Journey to Mexico City:

A straightforward 1 hour plane journey from Puerto Escondido to Mexico City Airport and then we got an Uber to our hotel. The Uber price was so much cheaper than the taxi quotes we were given and so in the end it was only about 120 pesos to get to our hotel which was about 30 minutes away.

What to do:

Go to the ancient ruins of Teotihuacan

This is easy enough to do by yourself instead of doing through a tour company. From the northern bus station you can walk to gate 8 at the far end and buy a return bus ticket to the ruins, which costs 120 pesos per person. The bus takes about an hour to get to the ruins and it drops you at gate 2 (the ruins are so big there are multiple gates!) To enter it costs 90 pesos each and if you want a tour guide you can find one at the entrance. From here you follow the path to the Pyramid of the Sun which is absolutely huge and up until a few years ago could be climbed. It’s one of the tallest pyramid in the world (some say the 3rd, others say the 7th highest?)! The other main points of interest are the Pyramid of the Moon, the Palace of Itzpapalotl and the Temple of the Plumed Serpent. To get back again simply get the bus at the same point you were dropped off and it will take you back to the northern bus station in Mexico City.

A bit of history on the site:

The area around Teotihuacan was settled in somewhere around 400 BC. Tremendous progress happened between 100 – 250 AD during which the iconic pyramids were built. The civilization reached its peak around 400 AD. Then in the 700s, the city was pillaged and burned to the ground. It is not known what the reason for this was but it is suspected that it was either a local uprising against the elite or an external invasion. Teotihuacan was abandoned forever after that. No one knows where the ancient Teotihuacanos went. Unlike Mayans and Aztecs who continue to live among us today with their habits and practices, Teotihuacanos completely disappeared from the surface of the earth.

Visit the Frida Kahlo Museo

I think my favourite thing we did in Mexico City was visit the Frida Kahlo Museum or the Casa Azul (the blue house) where she lived for most of her life and eventually died. As well as displaying some of her artwork, the majority of the rooms are kept as they would have been when she lived there, such as the bedrooms and her painting studio. It wasn’t cheap at 250 pesos per person but definitely worth the visit. Also if you want to take photos you have to buy a photo permit which is another 30 pesos! Her life was fascinating though and the museum gives a great insight into one of the most famous Mexican painters of all time. Perhaps one of the most shocking facts was her two serious health incidents that occurred before she was 18. The first was polio at the age of 6 which meant one of her legs was longer than the other, and the second when a tram crashed into her bus where an iron handrail stabbed into her hip and out the other side. Although she eventually recovered she dealt with chronic pain throughout her life and had to have 35 operations.

Take a walk through Bosque de Chapultepec

Mexico’s equivalent to Hyde Park in London. A huge park which is perfect to wander round. In the centre is the Castillo de Chapultepec which houses the National history museum. We didn’t go but it was quite a responsable 90 pesos to enter.

See the Angel of Independence

This monument was built in 1910 to commemorate the centennial of the beginning of Mexico’s War of Independence. In later years it was made into a mausoleum for the most important heroes of that war. From the bosque de Chapultepec you can walk up the Main Street ahead to take a closer look at this impressive monument.

Meander through the Roma neighbourhood

One of our favourite neighbourhoods in Mexico City. There’s plenty of cool cafes and restaurants as well as brightly coloured streets to wander down and take photos!

Where to stay:

We stayed in Finca Coyoacan which was in the Coyoacan neighbourhood. This was a lovely area to stay and the hotel itself had very spacious bedrooms plus a shared living area/kitchen and a terrace at the back. The only downside was that the stove didn’t work which meant you couldn’t really use the kitchen for cooking anything. The neighbourhood is great for wandering around though and it’s only a 10 minute walk from the Frida Kahlo museo.

What to eat/drink:

Taco Orinoco

Kind of like a fast food taco place, you ordered at the till and within 5 minutes your tacos were ready. Not many vegetarian options and I ended up with a tiny quesadilla and a lot of spicy potatoes (which were delicious), but otherwise it was so tasty, cheap and came with about 5 different amazing sauces.

Churreria El Moro

Amazing churros. If you order the paqueta you can get 4 churros along with a hot chocolate of your choice for 105 pesos. There were about 7 different types of hot chocolate, we went for the Frances which was milk chocolate with vanilla. The churros were massive so by the end we felt very sick but it was worth it.

Alverre Cafe Bistro

Coyoacan has some great little cafes and this place was our favourite for desserts. They had so much choice and I think during our stay in Mexico City we tried about 4 different ones all of which were delicious. Apparently brunch is great here too.

Summary: A great few days in Mexico City! The highlights for me were definitely the Teotihuacan ruins and the Frida Kahlo Museum (and the desserts of course!)