Mexico City Guide: Day of the Dead & More Adventures

Picture this, we’re sitting in a cafe enjoying a drink near the end of our trip, and all of a sudden, a flash mob of Day of the Dead skeletons dressed in traditional wear start dancing outside. The music’s blasting and a crowd forms to watch. Soon, it’s a full-on dance party as locals and travelers alike take turns twirling with the skeletons.

If there’s one takeaway from my recent trip, it’s that scenes like this one underscore just how awesome of a place Mexico City is. From the incredible food and bar scene to the rich history and culture to the friendly and warm people, CDMX was one of the most enjoyable and eye-opening trips I’ve been on in some time.

Read on for a detailed breakdown of all the wonderful sights, sounds, and culinary delights we experienced!

Planning Our Trip

A couple of my good friends and I traveled to Mexico City in late October, just in time for the Formula 1 race and Day of the Dead. When I initially checked the weather, my heart skipped a beat because the forecast showed rain for the entire week. But amazingly, the rain was just a small and rare occurrence during our trip – the weather was still pretty warm and when it did rain, it was usually just a drizzle that didn’t last for more than an hour at a time.

We planned the entire trip on the fly, apart from booking our flights, Airbnb, and Formula 1 tickets. Oh, and definitely making a reservation for the world-famous restaurant Pujol. Thankfully, we had many friends who’d also traveled to Mexico City recently and sent us plenty of great recs. So we spent the week picking out attractions and restaurants that caught our eye.

There were plenty of direct flights to Mexico City so we didn’t have any trouble booking a good one. Once again, I used my credit card sign-up bonus points from Chase to book a free roundtrip flight from SFO to MEX, which ended up being an easy 4 to 4.5 hour flight each way. If you’re looking for a new credit card to score free flights, check out my referral link for the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card. You’ll receive 40,000 bonus miles (worth at least a $400 flight) if you hit the minimum purchase requirement in 3 months.

Based on what we’d read and heard, Roma Norte was a great neighborhood to call our home base for the week. We stayed at an Airbnb in that neighborhood for eight days, and it turned out to be the perfect move. There were so many restaurants and things to do, all within easy walking distance. I might be biased, but I’d highly recommend staying there.

As for our recs, I’ll be listing out sights, attractions, food, and drinks sorted by neighborhoods. I’ll also include some info for each area so you can get a good idea of the vibe and what to expect. And for your planning convenience, I’m also sharing a Google Map of the spots I mentioned here:

Roma Norte

Roma Norte was our home base for the week and the neighborhood was artsy and hip. We loved the vibe – locals were out and about walking their dogs or enjoying all the great restaurants and bars. The buildings were a mix of old and new and there were plenty of public open spaces and places to people watch.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of our time in this neighborhood was spent at incredible restaurants and bars. That first night, we waited for a table at La Casa de Toño and it was so worth it. Plates of enchiladas, enfrijoladas, and tacos graced our table, along with traditional pozole soup, chicharrones (pork rinds), and Mexican beer. It was a legitimate feast that also happened to be quick and inexpensive, the best combo.

Afterwards, we checked out Bukowski’s Bar, a bar located on the second floor of a bookstore/cafe combo called Cafebrería El Péndulo. We sipped fancy cocktails while listening to a live jazz band, enjoying the warm fall air.

Over the week, we tried out some more delicious restaurants and bars. The seafood game was strong. La Docena served fresh raw and cooked oysters, whole fish, and octopus. Contramar served their famous two-color fish, which used a red and green sauce and was mouthwateringly tender. Fisher’s had a wonderful fish stew and the place felt like a club, with its own resident DJ.

We were also lucky to be so close to the top-rated bar in Latin America, Licorería Limantour, which served some inventive and tasty cocktails, rivaling the best ones I’ve had in San Francisco and New York. The best part? Each cocktail cost ~$5-6, probably a third of what it would have cost in the coastal U.S. cities. For a more intimate bar experience, El Palenquito had some cool traditional decor and served its own mezcal along with mezcal-based cocktails.

Near the end of our trip, we enjoyed the most amazing barbacoa (lamb) tacos at El Hidalguense. Seriously, the meat was melt-in-your-mouth good, and the freshly-made blue corn tortillas were the perfect complement. We also tried a unique Mexican-Asian fusion restaurant called Nudo Negro. The executive chef invited us to the kitchen to sample some new dishes he was working on, and we enjoyed ramen, dumplings, and other dishes with a Mexican twist.

Condesa

Condesa is located west of Roma Norte and is one of the hottest areas in the city at the moment. Picture the nicer parts of the Mission or Hayes Valley in SF and you’ll get a pretty accurate picture of this hip neighborhood. Walking the streets, we spotted yoga studios, third wave coffee shops, and places selling fresh-squeezed juice. We also saw plenty of travelers and expats here. Unsurprisingly, the culinary experience was solid.

We grabbed lunch from the takeout counter of Ojo de Agua, which served some delicious fresh-squeezed juice along with typical food fare. Blend Station was a third wave coffee shop with an incredible selection of beans and pour-over brewing methods. Over a couple of days, we actually worked remotely from this cafe, which had plenty of seating and minimalist decor.

The restaurant highlight of this neighborhood for us was Azul Condesa, a higher-end sit down spot that had the most incredible mole dishes. I ordered enchiladas with their famous mole sauce, which they filled to the brim of my plate. We could see the cooks prepping handmade tortillas near the entrance.

Since it’s close by, I’ll also include Bosque de Chapultepec in this section. Similar to Central Park, this giant public park contains a ton of museums, walkways, and artwork. We walked uphill to Castillo de Chapultepec, a royal castle that also housed past officials and presidents. There were some interesting exhibits and lots of great picturesque spots.

Centro Histórico

Centro Histórico, as suggested by its name, is located in the historic center of Mexico City. This is the place to be if you want to explore the city’s history and experience iconic architecture and art. It’s probably one of the oldest and most touristy areas in the city, but you’ll see even more locals going about their day, running shops, or coming in for an event.

That first day, we found ourselves face to face with 16th century buildings at Zócalo, the main plaza. After attending the Formula 1 Qualifying Race, we made it back in time to catch the tail end of the Day of the Dead parade. The plaza was packed with families and visitors admiring the festive floats. There were some great exhibits in the middle of the square that we also enjoyed afterward.

The architecture was a standout aspect of Centro Histórico. We gazed in awe at the ornate golden interior of Palacio Postal and admired the exteriors of the classical-looking Palacio de Bellas Artes and Museo Nacional de Arte. Both were also museums and we were more than happy to pay admission to see some amazing murals and art exhibits.

A couple of recs for food. If you’re looking to try a tasty and authentic breakfast in a historic mansion-like building, check out El Cardenal. The wait is quite long on weekends but a lot more manageable on weekdays. Don’t miss their pre-meal hot chocolate, which is made fresh and out-of-this-world rich. And stop by Pastelería Ideal, a famous bakery where you can pick out pastries and baked goods to your heart’s desire.

Polanco

If you’re looking for the fancy and posh neighborhood, Polanco is it! Located north of Chapultepec Park, this area has plenty of high-end restaurants, fancy hotels and stores, and luxury homes. People were dressed nicely up and down the avenue, and the neighborhood had a very refined feel.

If you haven’t already heard rave reviews from friends who’ve gone, I’ll note it here – make that reservation for Pujol today. It’s a fine dining restaurant that was ranked one of the best in the world. And considering the cost is probably half of what you’d pay at a similar restaurant in the States, I’d say this is a must-try. The selection of food was both authentic with a fine dining twist and deliciously satisfying to the taste buds.

El Bajío was another restaurant that I’d recommend. The pork confit melts in your mouth and makes some incredible tacos with the handmade tortillas and fresh condiments. For a cool bar, try Jules Basement, a speakeasy with a refrigerator door entrance in a taqueria. The basement bar was fancy, served great cocktails, and even had a live jazz performance when we were there. This one requires a reservation as well.

And since it’s so close to Polanco, I’ll include Museo Nacional de Antropología as a place to visit. In fact, if there’s one can’t-miss museum, this is the one. Containing some of the most famous artifacts of ancient civilizations, this museum is huge and contains tons of interesting exhibits on the history of the region.

Coyoacán

I think a couple good descriptors of Coyoacán are “colorful” and “bohemian.” This south side neighborhood was home to a lot of countercultural thinkers and artists and has a strong intellectual history being close to the national university. I loved the brightly-painted buildings, many preserved from the colonial era, as well as the various open-air markets and parks. I definitely sensed a lot of rich culture and history in this neighborhood.

We didn’t try too many restaurants here, but we did get the chance to check out Café Avellaneda, which was opened by a two-time winner of the Mexican Brewers Cup competition. The pour-over coffee was so good that we each purchased a bag of freshly-roasted beans, and returned later that week for another go.

There are several famous markets in the neighborhood that are typically open on weekends. We stopped by Mercado de Coyoacán, an open air market selling food, artwork, and other trinkets. We also checked out the handicraft market El Bazaar Sábado, which contained some specialty stores with a wide variety of jewelry, food, and art.

Another can’t-miss in Coyoacán is Museo Frida Kahlo, the iconic blue home of the famous artist Frida Kahlo. The line is typically around the block so definitely get tickets in advance. We walked through the serene courtyard, read about her life and saw personal artifacts at the exhibits, and even walked through the rooms where she used to create art and rest.

More Sightseeing: Teotihuacan & La Lucha

There were a couple other activities I’d highly recommend which weren’t really tied to the neighborhoods I covered above. If you have a half day available, make the trip out to Teotihuacan. It’s the site of the ancient Mesoamerican pyramids and it’s about an hour’s drive from Mexico City. With Uber, I think our grand total came out to $35-40 roundtrip. We got to climb the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, and it was so cool just walking along the Avenue of the Dead and imagining what the area must have been like thousands of years back.

If you’re making the trip out to Teotihuacan, I’d highly suggest making a reservation for La Gruta, a large restaurant inside an underground cave. It was one of the most unique dining experiences I’ve had, and the food was authentic and delicious. In the middle of our meal, it started pouring rain, and we had to move tables because we were sitting next to one of the cave openings. It was like real-life Rainforest Cafe!

Another touristy but totally-worth-it activity is attending La Lucha wrestling match. In fact, so many locals go that I’d recommend booking a tour or experience with a local, who would be able to buy the tickets, help you navigate the arena, and explain what’s going on in the match. Our Airbnb Experience with a group of travelers was a fun one – we decorated our own lucha masks before the match, then sat at some pretty decent seats, cheering along with a packed arena of fans.

Closing Thoughts

Traveling to Mexico City was a treat. I felt lucky to experience such a perfect blend of culture, history, cuisine, and fun. We loved all the unique neighborhoods, sights and sounds, and activities. I think one of the lasting impressions are the people – the folks we met were some of the most laidback, truly nice people that I’ve encountered in my travels. If I had another chance to return, I wouldn’t hesitate one bit!

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CDMX at www.RandomTidbitsofThought.com.
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