Mexico City Travel Forum

Hi,
my sister and I will be in Mexico City for only 5 days. We know there are a few things we want to do and before we put more on our plate I want to know if this a practical lists of "must sees". We would like to see Teotihuacan, Zolaco (Cathedral, National Palace, Templo Mayor etc....)Capultepec Park, Coyacan (Frida Kahlo House, Deigo Rivera museum), Xochimilco(floating gardens, canals). We also want to see the Basilicade SantaMaria de Guadalupe.
My question is. Is this too much for our 5 days? Do we possibly have time to see something else? What?
Also what is on our list that really isnt worth spending much time at to make room for something else?
Thanks in advance for all your help.
Michelle.

D1 Teotihuacan, Basilicade SantaMaria de Guadalupe.
D2 Zocalo.
D3 Xichimilco.
D4 Museum of Antropology in Capltepec Park.
D5 Coyacan.

5 days is plenty, and you can see and do a lot more things than you have listed. You will definitely not need a whole day for visiting the Zócalo ;-)

It might be a good idea to buy a ticket for the turibus on the first day. It costs 10 or 11 dollars and is good for all day. It goes to many of the places you mentioned and you can get on and off whereever and whenever you want, also you dont have to worry about navigating.

Make a day for Teotihuacan. You catch a bus from the North terminal. (Metro station Autubuses del Norte)
The bus will say "Los Piramides" You catch the return from the same place they dropped you off. Dont forget water, sunsceen, hat, camera, ya ya ya

Xochimilco is interesting. you take the blue line (number 2) to Tasquena and from there the light rail to the end of the line. You might be accosted by friendly people helping you find your way, but wander around a little before you decide which lancha to get on.

While you are in the southern part of the city may I STRONGLY suggest a visit to the Museo Dolores Olmedo, especialy if you are into Frida and Diego. From the same light rail line you took to xochimilco get off at La Noria. Go west 100 M to a 3 way intesection then make a sharp cutback to the southeast on Antiguo Camino Xochilmilco. 300 m on the left. Keep in mind that this musuem, like most of the others, is closed on mondays.

I am assuming that you will be staying somewhere near the Centro. If so, learn your way to the allede and zocalo metro stations- from here it is easy and economical to go around the city. For instance la basilica would be easy for you to get to.

The tourist information centers have excellent free maps.

I think you could do everything you listed. Have fun.

In my opinion is not too much thigs to do for 5 days, and you can probably add a few more.

Can I suggest a visit to the top of the Latinoamericana building. You will have the most spectaular views of Mexico City. You can get the Metro to Bellas Artes station, and from there it's a nice walk to Zocalo. Then at sunset or after dark go back up for the night view with the whole city lit up. The $5 ticket gets you up and down as many times as you like in the one day. They will put a wrist band on you, so remember not to take it off till you're finished.
Also Garibaldi Square in the evening is fascinating with all the Mariachi musicians in different costumes of the various regions. It doesn't get more Mexican than that. Take the Metro to Garibaldi Square and it's a very short walk. My favourite thing in Mexico City! Also whilst at Teotihuacan don't miss the Museum. It's a bit of a walk, on the right on the way down to the Pyramid of the Moon, from the main plaza but worth it.
Enjoy

I have to disagree with Kakapo and grettel this time....... I don't think that you can "add many more things" to what you have already listed. Your plan is pretty do-able, yes, but if you REALLY want to see and appreciate the things & places that you will be visiting you must allow yourself some time at each one of them and not fly around just taking pictures to prove that you actually did go to "X" or "Y" place.

I liked the first comment you got.... it's a very good suggestion for a distribution of your time. Teotihuacan is a full day trip, but you will still have some spare time in the evening which wouldn't be enough to visit places such as Palacio Nacional or Templo Mayor (as it'll be already too late by the time you come back from the pyramids), but the Basilica will still be open so you can pay a quick visit and then have a good night's rest. Besides, the church is not far from the northern bus station, so it's on your way back to the downtown area... you don't have to move to a different location and thus waste time.

Allow a full day for Chapultepec as well.... Anthropology Museum is VERY big and you will spend at least some good 4 hours seeing the main things there are to see there. Then there's the Castle, which is up the hill from the Niños Heroes monument.... you can also walk a bit around zona rosa in the evening (and see our independence monument, right on Reforma avenue), which is very close to this area. If you still have some spare time (it's a good walk and you still need to go eat something) there are other museums next to Anthropology where you can spend some time. There's also a Zoo park there.

As for the Zocalo, it may be true that the visit to the Cathedral and National Palace will be very short, but you will need a lot more time for Templo Mayor and you can also walk to Bellas Artes palace (also worth seeing), the MUNAL (National Museum of Art, between zocalo and bellas artes), visit the central Post Office building or enter the several other churches and museums in this area.... I do think this will keep you busy for an entire day!!

As for Coyoacan, unfortunately there are some works being performed currently at the central square (one of the main attractions of the area) and it's not pretty for you to visit now.... also it's better to go there on a saturday or sunday to see all the vendors and attractions there usually are in this area, but which are "on a break" now because of the repairs. But still, you can spend a good while inside those 2 museums and walk around this neighborhood which is very pretty, and enter a nice restaurant or cafe to relax. This might not take you the entire day but you will be pretty far from the rest of the areas that you want to visit, and remember that distances are big and traffic is chaotic in Mex city, so you have to allow plenty of time to move in between areas. You can try to squeeze in Xochimilco on the same day you see coyoacan but it might be a bit too tiring and the distance between these 2 point is still considerable (and you also have to take into account by what time you want to be back at your hotel so you don't find yourself in the subway or lonely areas by late night). Xochimilco has a nice handcraft market which you may want to spend some time at, and not only ride the boat and go back to your hotel / other places. There's an ecological park near this area as well, in case you want to add another activity, but i agree with the poster who said that Dolores Olmedo museum is a good thing to see while you're at the Xochimilco area.

After seeing everything that has been mentioned, I would like to see if you still have a LOT of time to spare..... you let us know! I also think that the Turibus is a nice option so you move in between places (and they now have 2 different routes so their scope is even bigger) but remember that the traffic jams will eat away some of your time! Hope you enjoy your trip.

I agree with Laura, but the plan sounds good.

Thank you everyone for your fast response to my post. This will help us alot in planning our trip. You have all been very helpful.
Michelle

Obviously, señora LauraMexico knows about the city.
I would just dare to add comments about the Zocalo area :
-on some evenings, ther are shows at Bellas Artes,
-the Museo Mural Diego Rivera is pretty close to Bellas Artes. As far as I can tell, there are small sketches and only 1 mural. But it is an impressive one !
-Take care, most museums are close on monday.

One more point about Teotihuacan : make sure to reach the Museo de la pintura mural. Many visitors ignore it since it is a bit beside the main site.
Yvon LeD

Thanks, Yvon. Hopefully we can see you in Mexico City. I kniw its cutting it close though. Good luck on your trip and Happy travels.
Michelle

Hostel Moneda and Hostel Amigo both sell tickets for an organized day trip that includes Plaza de Tres Culturas, the Basilica de Guadalupe and then Teotihuacan. It costs about 200 pesos and it's an excellent trip. When I returned to Mexico City a second time I replicated the day myself, but it was a lot easier as part of the tour. It does include a brief stop at a gift shop where they serve lunch, but there was NO pressure to buy anything and it didn't cut into our tour time at all. Everyone on the tour said they really enjoyed it and wouldn't have been able to manage their time as well on their own. I'm not a big fan of organized tours but I do feel that tour is great value for your money.

Xochimilco should be visited on Sunday, the most popular market day. Most local people bring a picnic lunch with them on the boat and make an afternoon of it. The boats are big enough to fit quite a few people, so check around at your hotel or hostel to see if anyone wants to join you. I was there in mid-May and the tren ligero line was under construction so it stopped one station before Xochimilco, then passengers were bussed to the docks. I felt that the bus drivers and (real) city officials were VERY pushy and tried to force us to use certain boat operators, which was kind of unpleasant. As long as the line is incomplete they're going to take advantage of you this way, so make sure to stand your ground!

Thanks Carly,
i will be sure to look into that tour.