24 Hours in Mexico City
A cobalt-blue house that draws pilgrims from across the world, a park with more visitors annually than the Eiffel Tower, and street tacos that will properly ruin every other taco you’ve ever had, one proper day in one of the largest cities on earth.
Mexico City packs an unusual amount into a single day, one of the most visited artist’s homes in the world, a park that’s the green heart of the city, and a street food scene that rewards wandering off the main strip. Here’s how I’d spend 24 hours here.
Casa Azul
Start early at Casa Azul, the Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacán, the cobalt-blue house where she was born, lived and died. Book tickets weeks ahead, they properly sell out fast, and the surrounding Coyoacán neighbourhood, with its cafés and Plaza Hidalgo fountain, rewards a slow wander afterward.
Chapultepec Park
Head to Chapultepec Park, one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere and home to Chapultepec Castle and the Museo Nacional de Antropología. The National Museum of Anthropology alone, with its famous Aztec Calendar Stone, rewards a proper couple of hours.
Getting there Metro to Chapultepec station
Street tacos
End the day with a proper taco crawl, tacos al pastor from a trompo stand widely a Mexico City essential, considerably better than any version served outside the country. A neighbourhood like Roma or Condesa offers a genuinely good concentration of stalls and taquerías to work through.
Getting around
Mexico City’s Metro is genuinely extensive and cheap, though Coyoacán and Chapultepec both sit a proper distance from the historic centre. A rideshare or the Metro both work well for covering the ground between them.
If you only have time for one thing
Make it Casa Azul. It’s the single most iconic sight in the city, and Frida Kahlo’s former home is a proper introduction to Mexican art and culture before you’ve even reached the park.
That’s everything I’ve got.
A note before you plan around this: prices, opening hours, booking requirements and admission details in this guide were correct at the time of writing, but venues change these often and sometimes without notice. Always check directly with the attraction or its official website before you travel or build a schedule around a specific time or price.
Before travelling to any destination featured on this site, please also check your government’s latest travel advice, as safety situations, entry requirements and travel warnings can change.
