Mexico City - A Resident Tourist's Review

The Turibus(100-115 MXP) is a convenient way to see the major tourist destinations (especially the Centro Historico). The pyramids at Teotihuacan are highly recommended (although technically not in Mexico City).

Quick Tips:

It's best if you have a knowledge of Spanish. Unless you're at hotels, taxi drivers do not speak English, and restaurants rarely have English menus. Because Mexico City is so big, taxi drivers will not necessarily know an address that you give them so make sure you have the major cross streets.

Best Way To Get Around:

Be careful when taking taxis. Spend a bit more money and get taxis at a "Sitio" or from a hotel. Kidnappings are relatively common occurrences for people who get into taxis off the street.

Unless you're very adventurous, driving in Mexico City can be a thriller. The lack of signage and disregard for any traffic rules are enough to give heart attacks to most first-world drivers.

The Metro is a reliable and cheap (2 pesos) way of getting around, albeit a bit confusing due to lack of signage. Avoid taking it during rush hours (7am-9am and 5pm-7pm), or you'll be packed like sardines in cars with no air-conditioning.

Walking is manageable in the Centro Historico and neighborhoods like Polanco, but generally, walking as a commuting option in Mexico is not realistic.

The bus system in Mexico City is fairly unorganized and generally only for the truly brave (and fluent in Spanish). Buses will have the major stops as signs on the front and usually only travel down major roads. If you're just going down the road, you usually can't go wrong.

As one of the more authentic Japanese restaurants in Mexico City, Tori Tori is known to be frequented by staff of the Japanese embassy. The menu is in Japanese and Spanish, and the manager appears to be Japanese.

Tori Tori is located in the upscale district of Polanco and the clientele is similarly upper-class. Interestingly enough, there weren't too many people at 9pm but when we left at closer to 10:30pm, the place was filling up.

The sushi rolls are well-made, creative and do not contain cream cheese (quite a rarity in Mexico). The Spicy Tuna roll was excellent with fresh tuna and just enough spiciness, and the Rollo Grande was enough to be a meal for one person. The seafood croquettes(a Japanese classic) were excellent, although on the small side.

The nigiri was spectacular and made just like it is in Japan. Not too much rice, a little wasabi and a strip of seaweed to wrap it all together.

The waiters were polite (although not particularly attentive), and the restaurant is well-lit with modern decor.

If you want good Japanese food in Mexico City without sky-high prices, this is a place to go.

Dinner for two, including non-alcoholic drinks and tip(10% is standard in Mexico) came out to be 700 pesos with food to bring home.

El Moro is one of Mexico City's oldest churro places. However, don't expect to find what you've seen at Disneyland.

Located on Eje Central near Metro San Juan de Letran, it's the perfect place to rest your feet and have a snack after looking at the street stalls and visiting Bellas Artes and Torre Latinoamericana. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that anyone speaks English.

Churros y chocolate is a breakfast snack originally brought by the Spanish to Mexico. It is eaten by dipping the churros into the chocolate. At El Moro, an order of four churros and a coffee cup-sized cup of chocolate costs 36 pesos.

You can choose from regular (covered with sugar) or cinnamon (canela) churros. Personally, I prefer the cinnamon.

There are five types of chocolate. Vienna (no sugar), Francesca (very sweet), Mexicana, Espanol, and especial. For people who want something cold, milk (leche), and vanilla and chocolate milkshakes (malteadas) are available as well.

As an experience, it wasn't bad, but it was quite pricey. Two chocolates, one milkshake, one milk, and eight churros came out to be almost 150 pesos.

Villa Maria is in every guidebook, and deservedly so. Aside from the excellent Mexican food, the whimsical sayings (in Spanish) on the walls and mariachi band make this a must-visit. Something to watch out for is that they close at 7pm on Sundays.

To start, the margaritas are huge. When they bring it out, you start wondering why they're bringing around a fishbowl before you realize that it's your drink. At about 2 pints (500mL) in size, it'll last you the whole meal. If you want something smaller, remember to ask for it.

Menus are available in English, and most of the food there is suited for sharing. The chef's recommendations are all excellent, but if you can't handle spicy food, make sure to let them know.

Unknown to most visitors, Mexico City has a sizable population of Lebanese-decent. Adonis is one of Mexico City's oldest Lebanese restaurants and has managed to survive due to an extremely loyal clientele.

Aside from excellent Mediterranean food, it also has a belly dance show beginning at 10:30pm Thurs, Fri and Sat. (Our show started a bit after 11pm)

There are no English menus, but the Capitan appeared to speak English. The dishes are for sharing and if you're new to Lebanese food, I recommend the "Plato Libanes" and "Parillada Libanes" to try a bit of everything. My personal favorite are the Falafels.

Next door is a Lebanese market where items to go are sold.

The Celtic's Pub is one of the few places where you can get a Guinness in Mexico(although not on tap). There is another one in Col. Condesa that has been around for a bit longer but is essentially the same as the one in Polanco. It's location in the hotel zone (right in front of the W) makes it one of the hippest places to be seen.

As with any other pub in Polanco, this place is always busy, no matter what day of the week. We had trouble finding a space at 7pm on Friday, and when we left at 10:30pm, you could hardly move around.

The crowd is notably upscale with an average age in the mid-30s. There are about 20 tables of varying sizes, a few couches and a coin-operated pool table.

The food and drinks are reasonably priced, and the waiters are extremely attentive and fast to respond. It gets a bit loud once the DJ starts playing music at around 9pm, which makes it almost impossible to converse. Most people come in groups, so don't expect to meet a lot of new people here. All in all, it’s not a bad place to have a few drinks and unwind after work.

One final note is that the valets are slow in returning your car. It will usually take 10 minutes, and sometimes as much as 15 minutes.

Beer: 30 Pesos
Guinness: ~60 Pesos
Appetizers: ~70 Pesos

La Ciudadela is a large artisan plaza located a 10-minute stroll from Metro Balderas or 5 minutes from Metro Juarezs. Handicraft/artisan items from all over Mexico are sold here at very reasonable prices. I highly recommend going here instead of the markets in Zona Rosa due to the broader selection and better prices.

If you're near Bellas Artes, it's about a 15min walk. Walk down Juarez towards Reforma and turn left on Balderas.

When you get out of the Balderas metro station, walk down the sidewalk with all the street vendors (don't take too long looking around, as the main attraction is farther down). After passing by a library and small park, you'll see a yellow wall and you're there!

When I was there with a group of friends, we picked up lots of glass cocktail stirrers with different animals designs on top (5 pesos each) and rings and bracelets (5 to 15 pesos). Spending under 150 pesos each, we came out with plenty of bags and smiling faces.

Other handicrafts include ceramics from Queretaro (a World Heritage Site 2 hours north of DF), leather items, obsidian carvings, amazing papier-mâché (pricey), and painted gourds and blankets (sarapes) just to name a few.

Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 7pm and Sunday 10am to 6pm.

Website: http://www.laciudadela.com.mx/ (English and Spanish)

http://www.living.com.mx/

Aside from its status as Mexico's premier gay-friendly nightclub, Living is also one of DF's best places for lovers of electronic music.

Located in a castle-like building complete with a drawbridge on Reforma near Torre Mayor, Living has two main rooms, three lounges (including one nonsmoking, a rarity in Mexico), and three bars on two floors.

This place is absolutely huge, and unlike most Mexican clubs, is actually a place for dancing (i.e. no tables in the middle of the "dance floor"). The lounges are for people who are more interested in sitting down and having a drink.

The larger room plays electronic music, with a sound and light system to rival any world-class club. The 30-foot ceiling gives a great sense of openness, and the bar takes up the whole back of the room, so there's almost never a wait to get a drink. The DJs are excellent and always manage to keep the party going.

The second room has a few tables and couches near the bar and plays mostly Mexican pop. The two rooms are well-separated, so there's no clashing of music.

Upstairs are the well-decorated lounges, where the volume is significantly lower and you can actually have a chat without screaming in each other's ears.

Although Living falls into the gay nightclub category, open-minded heterosexuals won't feel too out of place. That being said, don't be too shocked to see some barely-clothed men dancing on platforms, transvestites walking around and couples making out on the dance floor.

If you like electronic music, aren't too interested in sitting around and getting piss drunk, and are fairly open-minded, Living is definitely a place to visit.

Cover charges vary, but usually it's 150-200 pesos.

Website: http://www.turibus.com.mx

Although the Metro is significantly cheaper at 2 Pesos, taking the open-air, double-decker Turibus is one of the most relaxing ways to visit the main tourist areas of Mexico City if you have a day (or at least 5-6 hours) to spare.

The concept is the same as New York's Gray Line and London's Big Bus and Original Tour; for one price, you can get on and off as many times as you want during the day at stops marked by a large red banner. (See picture for example and website for stop details.) A bonus is the multi-language audio guide that gives you brief introductions to the sights on the trip (which takes 3 hours if you don't get off).

It costs 100 Pesos on weekdays and 115 pesos on weekends and holidays (as of June 2006) and runs from 9am to 9pm at 20 to 40 minute intervals. However, the last bus actually leaves Auditorio around 6pm. (I've personally waited at 8pm at Bellas Artes for the Turibus that never showed.)

The first recommendation is to start early (before noon). When I took it at 11am on a Saturday, there were about 6 people on board. However, after 2pm, the upper deck was completely full.

If the weather is good, you'll want to grab a seat on the upper deck, but beware of afternoon showers (around 4-5pm) from April to July.

I strong discourage getting on at the Auditorio or Zocalo because you'll spend a lot of unnecessary time waiting in line (sometimes up to 2 hours).

If you're in hotels in Polanco near Auditorio, I suggest visiting the Museo de Anthropologia and Bosque de Chapultepec first, and getting on at the entrance to Bosque de Chapultepec under the red Turibus flag. (See photo.)

For an alternative to the Zocalo stop, walk 6 blocks (or take the Metro 2 stops) to visit Bellas Artes, the Postal Palace, Sanborn's Azulejo, El Moro (Churros), Museo de Arte Popular (Artisan Museum), Torre Latinoamericano and get on in front of the Museo Franz Mayer on Avenida Hidalgo.

A recommended itinerary:
-Visit Museo de Anthropologia and Bosque de Chapultepec. Get on at the Bosque.
-If you want to take pictures of the Angel de Independencia, you can get off, but there really isn't much else around there.
-Get off at Zocalo. Visit Cathedral Metropolitana, Templo Mayor, Palacio Nacional. Develop photos on Republica de Brazil if needed. (See my experience entry.)
-Walk or take Metro to Bellas Artes. Visit Postal Museum, Sanborn's Azulejo, Torre Latinoamericano, Museo de Arte Popular.
-Get on in front of Museo Franz Mayer. Return to where you started.

Digital cameras have become fairly popular in Mexico and thus, there are no lack of digital photo developing shops in the city.

I personally prefer to use shops behind the Cathedral on Republica de Brazil because:
1)They are near tourist attractions.
2)They can give you digital 4x6 jobs in as little as 30 minutes, at a shockingly cheap 1 peso per print.

If your memory card is getting full, drop by and have your images printed and burned to CDs (about 40-50 pesos) before you head to the Templo Mayor. After your visit, head back to the shop to pick up your prints. (Note: Most shops close around 3pm on Saturday and are not open on Sunday.)

If you're using a traditional camera, you can get cheap film and batteries as well. However, don't expect to find any deals on cameras (digital and regular) and memory cards. Prices are about 15 to 20% higher than in the U.S.

Most places will not speak English but photo developing isn't that complex. Most places have the automatic kiosks where you put in your memory card and select your photos on-screen.