Mexico City Travel Diary

The time has come! I’ve been teasing today’s post for almost two weeks now and am so pumped to finally share my Mexico City Travel Diary with you guys.

This trip was a little more random and last minute than Paris (more on that later!) so I didn’t have as much time to research and plan. I did however somehow manage to work with Alex on creating a “light” itinerary to make sure we could get as much in as possible. We were there for five days and I still feel like there was so much more I wanted to experience.

Keep scrolling down for some of my favorite highlights, snaps across the city and a few tips & tricks for planning your next vacay to CDMX! I warn you now, this is A LOT of text so feel free to check out the pictures and bookmark for a later date!!

STAY

The Airbnb Route: we stayed at the cutest Airbnb in Roma (a super cute neighborhood, more on that below). Alex scored this beauty early on and I’m so happy we got to experience CDMX from our very own little apartment. The location was pretty good and the fact that we had our own balcony with lots of greenery and a gorgeous courtyard was a plus. I did some searching before the trip just to get a sense of the Airbnb quality in Mexico City and was pleasantly surprised. There are so many cute and modern lofts throughout the city in some of our fave neighborhoods so I’d definitely consider getting an Airbnb at least for a few nights to get the “local” experience.

Hotels: If you’re more of a hotel girl (raises hand), you can’t go wrong with these!

• Hyatt Regency: This hotel was in Polanco which was by fay my favorite neighborhood. We were close to everything from great restaurants, fun lounges/bars, shopping (like the Rodeo Drive of CDMX) and so much more. It was perfect. Not to mention the hotel was stunning and the staff there were pretty awesome. I love that we got to experience CDMX hospitality the last few nights of our stay and it didn’t hurt that we spent our last afternoon getting some sun on the terrace. By the way, I strongly recommend getting a room on the concierge level so you can gain access to the BEST hotel breakfast I’ve ever had. They had a huge assortment of fresh pastries, fruit, juices, coffee and traditional Mexican dishes. So. Good.
• Chaya: If you’re looking for a bed & breakfast situation, Chaya B&B is for you. We had the opportunity to grab breakfast and explore the boutique hotel with the owner and it was absolutely beautiful. I fell in love with the terrace (hammocks and a cool cactus garden!) and the rooms were stunning and modern. And if you’re a blogger, this place is 100% instagrammable!
• Hilton Sante Fe: The Hilton Sante Fe was a little further out from the main center of the city but totally worth the 45 minute drive. We spent the day at the Hilton and it was probably one of my favorite experiences of the trip. We checked in to our own room Friday morning and immediately changed into our bikinis to head up to the rooftop pool (after taking a spin in the comfiest robes ever). On Fridays, the Hilton Sante Fe has TTC: Tacos, Tequila and Cervecas. So yeah, we were in paradise. The rooftop pool has the BEST view of Mexico City and the pool was the perfect mix of modern relaxation with all of the amenities. We sipped champagne, ate the best fresh tacos, tried a new craft beer from CDMX and worked on our glow. Talk about the best day ever. Whether you’re looking to stay in Sante Fe or want to try exploring a new part of the city, you have to give the Hilton a try!

[Airbnb]

[Chaya B&B]

[Hilton Santa Fe Mexico City]

[Hyatt Regency Polanco]

PLAY + EXPLORE

• Ciudadela Market : The Ciudadela market has every souvenir you could possibly want and I loved that everything was handmade and a little less “tousirty”. I picked up the cutest leather cross body bag (actually, we ALL got one) and a perfect straw tote for my trip to Tulum in a few weeks.
• Hilton Pool Day: Mentioned this above already but I highly suggest taking a mini trip out to Sante Fe for the TTC Fridays at the Hilton Sante Fe!
• Diego Rivera + Frieda Khalo Museum: I mean, can you go to Mexico City and not check out Frieda Khalo. I wish we had time to explore the other Frieda Khalo museum but we did get a chance to go to Diego Rivera’s house where they showcased some of his great work and design/living quarters. It was so cool and full of history – can’t wait to go back to learn even more.
• Luche Libre Fight: This was by far one of the coolest, most authentic things we did in CDMX. We were all dying to checkout a Luche Libre fight and it was everything we could have dreamed of! We got our tickets on Ticketmaster and the fight was held at one of their arenas. It was in no means a fancy, modern, super “clean” venue but you it was full of locals and less touristy so definitely a plus for the experience. We ordered beers, snagged a few Luche Libre masks and took it all of the hilarity that is Luche Libre. Come prepared to laugh, have a good time and take LOTS of boomerangs.
• Luis Barragan’s Homes: I talked about Cuadra San Cristobal in yesterday’s post but I can’t say it enough – make sure you definitely book tickets to go visit the three homes designed by Luis Barragan. Modern, bright properties full of history and inspired design from Mexico City. What’s not to love?
• Castillo de Chaplutepec: I mentioned this in Tuesday’s post but the Castillo de Chapultpec was a gorgeous castle in the center of the city with a GORGEOUS view. It’s definitely worth the trek to the top but I highly suggest wearing comfy (lightweight) clothes and planning to spend a few hours in that area. In addition to the castle, they also have a ton of little markets setup as well as canoes and other fun things in the area.

[Cuadra San Cristobal]

[Castillo de Chaplutepec] 

[Hilton TTC Pool Day]

[Diego Rivera + Frieda Khalo House]

[Ciudadela Market]

EAT

• For lunch: we grabbed lunch at Morablanca (in Polanco) our first day and felt like complete royalty. The rose was bomb and the pasta I had was super fresh and delish. The cheese plate was epic and the service was impeccable. This was also the first time we experienced just how affordable everything is in Mexico City. We ordered a bottle of rose, each had appetizers, main courses and shared plates (for 4 people) and our bill was under $100 USD. Rosa Negra was another lunch spot in Polanco that we loved and I’d actually suggest also checking it out for dinner. They had this adorable bar cart where they would create custom gin cocktails and the street corn and salsa was to die for. If you’re looking for brunch, hit up Zapote for the best pancakes I have EVER had. Seriously, you need to go.
• For the sweet treat eaters out there: You have to check out Chrro Place for the tastiest churros and coffee (also, the most beautiful white and blue tile) and visit Ficelle for breakfast treats and pastries. Their neon sign is instafamous and they have one of the best chocolate croissants I’ve ever had and I just got back from Paris. Just saying (I think they were owned by two French men by the way). If ice cream is your thing, make sure you stop by Ice Cream Nation near Polanco. They make everything to order so be prepared to wait but they use dry ice and some chemistry to whip up the freshest, most unique ice cream creations!
• For cocktails: Most nights, we just randomly stumbled across a bar or lounge for drinks. We did however plan a trip to GIN GIN and it did not disappoint. I’d plan to eat before or after as the food didn’t really impress me but the cocktails and atmosphere were amazing. It had a very hipster chic vibe to it and I mean, they had the best gin based cocktails I’ve ever had. Alex and I also checked out Café Paraiso one night and it was pretty fun! It’s “hidden treasure” type of place with no sign outside but definitely the “IT” place to go. The décor was super retro and cool and the drinks were great. I loved the DJ and the people and would definitely go back for a night of dancing!

[Morablanca]

[Rosa Negra]

[Ice Cream Nation]

[Zapote]

[Ficelle]

EXPLORE

• Roma Norte: Roma Norte is a really cool, hop neighborhood in Mexico City. You’ll find really fun places to eat, drab drinks and explore. It’s not super posh but still nice AND safe which was key for us (three girls walking around CDMX by themselves…). We stayed in this area the first three nights and I wish we could have explored even more but a lot of the places we ate were nearby which was great. It’s also pretty central to other ‘hoods in the city.
• San Angel Neighborhood: We trekked over to the San Angel neighborhood with our photographer who is from CDMX and I am so happy we did! It’s definitely a quitter part of town but so beautiful. The cobblestoned streets were lined with gorgeous, bold flowers, little cafes and gorgeous homes.
• Polanco: Polanco was by far my favorite place in the city. To be honest, you get more SoHo vibes that Mexico City…but somehow it was still full of CDMX culture. One of the main street in Polanco is identical to Rodeo Drive, full of stores like Gucci, Hermes, LV, etc. There are a ton of nice restaurants and lounges so we spent a lot of our meals in this area. We also loved walking around and snapping pics of the gorgeous homes.

Transportation

• Uber is super cheap (I don’t think any of our trips were more than $6 USD). I will say most of them took forever to get to us so we had to call them way before we were actually ready to go anywhere or leave but we felt safe and I just still can’t get over how cheap it was
• We also used the Blacklane car service for a few of our excursions (like airport pickup and our trip to the Hilton) and I’m SO happy we did. Although it’s a little pricier than an Uber or taxi, it was so worth it for the comfort and ease…let alone the safety factor. I highly suggest using Blacklane for longer rides or journeys in the city.

Whew. That was a lot. And it doesn’t even skim the surface. There was still so much we didn’t get to explore and I can’t wait to go back and check out even more of what the city has to offer.

If you’ve been to Mexico City or are planning a trip sometime soon, please comment below with your recs so I can keep them in mind!!

Photos by Valeria Castillo  // Photos by Lorenzo