I was there Thanksgiving 2015. No problems at all. Places to visit: the ruins and pyramids of Tenochtitlan, just a bit of a drive outside the city; Chapultepec (amazing history, like our Smithsonian); and the Zocalo, which is the main market area in front of that big church. It was in the latest James Bond movie. Stop listening to all the fear mongers. I actually think there's an agenda behind the fear mongering. One thing though: take Ubers, avoid taxis. Ubers are ubiquitous, and usually very efficient -- although sometimes you will get one that doesn't know where he's going. But that's probably true anywhere. One last piece of advice: longaniza tacos. They're the bomb.
World class city is world class city. Safe in 2012 when this thread was started, safe now, in 2019. Everybody has pastor tacos but the best ones were from a place called "El Huequito"(hole in the wall), now a chain and has sit down seating but started off as a hole in the wall cart. I never get cheese on tacos but the "gringo" is so damn good. Expensive for Mexcio, but not by American standards. Highly recommend. Agree with staying with Ubers. Everything is so damn cheap there. Condesa was a really cool place for bars. Reminded me of the lower east side of NY. Fantastic history there and really fun city.
Just looked it up, we're definitely checking out that market. As far as food spots, I can't decide. too many restaurants, street vendors, hole in the wall places, everything sounds great. We're going to try and just eat out once a day though, don't feel like spending too much money and I definitely don't want to try something weird and get sick. Thanks for the advice!
I was there last week. The correct answer is many areas are safe, many are not. Similar to most US cities. There are most certainly areas that are absolutely not safe - don't kid yourself and be naive.
Looking it up now. I like al pastor tacos but not usually my go to, I'll check them out though. Thanks!
Pastor tacos are the national dish of Mexico and you wont find it more prevalent anywhere than Mexico City. I wasnt the biggest pastor fan here in the states but they are everywhere there. Theyre akin to the hot dog stand in NY. EL Huequito is still the best for me. DOnt worry about spending too much on eating out, everything is cheap. I said El Huequito was expensive for Mexico taco prices but you wont spend but about 5 bucks maybe a little more, and thats the expensive tacos. EVerything is cheap.
Really, on page 2 without this: PS -- Nice avatar, @Kruze10. That shot courtesy Apollo 17, I believe, and largely unplanned.
It's safe. I was there in September, and it was a good time. I had no issues at Teotihuacan, Zocalo/cathedral, the museums, and Chapultepec. I used Uber, the metro, and a bus to Puebla with no issues. Avoid the areas around Plaza Garibaldi and Tepito. Garibaldi is more of a minor tourist spot, and I recommend skipping it after some recent shootings. As in most international cities, keep an eye on your bags and wallet. Go to Taqueria Los Cocuyos and get the suadero and campechano tacos.
Great response and I'll second that Los Cocuyos is amazing. Just look at this bubbling pot of meat: You open a tab and stand there and eat taco after taco until you can't eat anymore. If you like street food, this should be on your bucket list. Also, no trip to Mexico City is complete without visiting Puebla too. The European colonial plaza is still intact with the cathedral, colorful buildings, etc. And the pastores there are as good or better than Mexico City.
The bus to Puebla.....is it worth it on a day trip thingy, Puebla / Cholula? United has a direct flight to Puebla. Seems it would be worth its own weekend. My wife are going to Mexico City next month. She's never been. I love the place and will hit some locations I missed a decade ago. So far I reserved a hotel on Reforma near Insurgentes. We'll be on a top floor but I remember traffic noise starting early on Reforma and LOUD (residents of the city love to honk the horn, even though the traffic jam prohibits the cars in front from moving anyway). Anyone have any decent hotel ideas? Free wifi is nice, and slightly less noise, but not far from the good stuff (we go one way we're n Chapultepec, we go the other we're at Alameda Park / Bellas Artes / Zocalo).
Man, Im really envious atm. I need to get down to Puebla and Oaxaca, all the food is way better down there. As far as hotels, I stayed in Reforma as well and the Hilton didnt have free wifi. I was pretty pissed at that. Maybe try a Air Bnb in the Condesa area.
I spent 1 day and 1 night in Puebla and think it's worth it even for that. It has a really beautiful city center and is much more relaxed than Mexico City. I stayed at the Le Meridien Mexico City for $50 a night. It was on Paseo de la Reforma but in a quieter business area without much noise. WiFi was paid, but I had 5 GB of data in Mexico and Canada free with my data plan.
A friend told me to stay clear of Condesa and downtown area at night. I got us an Airbnb in Portales for cheap. Now sure how safe that area is but it's close to some stuff my wife and I want to stop by regularly.
I stand corrected. Teotihuacan is the pyramid/ruin site, not Tenochtitlan. I always get those confused. BTW, I also went with a buddy (who is well versed in Mexico City) to the Garibaldi Plaza, and my buddy kept reminding me to be on guard, and to not speak English (makes one a target I guess). But we stayed and had dinner there, nice time, no problem, Mariachi bands and the like.
Yep, me and my buddy did Puebla as well. But, it's a bit of a drive outside Mexico City. The one ominous thing we did see on the highway was stop/check points with military and machine guns. A bit unnerving. But they didn't mess with us/we didn't have to deal with them. Yes, the Puebla center city is nice and worth the visit. Get a meal there; go shopping etc.
I'd say Condesa is fine, but Doctores is a little rough at night. I think @Bob Barker 007 has it right in saying to generally avoid the Guerrero/Plaza Garibaldi and Tepito areas at night as well. Don't know much about Portales. What's down there?
Yeah, I had no problem in Condesa, but I guess I could see small problems with bars being around. Tepito is to be avoided at all times of the day. LOL. Stayed in Reforma and across the highway is Zona Rosa; walked over there at night looking for a late night restaurant and unknowingly walked into the Montrose of the DF.
i went there 10 years ago. ive traveled all over mexico and I really felt like mexico city was one of the safer big cities there. i've never seen such a heavy police presence. especially in the subways (which are awesome and cheap btw). you do have to use common sense and avoid streets that are not well lit and don't have people walking around, but if you stick to the tourist/historical areas you will be fine. day trip to teotihuacan. templo mayor next to main zocalo is aztec temple where they did human sacrifices, governors palace has a bunch of amazing diego rivera murals, palacio bellas artes has more must-see murals. lucha libre fights on friday evenings at arena mexico (there were midget wrestlers and pyrotechnics!) chuapultepec park has some amazing museums - museum of anthropology and modern art museum. drink pulque at stands around plaza garibaldi. del chopo is a big punk rock flea market that takes place on saturday afternoons. https://theculturetrip.com/north-am...w-about-mexicos-most-alternative-marketplace/
