How to Spend the Best Week in Mexico City

On day 1, the best way to orient to the city and the street food culture is with a bike tour. I have done this several times and can’t recommend it highly enough! While sampling some of the best street food in the city, you’ll learn tricks about navigating traffic on a bike, hear stories about Mexico’s history, explore the local market and make friends with your guides, who will share their own personal insider tips and favorite spots in the city at the end of the tour. You’ll explore a lot of the city and, by the end, you'll have a general overview of the different neighborhoods, parks and overall street food culture.

Spend your second day exploring Chapultepec Park, one of the largest urban parks in the world and an absolute must-see for anyone visiting Mexico City. Start with a climb up the hill to the only castle in North America. Enjoy breathtaking views of the city and learn about the historic fortress that was once the residence of Mexican emperors. Then, enjoy brunch at Lago Algo, where you can enjoy chilaquiles and Odette pastries while watching the great egrets and white ibises search for their food along the lakeshore.

The park is full of world-class museums showcasing both Mexican and international art. Make sure to visit the Museum of Anthropology for a comprehensive display of Meso-American history. The Museum of Modern Art and Tamayo Museum are excellent places to appreciate contemporary Mexican art, including my personal favorite painting, "Las Dos Fridas" by Frida Kahlo.

On your third day, grab an Uber and head south of the main city to the Coyoacan neighborhood, which is where Frida Kahlo grew up. I like to start this day in Viveros de Coyoacan, where you can stroll through the gardens and enjoy the tranquil vibe of this part of town. Stop by Mercado Coyoacan to get some beautiful souvenirs and handicrafts and do any shopping for your loved ones back home.

Next, make your way to Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s childhood home and the home she and Diego Rivera shared later in her life. Make sure to reserve your tickets in advance, as there are no on-site ticket sales. This beautiful museum has a peaceful courtyard where you can sit and enjoy some relaxation after walking through her home and learning more about this beloved artist.

After your visit, I recommend taking an Uber to San Miguel Inn, a gorgeous historic Mexican inn with a beautiful garden and inner courtyard where you can enjoy a traditional Mexican meal. I recommend the guacamole and marga-tinis!

Make sure to dedicate a day to exploring the historic center and Zócalo, the traditional center square of the city. My favorite way to explore this area is with a private guided tour. Our tour guide, Rodrigo, started with an explanation of El Templo Mayor and told us stories of the founding of Mexico City by the Mayans, the period of the Aztec rule and the Spanish conquest. He led us through ancient history all the way to present-day Mexico City. Our tour concluded with a tour of Palacio de Bellas Artes, where we explored the meaning behind Diego Rivera’s famous wall murals. This was such an important day and it gave us so much background to help us further appreciate the richness of Mexico’s history.

After a morning exploring Mexico City’s history, I recommend booking a Lucha Libre tour to enjoy Mexico’s present-day culture! We took a tour that started with some mezcal tasting and street tacos while our guides filled us in on the history of the Technicos and the Rudos. Then we joined the crowds in Arena Mexico, where we were thoroughly entertained and impressed by Los Luchadores!

My favorite day trip out of the city begins with an early morning departure around 5 am. You’ll then be driven to the departure point for a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Teotihuacan pyramids. This was unquestionably one of the most peaceful and breathtaking experiences I have ever shared with my daughters. I’ll never forget the feelings of joy I experienced while I watched them marvel at the views over the pyramids. After an expert landing in the middle of a field full of cactus, we shared a champagne toast and then headed off to enjoy a delicious traditional Mexican breakfast.

After breakfast, we were taken to the Teotihuacan pyramids where we met our guide for a tour of these ancient ruins. We explored the area, learned many fascinating stories and bought some fun souvenirs, then headed back to the city for an early dinner.

I definitely recommend this experience. Just make sure you travel with a reputable company with an impeccable safety record. I can help you coordinate all of this!

One of my favorite ways to experience the heart of a place is through the ceremony of cooking and eating together. I highly recommend taking a cooking class while in Mexico City. Our class started with a tour of the local market, where we learned all kinds of things about spices, chiles and mole. After shopping for our food, we headed back to a traditional Mexican kitchen were we made fresh salsas, tortillas and sopes, and delicious huitlachoche salads for our toppings. Our teachers were very encouraging of my daughters’ participation, which enhanced their understanding of Mexican culture and the heritage passed down from generation to generation in the kitchen, the heart of the home.

After our cooking class, we headed to La Ciudadela Artisenías Market for some more shopping. Here we found some amazing treasures like hand-carved wooden masks, hand-embroidered tablecloths and hand-painted ceramics to help us bring home some of the vibrant colors and textures of Mexico City that we love so much.

For your final day in Mexico City, make sure to enjoy some of the truly incredible fine dining on offer. The Michelin Guide recently reviewed Mexico for the first time, and multiple restaurants in Mexico City were granted elite stars. Two restaurants in the city were given two Michelin stars: Quintonil and Pujol. You can’t go wrong with either restaurant; just make sure to secure your reservation months in advance of your trip.

You can choose either the taco omakase at Pujol, or the tasting menu at both restaurants. Both menus feature elevated takes on traditional Mexican food, while offering an exquisite dining experience that left a deep impression on me. I came away from both meals with a deep appreciation for the vibrant culinary heritage of this city, and an insatiable desire to experience more of the exquisite Ciudad de Mexico.