I’ve never seen so many tourists in my hometown. More and more travelers are visiting Mexico City, with some 14.4 million visitors exploring the vast metropolis in 2023 alone. The number of Americans visiting has nearly doubled since 2021, according to Mexican government statistics. Next month, that number is set to grow further when the FIFA World Cup rolls into town, with five matches scheduled at the Estadio Azteca (officially, the Estado Banorte).
In a city already home to some 9 million chilangos—the nickname we use for city residents—the influx of travelers can make crowds hard to escape in certain neighborhoods, especially in summer, and rising visitor numbers have caused real friction.
Protests in 2025 rallied against unprecedented rent hikes, unregulated short-term lets, and even menu changes at local taco stands perceived to be catering to visitors who couldn’t handle the hot sauce. An unprecedented display of violence across Mexico in February this year has also raised ongoing security concerns.
As someone who lives here, I know well that there are easy ways to get off the tourist trail and enjoy a more authentic experience through the city’s incredible art, architecture, and food. Most visitors barely scratch the surface, and too many never leave the central districts of Roma and Condesa.
So, my first tip for escaping the crowds and experiencing the city would be to remember there is life beyond those neighborhoods. My second tip would be to avoid the horrific, brain-melting traffic at all costs. Pick one area per day to explore, walk as much as possible, and use public transport where you can. Save the Ubers for late-night journeys—because they will save you zero time during daylight hours.
Don’t skip the estadio neighborhood
An estimated 87,500 people are set to watch the opening World Cup soccer game between Mexico and South Africa at Estadio Azteca on June 11. The stadium sits in the southern neighborhood of Tlalpan, which is generally overlooked by visitors.
Tlalpan is one of those old towns that has been engulfed by the city’s growing sprawl. It’s mostly residential and abuts the forested hiking and biking trails of Bosque de Tlalpan (Tlalpan Forest)—but if you are heading to a game, I’d recommend having lunch at Arroyo Restaurante first. Opened in 1940, this traditional Mexican restaurant is a 10-minute drive from the stadium, serves various Mexican specialties, and organizes live mariachi performances throughout the day.
Head all the way south
The University Museum of Contemporary Art has collected and exhibited work by Mexico-based artists since the university opened in 1952.
Photo by BondRocketImages/Shutterstock
With most matches set to kick off in the evenings, visiting fans will have time to explore other neighborhoods in the city’s south during daylight hours. One of the most beautiful is historic San Ángel, with its leafy, bougainvillea-filled streets.
Start a morning at Le Petit Lola, which has been making some of the best bread in the city for two generations. Try the torta de Chilanesa, a Mexican schnitzel sandwich finished with a dusting of Cheetos.
Then, head to the house and studio of renowned Mexican painter Diego Rivera. The 1930s modernist property, designed by Mexican architect Juan O’Gorman, was home to both Rivera and his wife, the famous artist Frida Kahlo. If it’s a Saturday, follow up the house and studio tour with a visit to El Bazaar Sábado, about 10 minutes’ walk away. The contemporary market is filled with local artists and craftspeople selling clothes, jewelry, and handicrafts. On any other day of the week, grab a margarita in the foliage-filled courtyard of San Angel Inn, a restaurant and bar housed in a former hacienda.
Jump on a 30-minute bus south, and you’ll reach Ciudad Universitaria—literally “university city.” The campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico has its own transport system, museums, and parks.
Stop by the University Museum of Contemporary Art, home to some 2,100 contemporary artworks, then head to Espacio Escultórico, a magical landscape of sculpture and gardens whose gigantic geometric installations resemble a volcanic crater.
See Xochimilco in a different light
Xochimilco’s ancient canal system stretches across roughly 65 square miles on the southern edge of Mexico City.
Photo by Aberu.Go/Shutterstock
Xochimilco is one of the few districts that has maintained Mexico City’s ancient water channel systems, which are remnants of the chinampas, the floating gardens that fed the old Aztec capital. Most people experience Xochimilco the loud way: On a party trajinera, floating through the famous canals in a brightly painted barge, accompanied by a mariachi band.
A more atmospheric (and less touristy) way to experience these relics of the past is to join an early-morning visit to a working chinampa, courtesy of agrotourism business Arca Tierra.
The company grows crops on four chinampas using ancestral, regenerative farming techniques. On a three-hour morning trip, you can watch the sunrise from the water, volcanoes rising in the distance, before enjoying a home-grown, home-cooked breakfast of pork gorditas, tlacoyos, and salads made from squash flowers, cheese, and spinach. The company also offers tours of its unique crop-growing system.
“The chinampas are the most important place in Mexico City in a socio-environmental and cultural sense,” says Lucio Usobiaga, one half of the sibling duo behind Arca Tierra. “They are a remnant of what the city used to be.”
Usobiaga recently opened Baldío, Mexico City’s first zero-waste restaurant, and the city’s only restaurant to have been awarded a Green Michelin Star. Make it one of your dinner reservations if you visit the Condesa neighborhood.
Seek out real handicraft stores
The design and craft scene in Mexico City is unparalleled. To dig into it, skip the obvious souvenir shops and make tracks to independent boutiques. Pingüino is a curated handcrafts store that sells a selection of Mexican folk art. Utilitario Mexicano sells beautiful everyday items—the kind you find in Mexican grandmothers’ houses. Onora, in Polanco, has a very small but curated selection of high-end textiles and home wares. And at Mercado de la Ciudadela, the biggest handicraft market in the city, you will find reasonably priced examples of crafts from all over the country.
Some of my favorite shops are the Fábrica Social boutiques, which have four locations across the city. They sell beautiful, carefully curated textiles made by Mexican artisans from rural regions. The project began as a school to equip local makers with the skills and tools needed to sell their work at fair prices.
Daniela Gremion, one of the founders of Fábrica Social, has her own recommendation for travelers seeking artistic inspiration (and beautiful home wares): pottery workshop Taller Experimental de Cerámica Díaz de Cossio. “It’s a beautiful space where you can shop unique and rare pieces,” she says, “but you can also get an up close look at the [pottery-making] process. It’s one of the jewels of the Coyoacán area.”
Make a pilgrimage to Barragán’s buildings
The brightly colored Gilardi House in San Miguel Chapultepec is a typical example of Mexican architect Luis Barragán’s designs.
Photo by Mathilde Marest/Shutterstock (L); photo by Mahdis Mousavi/Unsplash (R)
Luis Barragán is the only Mexican to have won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, and yet most tourists in his home city walk straight past his legacy. Casa Barragán and Casa Gilardi are within walking distance of each other in San Miguel Chapultepec, so you can visit both in one afternoon. Don’t expect conventional museum visits: Barragán’s architecture makes striking use of color and light to create almost spiritual spaces, full of emotion. You’ll want to book in advance as visitor numbers are limited to small guided group tours to protect these UNESCO World Heritage properties.
Nearby, the contemporary art gallery Galería Kurimanzutto, which is housed in a timber building designed by another renowned Mexican architect Alberto Kalach, is close enough to add to the same afternoon itinerary.
Hunt down tacos loved by locals
Mexico City’s most exciting meals are being served in neighborhood spots. The gastronomic scene in the city has seemed livelier than ever lately, and I’m hearing every week about new spots to check out.
Fresh openings such as Cafeteria Ideal, the café from Egyptian American food artist Laila Gohar, show that global gastronomic interest in the city continues to grow. Places like Roma Norte’s Bar Nino, with its Mediterranean offerings, and Condesa’s Caracol de Mar and Étranger (one serving colorful seafood dishes, the other French flavors) prove that some of the city’s most exciting restaurants are not only beautifully designed but also have the cooking to match.
But if you’re in Mexico City, you want tacos, right? Maizajo in Condesa takes tacos to another level and has the feel of a cool Condesa restaurant.
Chef and owner Santiago Muñoz Moctezuma spent years studying nixtamalization (the process of soaking and cooking heirloom corn in an alkaline lime solution) to perfect his tortillas. Head upstairs to sit down for a meal, or—my preference—stick with the informal standing space downstairs. Order the costilla for tender, slow-cooked beef rib, the flauta de papa for fried rolled tacos filled with mashed potato, or the rib-eye costra for a cheesy steak taco.
For al pastor—the signature chilango taco—my favourite spot is El Tizoncito, which has branches across the city. Other strong contenders for the al pastor crown include El Huequito, El Farolito, El Vilsito, and El Charco de las Ranas.
Chilangos could spend a whole night fighting over who makes the best al pastor, so you’re better off trying a few spots. Then you can form your own pineapple-laced opinion.
. . . or try a cantina
There’s no way to easily translate what a cantina is into English. These traditional bars are third spaces or social hangouts, plating up a mix of Mexican and Spanish bar snacks alongside alcoholic drinks. It’s one of the most Mexican experiences you can have in the city, but most visitors miss it.
These places are designed for long lunches that stretch long into the afternoon and night. Classic cantinas charge for drinks only; The food is free as long as you keep drinking. And the traditional tipple of choice is not tequila or mezcal—it’s a Cuban Bacardí Blanco and Coke.
Two of my favorites are close to one of Mexico City’s largest parks, Chapultepec. Both Cantina El Bosque and El Mirador are famous for their tacos de lengua y chamorro, made with slow-cooked beef tongue and tender pork shank and typically served with diced onions, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
Where to stay in Mexico City
Hotel San Fernando occupies a cozy art deco building and has a rooftop terrace bar that serves spicy margaritas and mezcals.
Courtesy of Hotel San Fernando
Among the city’s many openings in the past few years, the 19-key Hotel San Fernando, Casa Pani, and Círculo Mexicano all make Afar’s Mexico City hotel guide. To splash out, opt for Casa Polanco, set in a refurbished mansion opposite a leafy park in Polanco. For food lovers, Enrique Olvera has Casa Teo and Casa Teo 2, two apartments in the same building with furnishings picked out by one of Mexico City’s most renowned chefs. Or, for something low-key, Octavia Casa offers six slick minimalist, wood-clad rooms, not far from Chapultepec Park. —Mary Holland
