Things to see & do in Mexico City

Mexico's capital is one of the largest and most exciting cities on the planet. Located in the empty basin of Lake Texcoco, Ciudad de México was once Tenochtitlan, the island capital of the Aztec Empire. Following the Spanish conquest in 1521, the lake surrounding was drained and the city rebuilt on a Roman-style grid system. Each neighbourhood was interspersed with plazas, parks, cobbled streets and Catholic churches, many of which were built on the site of Aztec temples.

Boroughs such as Coyoacán, where conquistador Cortés originally settled, hold great historic significance. However, evidence of the Aztecs in modern Mexico City is in short supply. The ruins of Templo Mayor – the main temple of Tenochtitlan – were discovered in the late 1970s and are all that remains of the Aztec Empire. You can visit the Templo Mayor and its museum in the Centro Histórico. What was once the Aztecs’ ceremonial center today contains the largest plaza in Latin America, El Zócalo, plus a multitude of UNESCO-listed palatial properties and fabulous façades. From the Centro Histórico, an efficient and affordable Metro system extends across the city, and five pesos (about 20p) will buy you a one-way journey to almost 200 Metro stations.

Our small group and tailor made vacations that visit Mexico City will include guided tours of the metropolis with local guides, and offer an excellent means of getting orientated before you head off to explore independently. Once you’ve got your bearings you’ll have access to everything from gondola rides and live mariachi performances on the canals of Xochimilco, to the Sunday morning bohemian markets and cantina culture of Coyoacán.

Set around El Zócalo, the largest pedestrianised plaza in Latin America, Mexico City's Centro Histórico boasts a bounty of UNESCO-listed buildings on near enough every block. The Zócalo is more than capable of holding upwards of 50,000 people so it's impossible to miss. The National Palace (containing the offices of the Mexican President), the 16th century Metropolitan Cathedral and the Templo Mayor Aztec ruins and corresponding museum, are all within walking distance of the Zócalo. A guided walking tour of the Centro Histórico is most enjoyable early in the morning, before the crowds descend.

Getting there: head for Zócalo Metro station on Blue Line 2.

Coyoacán is one of Mexico City's oldest boroughs, around 10km from the Zócalo. Villa Coyoacán is the historic zone, with narrow, cobblestone streets leading to public squares such as Plaza (Jardín) del Centenario and Plaza Hidalgo. This gentrifying borough comes alive at weekends with local families and tourists making the most of green spaces, bohemian cafés, second hand book stores and old school cantina vibes. Don’t miss the coyote statues playing in the Fuente de los Coyotes in Jardín del Centenario. Coyoacán is believed to mean ‘place of the coyotes’ in Nahuatl.

Getting there: take the olive green Metro Line 3 south of Balderas to Metro Coyoacán.

If you visit Mexico City during a small group Mexico vacation, your accommodation, walking tours and optional day trips to the Teotihuacán pyramids will all be organised in advance. Your tour leader will help you navigate the Metro system and get you orientated. You’ll have free time to explore alone, or team up with other travelers – particularly handy if you have shaky Spanish or are nervous about negotiating a city of this size by yourself.

After exploring the capital, your tour might continue on to Puebla, Oaxaca or the Pacific Coast, or perhaps the Yucatán Peninsula and into Belize and Guatemala.

A tailor made tour of Mexico puts you in charge of how long you’d like to spend at each location, including Mexico City. We’d recommend spending two or three nights here. You’ll be met at the airport and taken to a centrally located hotel. You'll be invited on a guided tour of the Centro Histórico district and have the opportunity to join a small group on an excursion out of town to the Teotihuacán pyramids or on a full day guided excursion to the colonial towns of Cuernavaca and Taxco. From there you're free to fly onwards to other regions of Mexico; you’ll meet local guides or perhaps drivers in each new place.