Mexico City is a gigantic metropolis and navigating it by yourself can appear overwhelming, particularly in your first journey to town. Fortunately there are tons of nice excursions in Mexico City that will help you expertise it like an area and study in regards to the unbelievable historical past, tradition, and meals alongside the best way. 

I’ve been dwelling in and writing about Mexico City for nearly 4 years now.

The historical past of this metropolis and in fact, the meals on supply at each flip, have develop into an infinite ardour of mine. Most of what I find out about this metropolis is due to the unbelievable tour guides that I’ve met alongside the best way. 

Right here it goes, my listing of the highest 10 Mexico City excursions you received’t need to miss!

1. Mexico City Historical past Excursions

Mexico City is full of historical past. Earlier than it was the capital of Mexico, it was the capital of the Spanish colony of New Spain and even earlier than that, the Aztecs constructed their empire on the very location the place now you can discover the Mexico City Cathedral.

Hidden Mexico City

If you wish to delve deep into the historical past of Mexico City with a tour information, City Adventures has partnered with Lonely Planet to place collectively some of the complete historic excursions which you could you tackle a visit to CDMX, Hidden Mexico City.

This can be a group tour and one of many extra reasonably priced historical past tour choices at $64 USD per individual. 

It consists of stops at Templo Mayor, a sacred temple constructed by the Aztecs and the place, it’s believed, a lot of their human sacrifices passed off.

You’ll then keep it up into the Zocalo, or primary sq., the place you’ll begin to study in regards to the arrival of the Spanish and the work that was put into constructing the cathedral that now stands because the centerpiece of town.

You’ll head previous a number of of town’s most outstanding buildings such because the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the outdated publish workplace till you attain the Diego Rivera Mural Museum.

From there you’ll wander via Mexico City’s small Chinatown and then end at Mercado San Juan the place you possibly can attempt some indigenous meals like ant larvae and crickets. After that, you’ll discover ways to make your personal tortillas and end up by consuming some scrumptious quesadillas.

Uncover The Historic Middle of Mexico City

One other incredible Mexico City historical past tour will be taken with the Journeys Past the Floor. These are personal excursions and fully customizable. The proprietor, Mojdeh, will ensure that to set you up with an area historian to information you thru the Centro Historico.

The value of the tour is determined by whether or not you desire a full or half-day expertise in addition to how many individuals are in your group. Costs begin at $200 USD.

Free Strolling Tour

As with many cities on the earth, Mexico’s capital is house to a free strolling tour. This tour runs in English two occasions a day — 11:00am and 2:30pm. 

You’ll go to the historic heart whereas taking within the Catedral Metropolitana, Palacio Nacional, Templo Mayor, Iglesia de Santo Domingo, Teatro Fru Fru, Bellas Artes, and far more. 

Whereas that is technically a free strolling tour of Mexico City, it’s tip-based. On the finish of the expertise, when you’re comfortable along with your information and what you realized, round $5-10 per individual is anticipated, and a lot appreciated. 

2. Mexico City Food Excursions

Mexico City is probably most well-known with guests for its culinary delights. In case you are trying to indulge within the metropolis’s finest avenue eats, you’ve got to take a Mexico City meals tour.

The all-female owned and operated Devoured run incredible meals excursions round Mexico City.

Proprietor Anais was born and raised in Mexico City, studied culinary arts, and shares with an immense ardour not solely the perfect meals in Mexico at each worth level, but in addition the historical past of the totally different native meals in her beloved metropolis.

When you’re brief on time or didn’t handle to snag a reservation at one of many metropolis’s high eating places, Tasty Bites run an unbelievable tour known as the Prime Chef Culinary Journey.

This tour takes you across the common Roma and Condesa neighbourhoods and into among the metropolis’s most coveted eating places to pattern the perfect of every menu.

Airbnb is full of meals tour experiences that can help you go the place the locals go. If you wish to study in regards to the origins of chocolate and style correct Mexican-style scorching chocolate, this chocolate and churros meals tour is spectacular — and reasonably priced.

In case your journey is just a fast one, a taco tour is an ideal option to pattern tons of various kinds of tacos in a brief time period. On this highly-rated, reasonably priced Airbnb expertise taco tour, you’ll go to Mexico City’s most well-known taco stalls and eating places on a fast 2-hour lunch tour.

3. Teotihuacan Day Trips

The closest pyramids to Mexico City, Teotihuacan is a brief one-hour journey from downtown Mexico City and is among the metropolis’s high sights, and finest day journeys. 

There are a myriad of the way to expertise this place, however if you wish to actually get to know the historical past of town and the individuals who lived right here, going with a information is good.

Personal Excursions to Teotihuacan

Journeys Past the Floor supply among the most educated guides in Mexico City, so historical past buffs received’t need to miss their Teotihuacan expertise.

They provide personal excursions that embody decide up and drop off at your resort or Airbnb, a bilingual information, entry to the pyramids and every other stops that you just need to make all through the day.

Group Excursions to Teotihuacan

When you go to Teotihuacan with a bunch tour, it additionally normally features a cease on the Shrine of Guadalupe and on the Plaza de Tres Culturas. Many additionally embody a cease at a silver store alongside the best way and a go to to a memento store exterior of Teotihuacan the place you possibly can pattern pulque and mezcal.

Often, the group excursions finish with lunch at a restaurant close to the pyramids earlier than you might be introduced again to your resort in Mexico City.

This tour gives early entry to the location, which means you’ll have it virtually to your self, plus information and transport. (from the assembly level, not your resort) At $35/individual, it’s additionally an reasonably priced choice. 

Alternatively, Get Your Information affords this full-day tour of Teotihuacan which additionally consists of stops at Tres Culturas and the Shrine of Guadalupe. Lunch shouldn’t be included on this tour, however pick-up from most accommodations are. At $33.60/individual, it’s one other reasonably priced choice. 

4. Xochimilco Get together Boats

Xochimilco is Mexico City’s most well-known celebration spot for each vacationers and locals.

It’s most frequented on weekends when folks pile into colourful trajineras, or small boats which can be rowed by a powerful and skilled rower. They’ll be comfortable to allow you to attempt it, simply don’t let go of that stick!

As soon as on the water, mariachi bands might hop on and play you just a few songs (for a payment in fact). There are different boats that float by promoting tacos, chapulines (fried crickets), in addition to large cups of ice-cold beer.

It’s finest loved in a bunch, so if you’re touring round Mexico City solo or simply with one or two different folks, going with a tour is one of the simplest ways to expertise the festive environment.

It’s additionally finest to go together with somebody who speaks Spanish and is aware of the world as a result of it may be complicated the discover the correct entrance to the canals and vacationers are often ripped off by locals trying to make just a few additional Pesos.

Xochimilco Tour with a Journey to Frida Kahlo’s House

This Xochimilco tour with Get Your Information consists of two hours out on the water in addition to a visit to the close by neighbourhood of Coyoacan.

You’ll get an opportunity to go to Frida Kahlo’s house, study in regards to the well-known conquistador Hernan Cortes who made Coyoacan his house, and you’ll additionally go to the nation’s largest college, UNAM.

UNAM is not only a college, however a metropolis in its personal proper. It’s house to murals and mosaics by a few of Mexico’s most well-known artists together with Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. 

Xochimilco Tour with Tacos and Mezcal

In case you are on the lookout for a tour that goes simply to Xochimilco (with out visiting Frida Kahlo’s house, or the College), there’s a nice choice on Airbnb experiences. The workforce of people that run these excursions are all from Mexico City and know the perfect locations to indicate you in and round Xochimilco.

You’ll have the ability to pattern just a few totally different tacos and mezcals. They’re additionally extremely enthusiastic about this a part of town and share not solely the current events with you but in addition the historical past of how this place got here to be. Click on right here to study extra about this enjoyable tour in Mexico City.

5. Lucha Libre

Lucha Libre is Mexico’s model of the WWE. It’s theatrical wrestling that attracts big crowds most nights of the week in Mexico City.

In case you are a assured Spanish-speaker, then heading right here by yourself is comparatively easy. Nonetheless, if you’re touring solo otherwise you don’t communicate a lot Spanish, you then’ll positively need to head right here on a tour.

Most Lucha Libre excursions have a selected assembly level the place you might have a drink or just a few tacos earlier than the struggle.

You then’ll head to the sector the place your tour information will buy the tickets in the event that they haven’t already been bought prematurely.

They’ll show you how to translate what the wrestlers are saying and be sure to take pleasure in just a few micheladas and palomitas or Mexican fashion beers and popcorn.

Top-of-the-line guides round for the Lucha Libre is Ubish of Mexico Underground. He’ll show you how to perceive why Lucha Libre is such an enormous a part of the Mexican tradition right here and take you to among the best taco spots within the space.

Another choice is that this extremely rated tour with Underground Adventures. It differs from the others because it consists of visiting (and consuming) at just a few cantinas, and dancing to mariachi music. This tour is targeted on Luca Libre, however features a few enjoyable extras.

Excursions are solely obtainable on the times when there are fights which in Mexico City is Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

6. Market Excursions in Mexico City

Markets are a cornerstone of Mexican life and visiting one with a tour is a good way to study extra in regards to the tradition that surrounds these markets. You’ll additionally get an opportunity to attempt native fruits, chilies, and even some mole sauces when you head to the correct market.

For an immersive tour that means that you can study all about native markets whereas additionally supplying you with the prospect to eat scrumptious Mexican meals and discover ways to put together it your self, Casa Jacaranda runs a beautiful market tour and cooking class.

It’s an unbelievable full-day expertise that features buying at a close-by Mexican market the place you’ll study in regards to the fruits, greens, and most significantly, the chilies that make Mexican meals the delicacies that you just style.

When you’d want to spend extra time within the markets sampling meals from the totally different distributors this Airbnb expertise delves deep into the markets of Mexico City.

This tour begins with a visit on Mexico City’s metro the place you’ll alight at Mercado Merced, town’s largest market and certainly one of many largest markets in all of Mexico.

You’ll find out about conventional medicinal crops, Mexican cheese, chilies, moles, and spices.

The very best a part of the tour is that you just’ll additionally get to pattern totally different Mexican avenue meals like tlacoyos and gorditas. 

7. Chinampas Farm Excursions

Lengthy earlier than the arrival of the Spanish within the 16th century and earlier than even the Aztecs constructed their metropolis in the midst of the lake, there was a bunch of individuals generally known as the Xochimilcos.

This indigenous group lived their lives as subsistence farmers the place they grew crops on plots of land that they constructed on high of shallow waters.

These folks nonetheless dwell within the Xochimilco space as we speak, however not in the identical touristy space the place you discover the colourful celebration boats.

The land that has been constructed on that water is just handed onto different members of the family. It’s truly unlawful to promote and up till about 10 years in the past, many individuals left their plots to sink as a result of there wasn’t sufficient cash coming in to maintenance the land.

Nonetheless, a revival has began led partly by among the metropolis’s high cooks like Enrique Olvera of Pujol and Enrique Vallejo of Quintonil and partly by the subsequent era of farmers who need to sustain the traditions of their ancestors.

It’s actually solely doable to go to this space with a tour, so if you wish to study extra you’ll want to take a look at the excursions supplied by Mexico Underground, the Curious Mexican, or Humedalia which is a non-profit firm on Airbnb.

Mexico Underground

Ubish of Mexico Underground works carefully with a small collective of farmers who’re making an attempt to gather Mexican seeds from across the nation and preserve the unique produce of this area like corn, cilantro, broccoli and tomatoes from getting misplaced.

A tour with Ubish will embody transportation to the farm, a scrumptious lunch made on the farm, the perfect pulque you’ll ever have, and the chance to study extra in regards to the historical axolotl.

The axolotl is a salamander that appears otherwordly however has known as these waters house because the time of the Aztecs. Sadly, there are fewer than 500 of them left, so these similar farmers are working to develop the inhabitants. 

Curious Mexican

The tour with the Curious Mexican is good for foodies that need to study extra in regards to the rising course of. Anais of the Curious Mexican works with a farming collective generally known as Yolcan.

Yolcan present top of the range produce for Pujol, amongst different high eating places within the metropolis.

This tour features a journey to the chinampas whee you’ll have a small breakfast and find out about what’s being performed there. Afterward, you possibly can choose to take pleasure in lunch at Yolcan or you possibly can head to the opposite aspect of Xochimilco to have tacos and trip on a celebration boat.

Non-Revenue Humedalia

On this journey, you’ll cruise down the channels of Xochimilco wetlands by canoe, whereas studying the historical past of the world, and the significance of sustainability. 

Whenever you arrive at Chinampa, you’ll get your arms soiled whereas experiencing historical cultivating methods, crop irrigation, harvesting and seeding. This is among the extra rewarding experiences you possibly can have. Snacks are included on this tour as nicely. Study extra right here, or click on the picture under.

8. Bike Driving Excursions

Whereas the chaos of town might make you suppose bike using isn’t the best choice, town is definitely very nicely arrange for cyclists. There are bike lanes on most primary roads and there’s not significantly better than using alongside the tree-lined paths of Chapultepec Park.

Bike excursions are a extremely nice option to go to a number of totally different neighbourhoods in in the future whereas burning off all the scrumptious tacos you’ll eat at each cease!

Top-of-the-line bike excursions in Mexico City is with Bikes and Munchies. 

The tour begins within the Juarez neighbourhood, the place you’ll meet your information, get your bike and have the primary few treats of the tour: espresso and tamales.

The tour all the time consists of two guides, one who might be your primary tour information and a second one who will assist direct site visitors when you’re crossing intersections ensuring everyone seems to be protected and collectively.

You’ll wind your method via Juarez, into Roma the place you’ll cease for extra avenue meals and a market go to at Mercado Medellin.

You’ll seize some agua frescas, that are drinks made out of fruit and water. You’ll then head via Condesa and end on the beautiful Chapultepec Park.

You’re by no means using your bike for too lengthy, however it’s nonetheless a strenuous sufficient trip that you just’ll need to be comparatively match. Particularly as a result of Mexico City sits at over 2,000 meters (7,000 toes) above sea stage. Click on right here for particulars on this enjoyable Mexico City tour.

9. Climbing Excursions 

Mexico City is surrounded by mountains. Within the central area of Mexico are among the tallest mountains in the whole nation. 

Those that love mountaineering and trekking ought to positively take a tour and day journey to one of many many surrounding areas.

Airbnb Experiences is a superb place to search for knowledgable tour guides. You’ll discover individuals who hike these mountains nearly each weekend and have loads of expertise mountaineering at altitude.

Contemplate taking these excursions in direction of the top of your time in Mexico City so that you’re extra accustomed to the altitude, particularly when you normally dwell at sea stage.

For one thing that basically challenges you, think about mountaineering the Nevado de Toluca. That is the fourth highest peak in Mexico and will be very difficult, so solely try this if you’re in good condition and have some expertise mountaineering.

This tour and this tour are nice choices from Mexico City with skilled guides who not solely hike typically however lead teams of hikers commonly.

You may select to make your personal option to Toluca, a close-by metropolis about 45 minutes away from downtown CDMX, or you possibly can pay a small further payment to begin the tour in Mexico City.

Along with an skilled information, the tour additionally consists of the nationwide park payment, lunch, drinks, and snacks. 

10. Puebla and Cholula Day Trips

Whereas Puebla and Cholula might simply be a visit in their very own proper, when you’re brief on time you’ll positively need to rent a tour information to indicate you all the finest spots on a day journey.

Personal Excursions

For incredible personal excursions, Journeys Past the Floor will pair you up with a information who actually is aware of the world.

You’ll focus on precisely what you need out of your journey with the proprietor earlier than you head out in your tour in an effort to ensure that to not miss out on the Talavera pottery outlets or the perfect mole eating places within the metropolis of Puebla.

Cholula, a UNESCO World Heritage Web site solely 10 minutes from Puebla, is house to one of many largest pyramids on the earth (based mostly on quantity).

Whereas it seems to be like nothing greater than a hill, a small entrance on the aspect will lead you thru a labyrinth underground tunnel community. 

Group Excursions

Get Your Information additionally affords an incredible full-day tour that leaves from Mexico City and takes you to each Puebla and Cholula. 

It’s an extended 10-hour day, however you’ll go away early sufficient to keep away from the site visitors and you’ll see a ton of each Puebla and Cholula.

You’ll discover the historical past and tradition of this a part of the nation, see the close by volcanos and study in regards to the legends that encompass them, and in fact, you’ll eat a scrumptious lunch in Puebla.

Now You Know The Best Excursions in Mexico City!

There may be really an limitless quantity of actions and excursions to maintain you busy on a visit to Mexico City.

Even when you’ve visited earlier than, belief me, as somebody who thinks there isn’t anything I might presumably find out about this metropolis, there’s all the time one thing new to find and going with an skilled native tour information is one of the simplest ways to do it.

Whether or not you need to deep dive into the historical past of the Aztecs and different Meso-American cultures that lived within the Mexico City area, you need to discover the pure fantastic thing about the encompassing mountains, otherwise you simply need to stuff your face with superb tacos, there’s a tour for you in Mexico City.

Photos on this article are courtesy of Shutterstock.com, a platform stuffed with stunning royalty-free photographs and movies. Study extra right here. 

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