Best Things to Do in Mexico City: 20 Must See Attractions and Experiences

We spent three months living in Mexico City, split between the neighbourhoods of Roma Norte, Condesa and Coyoacan, and it is safe to say it completely ruined other cities for us for a while. We took Spanish lessons, ate out almost every day, developed a slightly obsessive relationship with tacos from tiny street stalls, and explored every corner of this enormous, chaotic, endlessly fascinating place.

So when we say this guide comes from real experience rather than a whistle stop visit, we mean it.

Things To Do In Mexico City

Mexico City, or CDMX as it is known locally, is hands down one of the most exciting cities on the planet. It is vast, loud and full of contrasts. There's ancient Aztec ruins sitting alongside modern glass skyscrapers, world class museums a short walk from street vendors selling corn on the cob and spicy crickets as snacks and gorgeous lush green parks within neighbourhoods that each feel like entirely different cities. Trust us, there is absolutely zero chance that you'll run out of things to do here.

Whether you are planning a long weekend or a longer stay, read on for the 20 best things to do in Mexico City based on our own time living there.

Quick Mexico City Travel Tips

• Getting around: Uber is your best friend in Mexico City, reliable, cheap and much less stressful than street taxis. The metro covers most of the city for next to nothing if you are on a budget.
• Where to stay: Roma Norte, Condesa and Coyoacan are our top picks.
• Travel insurance: Never skip it. We recommend Hey Mondo for comprehensive cover.
• Connectivity: Sort a Roambit eSIM before you travel so you have data from the moment you land.
• Booking tours: We use GetYourGuide for all tours and experiences when travelling in Mexico.
• Hop on hop off bus: A great way to get your bearings on day one. Buy tickets here.

Planning a trip to Mexico? Don't miss our guide to the best areas to stay in Mexico City and our honest take on what it is actually like to live there.

1. Visit Teotihuacan

No list of things to do in Mexico City would be complete without Teotihuacan, and before you say it, yes we know it is technically outside the city. But at roughly an hour by bus or car from the centre, it is an unmissable day trip and one of the most awe inspiring historical sites in the entire world.

Teotihuacan dates back over 2,000 years and was once reportedly the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, home to over 150,000 people. Walking through it today you can absolutely understand why. The scale is staggering.

The two headline attractions are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, connected by the broad Avenue of the Dead. Note that climbing the pyramids is no longer permitted, a rule introduced to protect the ancient structures. But you absolutely do not need to climb them to appreciate just how monumental they are. The onsite museum is also well worth an hour of your time for the context it gives you on how the city functioned at its peak.

Our insider tip: Go early. By mid morning it gets very busy and the heat can be punishing. Arriving at opening time gives you the best light for photos and the best chance of having those first views to yourself.

Read next: How to Get to Teotihuacan from Mexico City

If you would rather leave the logistics to someone else, a guided tour from the city is a great option and takes all the stress out of getting there and back. This Teotihuacan tour through GetYourGuide gets awesome reviews.

2. Explore the Zocalo and Templo Mayor

The Zocalo, officially known as Plaza de la Constitucion, is one of the most unmissable Mexico City attractions and one of the largest public squares in the world.

It has been at the beating heart here since Aztec times. And standing in the middle of it, surrounded by the grand Metropolitan Cathedral on one side and the National Palace on the other, you get an immediate sense of just how layered this city's history is.

The National Palace is free to enter and houses Diego Rivera's famous murals depicting the entire history of Mexico across its walls. Set aside at least an hour to take them in properly.

Right next to the Zocalo sits Templo Mayor, the ruins of the great Aztec temple that once stood at the heart of Tenochtitlan, the ancient capital that Mexico City was built on top of. The contrast between the ancient stone ruins and the modern city rising up behind them is genuinely one of the most striking things you will see anywhere in the world. The adjacent Templo Mayor Museum is excellent and included with entry to the ruins.

Our insider tip: The Zocalo is at its most atmospheric early in the morning when the enormous Mexican flag is raised in a formal military ceremony, and again at sunset when the square fills with local people.

We'd highly recommend joining a guided walking tour of the Centro Historico if this is your first time in the city. Having a knowledgeable guide brings the layers of history to life in a way that is genuinely hard to replicate on your own. Check out the top rated Centro Historico tour on GetYourGuide.

3. Palacio de Bellas Artes

A must see Mexico City landmark, the Palacio de Bellas Artes is arguably the most beautiful building in the city and one that stops you in your tracks the first time you see it.

The white marble art nouveau exterior is crowned with striking yellow and orange domes, and flanked by the formal gardens of Alameda Central Park. It is the kind of building you find yourself walking past repeatedly just to look at it again.

Inside it functions as one of the city's most important cultural venues, hosting exhibitions, ballet, opera and theatre performances, as well as a permanent collection of political murals by some of Mexico's most celebrated artists including Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco.

Entry to the permanent collection is free on Sundays, making it a great option if you are watching your budget.

Our insider tip: head across the street to the Sears building and take the elevator to the eighth floor cafe. For the price of a coffee you get one of the best elevated views of the Bellas Artes rooftop in the city. It is one of those things to do in Mexico City that most visitors miss entirely.

If you want to get more out of your visit, a guided tour will give you the full story behind the murals and the building's history, which is well worth it given how much is packed inside. Here's the top Palacio de Bellas Artes tour on GetYourGuide.

4. Chapultepec Park and Castle

Chapultepec Park, or Bosque de Chapultepec, is Mexico City's green lung and one of the largest urban parks in the world, roughly twice the size of Central Park in New York. It was a place we came back to again and again during our three months in the city, whether for a Sunday morning run, a lazy afternoon by the lake, or a visit to one of the many museums inside its borders.

The park is divided into sections, with most of the main attractions in the eastern part near Polanco and Condesa. You will find two lakes, a botanical garden, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Anthropology (more on that shortly) and Chapultepec Castle sitting on top of the hill.

The castle is not to be missed. Built in the 18th century and later used as the residence of Emperor Maximilian, it now houses the Museo Nacional de Historia. The views from the terrace over Paseo de la Reforma and the city skyline beyond are stunning and worth the climb alone.

Dance of the Flyers Chapultepec Park

One thing we were completely unprepared for on our first visit to Chapultepec was stumbling across the Dance of the Flyers, or Danza de los Voladores. Five men climb to the top of an enormous pole, and then four of them throw themselves off, suspended by ropes wrapped around their ankles, spinning slowly down to the ground while the fifth plays a flute and drum at the very top.

It is as mad as it sounds and we stood there completely mesmerised the first time we saw it. It is a pre-Hispanic ritual with roots going back centuries and genuinely one of those travel moments that stops you dead in your tracks. You will often find performers near the park entrance so keep your eyes open, though it is not on a fixed schedule so it is more a case of being in the right place at the right time.

Our insider tip: Chapultepec is huge. If you are short on time, focus on the castle and the National Museum of Anthropology and save the rest for another day.

This guided tour from GetYourGuide combines both Chapultepec Castle and the National Museum of Anthropology, makes both infinitely more interesting and saves any time getting lost in the park!

5. National Museum of Anthropology

One of the top things to see in Mexico City, the National Museum of Anthropology, or Museo Nacional de Antropologia, sits inside Chapultepec Park and is widely considered one of the greatest museums in the world. It is vast, but also incredibly well curated. And gives you a genuinely deep understanding of Mexico's pre-Hispanic civilisations that puts everything else you see in the city into context.

The centrepiece is the Aztec Sun Stone, also commonly known as the Aztec Calendar, which is even more impressive in person than any photograph does justice. Beyond that you will find enormous halls dedicated to the Maya, the Olmec, the Toltec and many more of Mexico's ancient cultures, each with artefacts, reconstructions and detailed explanations of how these civilisations lived.

Our insider tip: pick up a map at the entrance before you go in, the scale of the place can be genuinely disorienting. The Aztec hall is the obvious starting point but do not skip the Maya section, it is equally impressive and often less crowded.

The best way to get most out of this top Mexico attraction is 100% to book a guided tour of the museum.

6. Frida Kahlo Museum

One of the most visited Mexico City attractions, the Frida Kahlo Museum, known as La Casa Azul or the Blue House, sits in the neighbourhood of Coyoacan and was the home where Frida Kahlo was born, lived for much of her life, and died.

Walking through it feels less like a museum visit and more like stepping directly into the life of one of Mexico's most iconic and complex figures.

The vivid cobalt blue exterior is instantly recognisable and the interior has been preserved largely as it was during Kahlo's lifetime. You will find her personal belongings, her medical corsets, her art materials and a number of her paintings displayed throughout the house and garden.

Given how popular it is, booking tickets in advance is essential. The museum has a daily visitor cap and walk up entry is rarely available, particularly at weekends.

You can book a Frida Kahlo Museum skip the line ticket here.

Our insider tip: Combine this with a wander around the wider Coyoacan neighbourhood. The cobbled streets, colonial architecture and central squares lined with cafe terraces make it one of the most pleasant things to do in Mexico City for a few hours. It feels worlds away from the pace of the centre.

7. Eat All the Street Food

If there is one unique Mexico City experience we could go back for tomorrow it would be the street food. 

Specifically the tacos. More specifically, the tacos from the kind of tiny street stalls with three plastic stools, a battered gas burner, and a queue of locals that stretches around the corner. We can tell you from experience those are always the ones worth waiting for.

Mexico City's street food tradition is extraordinary in its depth and variety. The building blocks are masa based, corn dough tortilla style skins that exist to be stuffed with fillings like barbacoa (slow cooked goat), suadero (beef brisket), al pastor (spit roasted pork with pineapple) and chicharron (pork belly), then piled with guacamole, salsa, raw onion and fresh coriander.

They cost next to nothing and taste like everything.

Beyond tacos do not miss elotes, corn on the cob smothered in cheese, chilli and lime, tamales steamed in banana leaves, and tlacoyas stuffed with beans and cheese. If you have a sweet tooth, the churros dusted in cinnamon sugar are dangerously good.

Our insider tip: Follow the locals. If a stall has a queue of office workers on their lunch break it is going to be good. However, if it's empty and aimed squarely at tourists, walk on.

If you want some expert guidance through the best stalls and markets, a street food tour is genuinely one of the best ways to spend a morning in the city and you will eat extraordinarily well in the process. We can recommend this one here through GetYourGuide.

8. Xochimilco Floating Gardens

Xochimilco is a truly unique Mexico City experience and one that tends to divide opinion. We will be honest with you: it is loud, chaotic, and unashamedly touristy in parts. But it is also completely unlike anything else you will experience in the city and we think that makes it worth doing at least once.

The floating gardens are an ancient network of canals built by the Aztecs, now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the way to experience them is by hiring a trajinera, a brightly painted flat bottomed boat that seats up to 16 people.

As you drift along the waterways you will be serenaded by floating mariachi bands, offered food and drinks from vendors in their own boats, and surrounded by the kind of colour and noise that is uniquely Mexican.

Go on a weekend for the full experience. Weekdays are quieter but you lose some of the atmosphere that makes Xochimilco what it is.

Our insider tip: Go with a group if you can. Solo travellers and couples can join a shared trajinera but the experience is really built for a crowd. Also go hungry because the food vendors on the water are very good.

Read next: A Complete Guide to Visiting Xochimilco Mexico City

If you would rather have everything organised in advance, with a ready made group this Xochimilco tour and trajinera experience on GetYourGuide is the most popular one.

9. Go to a Traditional Cantina

One of the most fun things to do in Mexico City that most visitors overlook entirely, cantinas are slowly disappearing from the city and that is a genuine shame because there is nothing quite like them.

Think of them as the Mexican equivalent of a proper old school pub: dark wood interiors, tiled walls, the smell of something good coming from the kitchen, and a crowd of regulars who look like they have been coming here for decades. Because they probably have.

The way a traditional cantina works is straightforward. With every round of drinks you order, a free dish of food arrives at your table. You do not choose it, it just appears. The drinks aren't cheap and you usually need to stay for at least four rounds to keep the food coming, but the dishes are consistently good and the atmosphere is completely irreplaceable.

Authentic cantinas are getting harder to find as the city modernises, but they are still out there if you know where to look. Asking a local such as your Airbnb host or restaurant servers is always the best way to get the most up to date information.

Our insider tip: go in the afternoon rather than the evening. Cantinas are at their best during the long Mexican lunch hour when they fill up with workers and the energy is exactly right.

10. Watch Lucha Libre

For one of the most unique experiences in Mexico City, nothing comes close to an evening of Lucha Libre. Mexico's answer to professional wrestling is louder, more colourful, more theatrical and more chaotic than you are probably imagining, and it is one of the most purely entertaining evenings you can have in the city.

The fighters, known as luchadores, wear elaborate masks and costumes and perform acrobatic moves that seem to defy both gravity and common sense. The crowd is as much a part of the show as the wrestlers themselves. And the whole thing takes place in an atmosphere somewhere between a carnival and a pantomime.

Arena Mexico in the city centre is the spiritual home of Lucha Libre and the best place to experience it. Matches typically take place on Friday evenings and Tuesday nights. Getting there early is worthwhile for the pre-match atmosphere outside the arena.

Our insider tip: Buy tickets in advance, particularly for Friday night bouts which sell out quickly. Booking through GetYourGuide includes transport to and from the arena which is very useful for a first time visit.

11. Explore Roma Norte

Roma Norte is where Mexico City's creative energy is most concentrated right now and one of our favourite things to do in Mexico City is simply to wander it without a plan.

Tree lined streets, art deco buildings, independent coffee shops, craft beer bars, and some of the best restaurants in the city sit side by side in a neighbourhood that manages to feel both effortlessly cool but also so liveable at the same time.

We based ourselves here for part of our stay and it quickly became our default neighbourhood for everything. Morning coffee, afternoon tacos, evening mezcal. It has everything you need within walking distance and a pace that feels manageable even by Mexico City standards.

It is not a neighbourhood built around specific sights so much as one built around atmosphere. Wander, eat, drink, and repeat is genuinely the best approach here.

Read next: Best Area to Stay in Mexico City.

12. Explore Condesa

Condesa sits directly next to Roma Norte and shares some of its character, but has its own distinct identity. It is greener, slightly more residential, and built around the beautiful oval shaped Amsterdam Avenue. Which fascinatingly was once a horse racing track yet is now a tree lined promenade perfect for an evening walk.

Parque Mexico sits at the heart of the neighbourhood and is one of our favourite things to see in Mexico City that costs absolutely nothing. Art deco details, shaded benches, ponds, and a constant stream of locals walking dogs, reading, and doing absolutely nothing in the best possible way. On a sunny afternoon there is nowhere better to be.

The restaurant and bar scene here is excellent and slightly more relaxed than Roma Norte. It is also one of the safest and most walkable neighbourhoods in the city, which makes it a great base if it is your first visit to Mexico City.

13. Explore Coyocan

Coyoacan, which translates as place of the coyotes, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Mexico City and one of our personal favourites.

It is also one of the must see Mexico City areas that genuinely feels completely different to the rest of the city. Think cobbled streets, single storey colonial buildings, plazas filled with street vendors, and a pace of life that makes you forget you are in one of the largest cities on earth.

We spent a significant chunk of our three months based here and loved every minute of it. The two central squares are the hub of activity, surrounded by cafe terraces, bars, restaurants and some brilliant street food stalls. The local market is worth an hour (or more) of your time and the weekend brings out musicians, artists and performers that give the whole neighbourhood a festive feel.

It is also home to the Frida Kahlo Museum, which we covered earlier, but Coyoacan is absolutely worth visiting in its own right even if museums are not your thing.

Read next: Best Area to Stay in Mexico City.

14. Visit San Angel

San Angel is Coyoacan's quieter, slightly more refined neighbour and one of those Mexico City attractions that deserves far more attention than it typically gets. Another historic neighbourhood of cobbled streets and colonial architecture, it has a character that is entirely its own and a pace that feels genuinely unhurried.

The highlight is the Bazar del Sabado, the Saturday artisan market that fills the neighbourhood's central plaza every week. It is one of the best experiences in Mexico City for traditional Mexican crafts, textiles, jewellery and ceramics, and the quality is noticeably higher than the more tourist facing markets closer to the centre. Even if you are not buying, it is a brilliant way to spend a Saturday morning.

While you are here, do not miss the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo, the paired studio houses where Rivera and Kahlo actually lived and worked. The iconic red and blue buildings were designed by architect Juan O'Gorman in the 1930s and are fascinating in their own right, giving you a real sense of how the two artists lived and created side by side. It is a brilliant complement to the Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacan and far less crowded.

San Angel is easily combined with a visit to Coyoacan given how close they are, and the two together make for a really rewarding half day away from the busier parts of the city.

15. Explore The Markets

No guide to the best things to do in Mexico City would be complete without its markets, and visiting at least one proper market should be on every itinerary. Beyond the Bazar del Sabado in San Angel, there are a handful of others that are well worth your time.

La Ciudadela in the historic centre is the city's best known artisan market, packed with traditional crafts, textiles, pottery and souvenirs from across Mexico. It is a good place to pick up gifts without feeling like you are buying airport tat.

For something more local, the Mercado de Medellín in Roma Norte is a working neighbourhood market selling fresh produce, street food, flowers and household goods. It is the kind of place where you feel like a visitor rather than a tourist, which in a city this size is refreshing.

If you fancy having a guide to help you navigate the best stalls and explain what you are looking at, a market tour is one of the most fun things to do in Mexico City and usually includes tastings along the way. This Mexico City Mystic Markets tour takes you through La Merced and Sonora markets with a local guide and is one of the best ways to experience a side of the city most visitors never see.

16. More Must See Museums in Mexico City

Mexico City has more museums per square mile than almost any other city in the world, and beyond the headline must see Mexico City institutions there are a handful of others that are well worth adding to your itinerary.

The Museum of Memory and Tolerance in the historic centre is one of the most powerful and important Mexico City attractions you will visit. It documents genocide and human rights abuses from the Holocaust through to more recent atrocities, and does so with remarkable sensitivity and depth. It is not an easy visit but it is an essential one.

Museo Soumaya in the Polanco neighbourhood is free to enter and worth visiting as much for the extraordinary rippled silver building it sits in as for the collection inside. It houses over 66,000 works spanning 30 centuries, including one of the largest collections of Auguste Rodin sculptures outside of France. One of the most unique experiences in Mexico City that most visitors do not think to include.

The Diego Rivera Mural Museum, a short walk from the Palacio de Bellas Artes, houses one of Rivera's most celebrated works, Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, a vast and extraordinarily detailed mural depicting 500 years of Mexican history in a single scene. Entry is cheap and the museum is small enough to do in under an hour.

17. Sunset Rooftop Bars in Centro Historico

Watching the sun go down over the Centro Historico from a rooftop is one of the best things to do in Mexico City at the end of a long day of sightseeing. The best rooftop bars are clustered around the Templo Mayor area, and though they are only a few floors up, they offer brilliant views over the surrounding colonial architecture and down into the ruins of the Templo Mayor itself.

The neverending stream of planes coming in to land at the city airport in the distance adds a surprisingly hypnotic element to the whole scene. It is a magical place to slow down, order a drink, and let the last light of the day do its thing.

Our insider tip: Prices vary significantly between rooftop bars in this area. Have a look at a couple before you commit, some are much better value than others and the views are not always proportional to the price of the drinks.

18. Wander the Paseo de la Reforma

The Paseo de la Reforma is one of the great urban boulevards of the world, a broad tree lined avenue stretching across the city and connecting Chapultepec Park to the historic centre.

Modelled after the great European boulevards, it is lined with sculptures, monuments, glass towers and the iconic Angel of Independence column, one of the most recognisable Mexico City attractions in the entire city.

On any given day it is a pleasure to walk. But one of the most fun things to do in Mexico City is to come here on a Sunday morning when one side of the avenue closes to traffic entirely from 8am to 2pm.

Cyclists, joggers, skaters, dog walkers and families take over completely in what feels less like a road and more like a street party. Bikes are available to hire at various points along the route and it is completely free.

Our insider tip: Combine a Sunday on Reforma with a visit to Chapultepec Park at the end of the route and you have one of the best free days things to do in Mexico City has to offer.

19. Explore the Mezcal and Cocktail Bar Scene

One of the most unique experiences in Mexico City that has exploded in recent years is its mezcal and cocktail bar scene, and it is genuinely world class. The city is now home to some of the best bars on the planet, with Handshake Speakeasy in Roma Norte having been voted the best cocktail bar in the world.

But you do not need to be chasing accolades to have a brilliant night out. The mezcalerias scattered across Roma Norte and Condesa range from tiny hole in the wall spots serving flights of artisanal mezcal to slick, beautifully designed cocktail bars pushing the boundaries of what Mexican spirits can do.

Our insider tip: if mezcal is new to you, order a flight rather than a single glass. A good mezcaleria will walk you through the differences between regions, agave varieties and production methods, and it is one of the most enjoyable things to do in Mexico City evenings you will have.

20. Get Above the City

Getting a bird's eye view of Mexico City is one of those must do in Mexico City experiences that puts the sheer scale of the place into perspective. There are a couple of brilliant options depending on your budget and how high you want to go.

The Torre Latinoamericana in the historic centre was once the tallest building in Latin America and still offers one of the best 360 degree views across the city from its observation deck. On a clear day the views stretch all the way to the surrounding volcanoes, including Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl.

The Monument to the Revolution is a different kind of viewpoint. The building was originally designed to be the Federal Legislative Palace but was never completed due to the Mexican Revolution, and was eventually converted into a monument and museum. A panoramic lift takes you up inside the structure and out to a viewing platform with sweeping views across the western part of the city.

It is one of those cool things to do in Mexico City that feels genuinely off the beaten track even though it sits right in the centre.

Our insider tip: Visit the Torre Latinoamericana at dusk rather than in the middle of the day. Watching the city light up as the sun goes down is one of the most spectacular things to see in Mexico City and well worth timing your visit around.

Looking for more Mexico inspiration?

• Best Things to Do in Mexico City: 20 Must See Attractions and Experiences
• How to Get to Teotihuacan from Mexico City: Bus, Uber & Tours Compared
• 25 Best Things To Do In Guadalajara Mexico 2026

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