Mexico City Travel Forum

A friend of mine and I will be going to Mexico City on the 25th for 3 days. We just want to get to know culture, talk to people, learn few Spanish words, and do some sight seeing. We just want to get away for couple of days and enjoy a different country. Any advice on a reasonable hotel in a common area close to city and major tourist destinations? Any places that we must see, visit or experience?
I will post other questions soon but for now how to get to the city from the airport? Taxi or bus, and how much?
Thanks for the help

from the airport you can take the metro.
it's fast, easy and safe.
only negative thing is that it can be crowded at peak hours.
if you take a taxi then don't flag one down from the street, but go to the taxi ticket counter right by the airport exit.
it's both cheaper and safer getting a taxi from there.

mexico city is in my opinion one of the most interesting cities in the world and there is really a lot to see.
it has several art museums that are among the best in the world and the aztec pyramids outside of mexico city are an absolute must and can easily be done as a daytrip from mexico city.
i would also like to recommend the house of frida kalho.
it's a little out of town, but easy to reach from the center and very interesting too.

I forgot to mention that I will be arriving at 9:30 at night. Is it still ok to catch the metro. How much is a taxi?

yuo can still take the metro at that time, but i think you will be more comfortable with a taxi.
and that should cost you around 18-20 us dollars to the center of town.

depending on which terminal you are arriving if it in terminal one you will find your way to the subway easy from terminal two you will have to take a bus to terminal one because it is not allowed to take it unless you have a conecting flight with valid boarding pass !!
what airline are you arriving with ?

Air Mexicana. I am getting confused as where to stay. What is a central location for most attractions so I can reserve a hotel?

Consider staying in the Centro Historico. There are suitable rooms for all budgets and its easy to get anywhere by the metro system.

Suggestions (but there are numerous others):

budget Mexico city hostel

mid range Hotel Gillow

high end holiday inn on the zocalo.

I might save Teotihuacan for another trip. Dont miss the museo de la antrpologia.

I have been in Mexico, "El Dayeffay" last august. Was my second time in this great city, alledgedly among the three largest in the world.
I stayed at Corinto hotel ( www.corinto.com.mx ). Not expensive, rooms not very large, but clean, fine staff, located near the Plaza de la republica, about 1500 feet from a metro station. As far as I remember, the taxi from the airport was 240 pesos ( take note that the Mexicans also use the symbol $, but meaning pesos, not dollar ).
Hum, what to do ? I really think walking around the Zocalo toward Bellas Artes is the basic area. There you can see people, great architecture, some murals within el Palacio Nacional and Bellas Artes, a nice church, the Catedral Metropolitana, el Templo Mayor if you decide not to go to Tehotihuacan. Its clear that a visit to El Museo Nacional de anthropologia will give you a great overview of the many civilisations in the History of this country, one of the nicest museum I had ever seen.
For your evenings, you can take a look at www.ticketmaster.com.mx to see what shows are going on. Still, the only way to buy online is to have an AMEX card, or a credit card issued by a Mexican bank. But, you will have the schedules. By the way, if you have to come back late to your hotel, take a taxi de sitiu, hoping I do not misspell. Along majors locations as el Auditorio Nacional, you will have a boot ( taquilla) where you buy a ticket to someone who will put you in a reliable taxi. I did ask policemen about it. I know, all Mexicans distrust police, but I had the feeling they are usually OK with tourists as long as you don't take pictures of them !
I don't want to override you with suggestions since you won't be there for long. Just one more, if you get in a restaurant offering whatever meat with "mole negro", try it, you should be surprised.
Buon viaje !
Yvon ElDragon