Panorama of the Zócalo with the Cathedral, the giant flag and the National Palace
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Mexico City in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 4.9 km on foot
  • 16 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days give you what many travellers miss here: time. Each day has a route in the centre as its backbone and, around it, museums, a market and neighbourhoods with a life of their own. It is the ideal plan if you want to eat well, walk without a stopwatch and see how the city's eras pile up.

Day 1The centre and two must-see museums

Open with “From the Zócalo to the Alameda”: the Zócalo, Iturbide Palace, Torre Latinoamericana and Bellas Artes, all the way to the Juárez Hemicycle. Have chiles en nogada at the Hostería de Santo Domingo and keep the afternoon for two museums: the Diego Rivera Mural Museum, beside the Alameda, and the Anthropology Museum in Chapultepec, reached by metro or ride-hailing. It's your first day, so don't push the pace: the sun and the altitude are felt more than you'd think.

  1. Morning

    From the Zócalo to the Alameda: Mexico City Highlights

    Mixed · 1.6 km · 1 h 30 min

    1. Zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución)The square named after a pedestal with no statue, and still Mexico's great living room.
    2. Iturbide PalaceA baroque wedding present from whose balcony the first emperor of independent Mexico was acclaimed.
    3. Torre LatinoamericanaThe 1956 skyscraper that floats on a lake and came through three major earthquakes unscathed.
    4. Postal PalaceA post office that looks like a Venetian palace, with bronze staircases cast in Florence.
    5. Palace of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes)Begun Art Nouveau, finished Art Deco, thirty years in the making: Mexico's great cultural stage.
    6. Alameda Central and the Juárez HemicycleThe oldest public park in the Americas, with a past of bonfires and a white marble tribute to Juárez.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Chiles en nogada at Hostería de Santo Domingo. Belisario Domínguez 72, Centro Histórico

  3. Afternoon

    Diego Rivera Mural Museum

    Home to “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central”, Rivera's great 1947 mural. It stands right by the Alameda, so it is a natural companion to Bellas Artes.

    Directions

    National Museum of Anthropology

    The best introduction to pre-Hispanic cultures, with the Sun Stone and the Mexica and Maya halls. Allow two or three hours and check the closing day before you go.

    Directions

Day 2Tenochtitlan, tacos and Coyoacán

Day two starts with “From Tenochtitlan to the Capital of New Spain”: Santo Domingo, San Ildefonso, Templo Mayor, the National Palace and the Cathedral. Finish with suadero tacos at Los Cocuyos and head south to Coyoacán, which deserves the whole afternoon. There you'll find Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul, worth booking, and the squares and streets of the neighbourhood, where you can stay on for an afternoon snack without watching the clock.

  1. Morning

    From Tenochtitlan to the Capital of New Spain

    History · 1.2 km · 1 h 30 min

    1. Plaza de Santo DomingoThe square where faith, taxes and censorship lived side by side, and where scribes still prepare paperwork under the arches.
    2. Antiguo Colegio de San IldefonsoA 16th-century Jesuit college where, in 1922, painters swapped the easel for the scaffold.
    3. Templo MayorThe great temple of Tenochtitlan, dismantled in 1521 and rediscovered in 1978 by electricity workers.
    4. National PalaceFrom Moctezuma's palace to the viceroys' and the presidents': five hundred years of power on the same block.
    5. Metropolitan CathedralAlmost three centuries in the making: a façade you read from bottom to top, from Renaissance to Neoclassical.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Suadero and al pastor tacos at Taquería Los Cocuyos. Bolívar 56, Centro Histórico

  3. Afternoon

    Frida Kahlo Museum (Casa Azul)

    The house where the painter was born and died, now a museum, with her studio, kitchen and garden. Tickets often sell out: book online and arrive a few minutes before your slot.

    Directions

    Coyoacán

    A neighbourhood of cobbled streets and colonial houses, with Plaza Hidalgo, the Jardín Centenario and a market for trying tostadas. Stroll without hurry before or after the Casa Azul.

    Directions

Day 3Market, neighbourhood and mysteries

Day three is looser. In the morning, San Juan market with its gourmet produce, then a stroll through the Roma district and its art nouveau mansions. Return to the centre for churros and chocolate at El Moro and, as evening falls, walk “Legends of Colonial Mexico”: House of Tiles, the Inquisition, the Cathedral, Don Juan Manuel and the Hospital de Jesús. Finish with enchiladas at Café de Tacuba, a few steps away.

  1. Morning

    San Juan Market

    A market of gourmet produce and unusual delicacies, south of the Alameda. Come hungry, wander the stalls and take something home; morning is the best time.

    Directions

    Colonia Roma

    A district of early twentieth-century mansions, cafés and bookshops, with Plaza Río de Janeiro and its replica of Michelangelo's David. Walk the tree-lined streets and return to the centre by metro or ride-hailing.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Churros and chocolate at Churrería El Moro. Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas 42, Centro Histórico

  3. Early evening

    Legends of Colonial Mexico: Tiles, Witches and Hidden Bones

    Mysteries & legends · 2.1 km · 1 h 45 min

    1. House of Tiles (Casa de los Azulejos)A palace clad in ceramic, a son who wanted to prove his father wrong and a real murder on the staircase.
    2. Palace of the InquisitionThe seat of the Holy Office, with its diagonal doorway, and the prisoner who, legend says, escaped on a ship she drew.
    3. Metropolitan CathedralA church sinking into a lake and a dark Christ that, tradition says, absorbed a poison.
    4. Calle de Don Juan Manuel"What time is it?" "Eleven." "Lucky you, to know the hour of your death": colonial Mexico's darkest legend.
    5. Hospital and Church of Jesús NazarenoThe hospital Cortés founded holds his bones, hidden in 1823 and found again in 1946.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Enchiladas and antojitos at Café de Tacuba. Tacuba 28, Centro Histórico

The map

Mexico City in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

Loading the map…

Before you go

Tips for Mexico City in 3 days

  • Book the Casa Azul and, if you like, the Anthropology Museum ahead, and check which day museums close (many rest on Mondays).
  • Group things by area: the centre, Chapultepec, Coyoacán and Roma are far apart. Metro or ride-hailing, ideally outside rush hour.
  • The altitude (about 2,240 m) and summer showers in mid-afternoon call for comfortable shoes, water, sunscreen and a small umbrella.

Questions

Mexico City in 3 days: your questions

Is three days enough for Mexico City?

It covers the historic centre, two major museums, Coyoacán, a market and Roma. Teotihuacán, Xochimilco or Chapultepec Castle are left for another trip, or you can swap an afternoon for a day excursion.

How far do you walk in three days?

The three routes add up to about 4.9 km, one per day. It's a relaxed plan: the tiredness comes from museums, neighbourhoods and altitude, not the routes, so each day can go at your own pace.

Where should I stay for this plan?

In the historic centre or near the Alameda, to sleep close to the routes and walk to the Zócalo. Roma also works, with more cafés, and connects well to the metro and ride-hailing.

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