5 Things to Do in Mexico City, Mexico

The Zócalo is one of the largest public squares in the world and the historic and political heart of the city, flanked by the Metropolitan Cathedral (the largest cathedral in the Americas, built over roughly 250 years) and the National Palace, home to Diego Rivera's famous murals depicting Mexican history. Just off the square, the excavated ruins of Templo Mayor — the main Aztec temple, discovered by utility workers in 1978 — sit below street level, with an adjoining museum of Aztec artifacts recovered from the site.

Good to know: The Diego Rivera murals inside the National Palace are free to view and among the best examples of his work anywhere — don't skip them for the ruins alone.

Frida Kahlo's childhood home and the house she later shared with Diego Rivera, in the cobblestoned Coyoacán neighborhood, has been preserved as a museum of her life and work — original paintings, personal artifacts, and the vivid blue-walled rooms and garden that appear throughout her art. Coyoacán itself, with its colonial plazas and the nearby Mercado de Coyoacán for tostadas and churros, is worth the whole afternoon around the museum visit.

Good to know: Tickets must be booked online in advance for a specific date and time — they regularly sell out days ahead, especially on weekends.

One of the largest urban parks in the Western Hemisphere, Chapultepec is home to Chapultepec Castle — the only royal castle in the Americas that actually housed a sovereign (Emperor Maximilian) — perched on a hill with views over the city, and the National Museum of Anthropology, widely regarded as one of the finest anthropology museums in the world for its Aztec, Maya, and other pre-Columbian collections, including the famous Aztec Sun Stone.

Good to know: The Anthropology Museum alone deserves a half-day; pair a morning there with an afternoon at the castle and park rather than trying to do both quickly.

The canals of Xochimilco are what's left of the extensive network of waterways and floating gardens (chinampas) that once fed Tenochtitlan, and today they're best experienced aboard a brightly painted trajinera boat, often with food and mariachi boats paddling alongside to sell snacks, drinks, and music as you float past. It's touristy but genuinely fun, and one of the few living connections to the pre-Hispanic city's original agricultural system.

Good to know: Boats are rented by the hour and pricing is per boat, not per person — group up with others to split the cost, and negotiate the rate before boarding.

These adjoining neighborhoods, full of early-20th-century Art Deco and Art Nouveau buildings around leafy, roundabout-centered streets, hold the highest concentration of Mexico City's best restaurants, mezcalerías, and cafes — a mix of high-end tasting-menu spots and unmarked taco stands doing some of the best food in the city. It's the best area to simply wander and eat rather than follow a fixed itinerary.

Good to know: Parque México and Parque España are good anchor points to start a walk from before picking a direction to eat your way through.