Things to see, eat and do in Mexico City/San Miguel?
April 25, 2018 11:58 AM   Subscribe

We decided to go ahead and book a trip to Mexico City/San Miguel de Allende, and have 4 days in each. Do you have favourite places to see, things to do, or tips on amazing food/cafes/restaurants we should check out? Anything you loved and would go back to? Places you wish you'd spent more time? Food you can't forget?

Rough itinerary of some of the things I'd like to see in Mexico City:

- Museo de Arte Popular
- Mercado de Artesanias de la Ciudadela
- Museo Nacional de Antropologia
- Museo de Frida Kahlo
- Xochimilco area
- Teotihuacan Pyramids
- Palacio de Bellas Artes
- See the Lucha libre

In San Miguel:

- The Chapel of Jimmy Ray
- Day trip to Guanajuato
- Visit El Charco del Ingenio
- The Mask Museum
- Look around Fábrica la Aurora

Any and all tips/advice welcome!
posted by everydayanewday to Travel & Transportation around Mexico City, Mexico (9 answers total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: As far as Mexico City goes, that's a fine list. Teotihuacan is the only one that can't be missed, if you ask me. I hope the "Xochimilco area" includes hiring a boat and going out on the canals. It's shockingly expensive compared to most local things, but it's absolutely worth it. Bring a sun-hat and lots of small bills for the musicians and floating snack and drink vendors.

The Templo Mayor (and all the other stuff around the zocalo) is both obvious and also well worth seeing. Cocktails from the bar at the top of the Torre Latinoamericana (which cost about the same as a trip to the viewing platform) are a fantastic way to end an evening and see the whole city. If weird nostalgic kitch strikes your fancy, the Sanborns two blocks east of Belles Artes is also worth a visit. There are plenty of great art museums and galleries, but I suspect my list would be several years out of date.

When it comes to neighborhoods, Condesa and Roma Sur are a good place to spend an evening walking about and eating things. Both the UNAM campus and Chipultapec are great if you want open air and public art. And, there's archeology everywhere. Literally everywhere. But, you'll get a better list from a web search than from me.
posted by eotvos at 12:37 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]


San Miguel:
-The Restaurant
-D'Andrea Ristorante Mediterraneo (out of the way, but we had a delicious lunch there last year)

The rooftop bar at the Rosewood has the best view in town!

Bring comfortable shoes with ankle support. The hilly, cobblestone streets and extremely narrow/non-existent sidewalks make walking pretty challenging.
posted by GoldenEel at 12:48 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Of all the places I visited in Mexico City, most of which are on your list, the place I absolutely loved above all else was el Museo de Arte Popular. The art is so freaking cool.

Food wise, the place I can't stop thinking about and where we went twice in our four days there is La Casa de Toño in Zona Rosa. Everything we had was really delicious, but one of their specialties is roast suckling pig or cochonita pibil tacos, which were just amazing. It was especially handy on a Sunday when most places are closed.

You don't say whether you have a place to stay, but Suites Amberes is really great and they include a super delicious Mexican breakfast with your stay. If you consider this place, ask for a room at the back of the building, as the street can be noisy.
posted by urbanlenny at 1:05 PM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]


On food: It's also probably obvious, but if you don't get some genuine tacos al pastor while in town, you'll be missing out. Other items on the list of foods that don't often cross the border into other countries are chapulines, best eaten dried as bar snacks or pressed into quesadillas from market stalls, and Chile Nogales, which only appear on menus in the Autumn. Street cart tamales (announced by tinny speaker) and camotes (announced by steam whistle) are less regional, but also tasty.

On edit - also, on the list of tasty foods you don't too often find in other countries - quitlacoche (corn fungus).
posted by eotvos at 1:17 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Was in CDMX in July for the first time. I really liked Palacio de Bellas Artes. Walking around Condesa and Roma Norte was wonderful. Peltre Loncheria had amazing breakfasts and lunch. Lucha libre was phenomenal, even better than I'd thought it would be. Tacos at El Parnita were also quite nice. The Italian food at Macelleria was also rad.
posted by miltthetank at 2:05 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]


The mole at Pujol almost made me cry.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 5:44 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]


I was in Mexico City for 4 days in February.

The Mercado de Artesanias de la Ciudadela is ok as a one stop shop for souvenirs but I thought it was all much of a sameness. The shop at Museo de Arte Popular has way better products, also higher prices of course.

The Cafe de Tacuba was recommended to me but I didn't get to eat there as I only found out about it a few hours before I left for the airport. It's famous for some reason that I can't remember and a big Mexican rock band is named after it.
posted by DelusionsofGrandeur at 11:27 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]


Have fun! I went to Mexico City for the first time in March and it was a blast!

There is a seafood place in Mercado de Jamaica called Mariscos el Paisa. It's run by a dude named Chef Daniel and his family has owned it since the '60s. He made this like...Peruvian ceviche with beet root? It was KILLER. If you like seafood, I highly recommend checking it out. There is loads of other great food around the market as well--I stopped at one place that had chorizo verde (so green because of pepitas and pine nuts) and got a taco and it was GREAT.

I ended up signing up for a couple of AirBnB Experiences while I was there and they were all great. I don't know if you had the time/interest in this, but if so, learning to make and then eat tacos al pastor with a local chef was damn good eats and also loads of fun and one of the highlights of my trip. (Raja and Pilar are the nicest people in the world.)

Also, learn from my failure: get your Museo de Frida Kahlo tickets online ahead of time. Like, as soon as you are able to. Don't learn the hard way that those tickets sell out FAST and there will always be a long long line.
posted by helloimjennsco at 6:53 AM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


I did a similar trip recently. I don't have any other specific recommendations for CDMX or SMA (El Charco is definitely worth the visit), but if you haven't set your SMA dates in stone, I'd highly recommend considering spending a night or two in Guanajato--we found it to be a really lovely and charming city. SMA is beautiful and interesting, but it's essentially an expat city, and Guanajato was less touristy and more...organic.
posted by benbenson at 10:44 AM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


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