getting off, if there isn't one, it's not working, or you can't get to it, shouting Baja! in a loud and desperate voice usually works. Don't overdo it, though.

Trolley Buses
There are several trolley bus routes. They usually do not get as crowded as regular buses, and they are quite comfortable. There is a flat fare of two pesos (20 cents), and bus drivers give no change.

Taxi
The more than 250 thousand registered cabs are one of the most efficient ways to get around, especially outside of rush hours, and prices are low, a fixed fee of about 6 pesos to get into the cab, and about 0.7 pesos per half kilometer or 45 seconds thereafter, for the normal taxis (taxi libre). The night rates, supposedly between 11 at night and 6 in the morning, but this may vary with the cab driver's mood, are about 20% higher. Some taxis "adjust" their meters to run more quickly, but in general, cab fare is cheap, and it's usually easy to find a taxi. At night, and in areas where there are few taxis, cab drivers will often not use the meter, but rather quote you a price before you get in. This price will often be high, however, you can haggle. If you don't agree on the price, don't worry, another cab will come along.

Many travel guides will tell you that catching cabs in the street is dangerous, but this is generally exaggerated. Taxi robberies, so-called "express kidnappings", where the victim is robbed, and then taken on a trip to various ATMs to max out their credit cards, do occur, but there are some general precautions that will minimize the risk:

Taxis have special license plates. The registration number starts with "L" for free taxis, and with "S" for site taxis.
The taxi license should be displayed inside the taxi, usually it is mounted somewhere above the windshield. Check that the photo of the driver on the license is of the actual driver. Make a point of looking at it.
If you are of the paranoid sort, take site taxis only. These are considerably more expensive, however (2-3 times the rate of free taxis).
If you are extremely paranoid and/or have lots of money, consider radio taxis, which can be called by phone, and are extremely reliable and safe. Most restaurants, hotels, etc. have the number for radio taxis. Radio taxis will usually give you the price for the trip on the phone when you order them. Expect rates of 5-10 times that of free taxis, however.
As with everything else, risks are greater at night.

See
Downtown Mexico City has been an urban area since the 12th century, and the city is filled with historical buildings and landmarks from every epoch since then. It is also known as the City of Palaces, because of the large number of stately buildings, especially in the Centro. In addition, there's an exceptional number of museums in the city.

The Zócalo in the Centro is the world's second-largest square, surrounded by historic buildings, including the government palace.
The Museum of Modern Art and National Anthropological Museum in Chapultepec.
Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlalelolco has examples of modern, colonial, and pre-Columbian architectures.
Basilica de Guadalupe, Catholicism's holiest place in the Americas, and the destination of pilgrims from all over the world, especially during the yearly celebration on the 12th of December.
Ciudad Universitaria, the campus of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, one of the world's largest, with more than 270,000 students every semester.
Coyoacán, a historic counterculture district which was home to Frida Kahlo, Leon Trotsky, and Diego Rivera, amongst others.
Mixquic, cemeteries during the dia de muertos celebration.
Xochimilco, a vast system of waterways and flower gardens in the south of the city.
Azteca Stadium during a derby match (America vs. Chivas or UNAM).
Lucha libre, Mexican free wrestling.
Ciudadela crafts market
Alameda and Paseo de la Reforma
Sunday art market in the Mother's Monument plaza
Mexico City bullring (bullfights)
Cineteca Nacional (National Film Archive)
Latinoamericana Tower for stunning views of the city.
Chapultepec park and Zoo

Museums:
National Anthropological Museum ( Chapultepec.)
Museum of Modern Art ( Chapultepec.).
Dolores Olmedo Museum ( Coyoacán).
Fine Arts Palace Museum (Palacio de Bellas Artes) (Centro).
Rufino Tamayo Museum (Chapultepec).
Jose Luis Cuevas Museum (Centro).
National History Museum in Chapultepec's Castle( Chapultepec).
Papalote, children's Museum Chapultepec.
Universum (National University's Museum) ( Coyoacán).
Casa Mural Diego Rivera ( Centro).
National Palace (Zocalo) ( Centro).
San Ildefonso Museum ( Centro).
Franz Meyer Museum ( Centro).
Mexico City's Museum ( Centro).
Templo Mayor Museum (Zocalo)( Centro).
San Carlos Museum ( Centro).
National Art Museum ( Centro).
National History Museum ( Chapultepec )

Eat
You can find almost any kind of food in Mexico City, both specialties from all regions of Mexico, to international cuisine. Vegetarian alternatives are commonly available in most larger restaurants. For those who want something familiar and safe (but probably rather bland in comparison to what else is available), most international food chains have franchises. There are well known chains of restaurants with moderate prices that serve safe, proper meals, these include Vips, Toks and the most traditional Sanborns. You can also try one of the myriad of "comida corrida" restaurants (set menus) or stands selling tortas (filled bread rolls) or tacos, but caution is adviced since some places may lack the necessary hygiene. If you feel like trying this, look for places with lots of people, popularity is generally proportional to quality.

For a quick snack you can always try a tamal bought on the street or specialized shops, accompanied by atole, which is the breakfast of the humble in their way to work. Shopping malls will offer a respite of internationa franchises mixed with local chains that may offer interesting fare.

Restaurant Listing

You can find almost any kind of food in Mexico City, specialties from all regions of Mexico, as well as international cuisine are represented.

Argentinian/Uruguayan
Argentinian and Uruguayan food is what happens when Italian cuisine meets large steppes suitable for ranching cattle. The result is some of the world's best steaks, huge portions of extremely tender beef roasted over charcoal, often with pasta, provolone cheese, and various fried potatoes as starters/sides. The traditional condiment is chimichurri - minced parsley, garlic, shallots, and various other herbs and spices in olive oil.

El Cambalache, Insurgentes Sur, (Close to the corner with Felix Cuevas, Col. Del Valle). M-Su. One of the city's absolutely best Argentinian restaurants, although quite on the pricy side. If you really love steaks, go here. Some variant of arrachera is bound to be good, also the salads are great. Extensive bar. MXP300-600.
La Rural, Insurgentes Sur, (Corner with Georgia, Col. Napoles). M-Su. Rivaling El Cambalache both in quality and price, but with somewhat more swanky service (having three or four waiters at your table is not uncommon). Try the arrachera, and the inflated potatoes. MXP300-600.

Asian
Mexico has seen several waves of immigration from Asia through the last 100 years, and every ethnic group that comes to Mexico eventually makes its way to Mexico City. Asian restaurants are abundant, and the quality is good (Korean, Japanese and Chinese are most common, Indian, Thai and Indonesian can be harder to find).

Sushi Bar Miyajima, (A block from Insurgentes, behind the Congo dance club, Col. Del Valle), M-Th 11AM-11PM, Fr-Sa 11AM-1AM. Some of the best sushi in the city, relatively low priced. Try the Luna Maki, or the "Dinamita", a foil-wrapped and baked pile of seafood, cream, and herbs. MXP120-300.
Taro, Avenida Universidad (needs number) (a block and a half from Miguel Ángel de Quevedo, going towards the UNAM campus, across the street from the Novo bookstore and the Pasteur pharmacy). Thu-Tue. Probably the best Japanese food in Mexico City, owned by Japanese. Many Japanese people come here for lunch and dinner, so they attest to the authenticity of the meals --- you won't find maki rolls with cream cheese here. Don't miss their spicy octopus entrée and the ice-cream tempura for dessert. MXP 150-300.
Club Japonés, Fujiyama (needs number) (on the very end of Fujiyama street), M-Su. This is the restaurant of the Japanese-Mexican Association headquarters. The setting is beautiful, with a Japanese garden and weekly Go tournaments. Food is uniformly excellent, and served in big portions. Service tends to be slow. MXP 200-300.

Italian
Amalfi, Insurgentes and Viaducto (On the Napoles (south-west) side of the intersection, in the basement). M-Fr 1PM-9PM. Small and cheap family (not that family) run Italian place, focused on Adriatic food. Try any of the pastas, the pizza Amalfi, or the medallones mar y monte. MXP80-160.
Italianni's, various locations, Su-Th 1PM-11PM, Fr-Sa 1PM-1AM. This fairly new chain of Italian restaurants is reminiscent of Olive Garden in the US, but the quality is much better, and the prices are mid-range. Try the campesina salad for a starter, then any of the pastas or pizzas. For dessert, the cheesecake is first-class, but all the desserts are wonderful and in huge portions. MXP150-250.
Insurgentes Sur, a couple of blocks south of the World Trade Center tower.
Av. Cuauthemoc, by Plaza Cuauthemoc.

Mexican
Traditional Mexican food is much more varied and interesting than the fare normally served as "Mexican" in the US (and US Mexican food is more properly known as Tex-Mex).

Birrería La Polar, Circuito Interiór and Guillermo Prieto (all taxi drivers know where this is, Col. San Rafaél). M-Su 1PM-9PM. The city's best birria, a traditional Mexican meat soup/stew, where you pick meat out of the soup and eat it with avocado in tortillas. Good and cheap, fantastic hangover food. Just order birria with everything that goes with it. MXP90-150.
Taquería La Linterna, (Av. San Jerónimo, 50 meters up from Periférico), M-Su. A small place with very good tacos al pastor and the usual taco fare. Very cheap, and is open until very late. A popular spot for tacos after the movies.
Los Almendros, Polanco. Absolut must try for typical Yucatan cuisine, specially if you don't have time to visit Yucatan during your trip.
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Drink
The typical Mexican place to go to drink is the cantina, a bar where food is usually free, and you pay for drinks (exact policies and minimums vary). These serve a range of Mexican and foreign drinks, prices are usually reasonable compared to prices in the US, and you'll be continually served various Mexican food, such as tacos. If your tolerance for Mexican music (mariachi or otherwise), smoke-filled rooms, and lots of noise is low, however, this might not be your kind of place. Cantinas are open moderately late, usually past midnight at the very least.

In addition, there are bars of the kind most travellers will be used to, many of these play a combination of spanish- and english-language rock, electronic music, and some latin/caribbean music. These also close around 3-4.

Nightlife
There are clubs, falling into three main categories, pop, rock and electronic music. The pop places generally play what's on the music charts, latin pop, and sometimes traditional Mexican music, and are frequented by a younger (sometimes very young) audience, often more upper class. The rock places play rock in the wide sense, in English and Spanish. Most people are at least over 18 in these places. The electronica clubs, which attract everyone from Mexico City's large subculture of ravers and electronica fans, of all ages. Some of these clubs have a strong upper-class bent, check the crowd outside before you enter to see if it's people you enjoy spending time with. Most clubs close late, 3-4 at the earliest, and some are open until 7 or 8.

The other common Mexican-style thing to do when going out is to go dancing, usually to salsa, merengue, rumba, mambo, son, or other caribbean/latin music. This is considerably more fun if you're a somewhat competent dancer, but even complete beginners who don't mind making fools of themselves will likely enjoy it. If you are single, this is an excellent way to hook up with someone; Mexicans will generally take pleasure in teaching you basic dance steps. Most dance places close late, 3-4 is common.