Mexico City · San Francisco Mazapa
4 days in Mexico City: Aztec Centro, pyramids & lucha libre
Photo by Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández
Templo Mayor and Bellas Artes, Chapultepec's castle and anthropology museum, Teotihuacan by bus, lucha libre, and San Ángel's Saturday bazaar.
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- Day 19 am – 9:30 pm · 7 stops
- 9 am 1Templo Mayor: the Aztec temple under the cityMexico City
The excavated Great Temple of Tenochtitlan sits right off the Zócalo, and its museum holds the Coyolxauhqui stone and the Tlaltecuhtli monolith. Every first-timer itinerary we read opens Centro day here. Go at 9:00 opening, before tour groups. Open Tuesday to Sunday 9:00-17:00, closed Mondays; foreign visitors pay 210 pesos (105 for Mexican nationals and residents) per INAH's 2026 fees. Signage is in English and Spanish, per Travels With Elle.
3 min walk · 150 m - 10:45 am 2Catedral Metropolitana, across the plazaMexico City
Latin America's largest and oldest cathedral faces the Zócalo two minutes' walk from Templo Mayor; three of the trip reports we used tell you to step inside rather than just photograph the facade. Look at how the floor and side chapels tilt: the whole building is sinking into the old lakebed. Entry to the nave is free; dress modestly and stay quiet if a mass is on.
10 min walk · 750 m - 11:45 am 3Palacio Postal: the gilded post officeMexico City
A 1907 post office with bronze-and-marble staircases that still sells stamps, flagged by Travels With Elle and Global Gallivanting as a 15-minute stop most people walk past. Walk west along Madero or 5 de Mayo to get here. The public hall is open Monday to Friday 8:00-16:00 and Saturday 8:00-12:00 only, so do this on a weekday; it's free. Mail a postcard home from the counter.
8 min walk · 550 m - 12:45 pm 4Lunch at El Cardenal on Calle PalmaMexico City
A Centro institution for classic Mexican home cooking, recommended in Blogger at Large's first-timer itinerary and by The Infatuation (house conchas with natas from their own dairy, hot chocolate, eggs with escamoles, enchiladas). It's a few blocks back toward the Zócalo. Expect a 20-30 minute wait at peak, worse on weekends. Open daily from 8:00; a meal runs roughly 300-450 pesos a head (our estimate from listings, not checked on a menu).
9 min walk · 650 m - 2:30 pm 5Palacio de Bellas Artes and its muralsMexico City
The Art Nouveau-meets-Art Deco palace on the Alameda is on every itinerary we read; the reason to go inside is the 2nd and 3rd-floor murals by Rivera, Siqueiros, Orozco and Tamayo, including Rivera's Man, Controller of the Universe. The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-18:00; entry was 90 pesos (free on Sundays) on the latest listing we found, so check the box office price. Blogger at Large suggests adding the Ballet Folklórico if a performance fits your evening; check the schedule.
3 min walk · 200 m - 4:45 pm 6Sunset from the Torre LatinoamericanaMexico City
The 1956 tower across the street gives the best 360-degree view of the Centro and Bellas Artes' dome from above; Global Gallivanting and Blogger at Large both go up, and in November the sun sets around 17:50, so time it for golden hour. The observation deck opens Monday to Friday 10:00-21:00 and weekends 9:00-22:00; an adult ticket is 170 pesos. There is a bar on the upper floors if you'd rather sit with a drink.
11 min walk · 800 m - 7:30 pm 7Mariachi night at Salón Tenampa, Plaza GaribaldiMexico City
Plaza Garibaldi is where the city's mariachi bands wait to be hired, and the century-old Salón Tenampa is the cantina to watch them from: murals of ranchera singers, tequila, pozole and botana platters, and bands playing table to table. Global Gallivanting and The Infatuation both send you here for the evening. Songs in the square cost about 100-120 pesos each (Time Out), so agree the price before the band starts. Take an Uber both ways; the surrounding streets are rough after dark.
- Day 29 am – 8:30 pm · 5 stops
- 9 am 8Chapultepec Castle at openingMexico City
The hilltop castle (now the Museo Nacional de Historia) gives you Maximilian and Carlota's restored rooms, Siqueiros' revolution murals and a terrace view down Reforma. Adventurous Miriam says arrive at the 9:00 opening because it fills fast. Open Tuesday to Sunday 9:00-17:00, closed Mondays; 210 pesos for foreign visitors, 105 for nationals and residents (2026 fees). It's a steep 15-minute walk up from the park gate, or take the little road train.
11 min walk · 800 m - 11:15 am 9Museo Nacional de AntropologíaMexico City
If you only do one museum in Mexico City, every report we read says make it this one: the Aztec Sun Stone, Olmec heads and a full Maya hall around a courtyard under a giant concrete umbrella. It's a 20-minute walk through Chapultepec from the castle. Give it three hours and go straight to the Mexica (Aztec) hall first while you're fresh. Open Tuesday to Sunday 9:00-18:00; 210 pesos for foreign visitors in 2026 (it rose from 100). A guided visit helps, per Adventurous Miriam and Travels With Elle.
8 min by train or taxi · 3.0 km - 3 pm 10Late lunch at Mercado de MedellínMexico City
A working neighbourhood market in Roma Sur where locals eat lunch at the fondas, with stalls of Colombian, Venezuelan and Cuban goods (arepas, malta, sugarcane juice) alongside Mexican produce. Blogger at Large and Travels With Elle both put it on their Roma day. Take an Uber from the museum (about 20 minutes). Open daily 8:30-18:00, so don't leave it later than mid-afternoon; pick whichever fonda is full and order the comida corrida, the cheap set lunch.
17 min walk · 1.3 km - 4:30 pm 11Roma Norte on foot: Plaza Río de Janeiro and Álvaro ObregónMexico City
Walk north from the market through Roma's Porfirian mansions to Plaza Río de Janeiro (with its copy of Michelangelo's David), then along the tree-lined median of Avenida Álvaro Obregón, where Adventurous Miriam and Travels With Elle send you for cafés, shops and taco spots. This is a different stretch from the Condesa walk around Parque México. Free; stop for coffee wherever looks good, since Roma Norte's coffee shops are a reason to come.
7 min walk · 500 m - 7:30 pm 12Tacos at Taquería OrinocoMexico City
Monterrey-style tacos (trompo, beef, chicharrón norteño) on flour or corn tortillas, and the papas aplastadas on the side. Global Gallivanting and Travels With Elle both list it; El Financiero's July 2026 piece put tacos at 34-64 pesos each and a costra at about 81. This branch is on Álvaro Obregón, so you finish the walk here. Open from midday until very late; expect a queue that moves fast. About 200-250 pesos a head with a drink.
- Day 37 am – 10:30 pm · 6 stops
- 7 am 13Bus from Terminal Norte to the pyramidsMexico City
Autobuses Teotihuacán leaves about every 20 minutes from the far left end of Terminal Central del Norte (look for the 'Pirámides' sign near Sala 8); take Metro Line 5 to Autobuses del Norte or an Uber. Along Dusty Roads, updated January 2026, paid 75 pesos one way or 150 round trip, cash only at the desk. The ride takes about an hour; ask to get off at Puerta 2 so you're not left at a far gate. Keep the return half of your ticket.
39 min by train or taxi · 39 km - 8:15 am 14Teotihuacan: the Avenue of the Dead before the heatSan Francisco Mazapa
Walk the Avenue of the Dead from the Ciudadela and the Feathered Serpent temple up to the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon; every first-timer report we read gives Teotihuacan a full morning. Opens 8:00 daily, last entry 16:30, closes 17:00. Foreign visitors pay 210 pesos (INAH 2026). The Pyramid of the Sun can NOT be climbed (INAH confirmed it again in 2026); since May 2025 only the first level of the Pyramid of the Moon is open. Bring a hat, water and sunscreen; large backpacks aren't allowed.
7 min walk · 550 m - 1 pm 15Lunch in the cave at La GrutaSan Francisco Mazapa
A restaurant set inside a natural cave about 200 m from Puerta 5, behind the Pyramid of the Sun. Global Gallivanting suggests lunch here after the ruins, and Los 40 covered it in March 2026. It's the splurge of the trip: allow 500-700 pesos a head, mains about 330-400 pesos. Open daily 8:00-18:00. Order the pulque or a mezcal and something with cecina. On a tighter budget, eat at the stalls by Puerta 2 instead.
7 min walk · 550 m - 2:45 pm 16Bus back to Mexico CitySan Francisco Mazapa
Walk back out through Puerta 2 and wait on the roadside past the car park; there's no shelter or sign, but buses back to Terminal Norte pass often and your round-trip ticket works on any of them (Along Dusty Roads). Allow extra time in afternoon traffic. From Terminal Norte, take an Uber to the Centro and rest before the evening.
43 min by train or taxi · 43 km - 6 pm 17Suadero tacos at Los CocuyosMexico City
A tiny, steamy, round-the-clock taco counter on Bolívar in the Centro, famous for suadero, campechano and lengua cooked in a giant comal. Travels With Elle lists it for street tacos, and CDMX Secreta lists it among the city's 24-hour taquerías. You eat standing on the pavement. Have cash ready and order two or three at a time. It's about 10 minutes by Uber from here to Arena México.
20 min walk · 1.5 km - 7:15 pm 18Lucha libre at Arena MéxicoMexico City
CMLL's 'cathedral of lucha libre' in Colonia Doctores, with masked wrestlers, brass bands and a crowd that heckles the rudos. Every itinerary we read includes it. Shows run Tuesday 19:30, Friday 20:30 (the big card) and Sunday 17:00 (move this day to Sunday afternoon if needed). Buy on Ticketmaster México or at the box office, never from street resellers. Mid-bowl seats run about 200-500 pesos. Carry little cash, then take an Uber straight from the door after the show. Cards can shift around public holidays.
- Day 49:30 am – 9:30 pm · 5 stops
- 9:30 am 19UNAM's Biblioteca Central mosaicMexico City
Juan O'Gorman's stone mosaic wraps all four sides of the Central Library tower at Ciudad Universitaria, a UNESCO-listed campus that Blogger at Large adds to its last day alongside the Olympic Stadium. The exterior is free to see at any hour; mid-morning gives the south facade its best light. Take Metro Line 3 to Universidad and the free Pumabús, or an Uber. It's 15 minutes by car to San Ángel.
19 min walk · 1.4 km - 11 am 20Bazar del Sábado in San ÁngelMexico City
Saturday-only art and craft market in a colonial house on Plaza San Jacinto, with the Jardín del Arte painters' fair spilling across the plaza outside. Blogger at Large plans its final day around it, and Matt Geiger spent his October 2025 Saturday here. Open Saturdays about 10:00-19:00. Start inside the house where the best pieces are, then work outward. Bring pesos in cash and good shoes for the cobblestones.
3 min walk · 100 m - 1:15 pm 21Lunch at Saks on Plaza San JacintoMexico City
A terrace restaurant right beside the bazaar, where Matt Geiger ate on his October 2025 bazaar Saturday and Food & Pleasure recommends it for chilaquiles, enchiladas and waffles. It fills up on market days, so put your name down when you arrive at the bazaar. We couldn't confirm current hours or a menu price.
10 min walk · 750 m - 2:45 pm 22Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida KahloMexico City
Juan O'Gorman's 1931 twin functionalist houses, one red (Diego's studio) and one blue (Frida's), joined by a rooftop bridge. Blogger at Large sends you here from the bazaar. It's about a 15-minute walk. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-17:30; general entry was 40 pesos per Chilango (December 2025).
13 min by train or taxi · 8.0 km - 7 pm 23Last night grazing at Mercado RomaMexico City
Head back north for a relaxed final dinner at Roma Norte's design-led food hall: tapas, tacos, cheese and pastry stalls downstairs, mezcal and cocktail bars upstairs. Global Gallivanting and Travels With Elle both list it, and it lets everyone pick their own plate. Downstairs runs daily 9:00-21:30; upstairs bars stay open later, especially Saturdays. Prices vary by stall, so check before ordering. Allow 40 minutes from San Ángel in Saturday traffic.