Short History and facts
This August (2021) Mexico City, Ciudad de México (CDMX) as known locally, City turned 500 years old (as México City, the Aztec ruins are around 700 years old). It is ranked one of the Big five cities of the world, with a population of 9 Million and the whole municipality a total population of 21 Million. México City is also known as D.F. (Disctric Fedirl) is the capital city of Mexico (the country officially called “The United Mexican States” or “Estados Unidos Mexicanos”).
It is important in my opinion to know, at least, a brief history of any country or city you visit, because it puts many of the traditions into perspective. The city was first built in 1325 on lake Texcoco after the indigenous (original Mexicans, now called the Aztec people) drained the lake. The Aztec city was called Mexica-Tenochtitlan (and it seems this is where Mexico City got its name and later the whole country was called Mexico).
In 1521, the Spanish forces with the leadership of Hernán Cortés with his small group of people brought down the Aztec Empire after it was destroyed from inside due to chickenpox that devastated the city and killed the big portion of its population. Also, it seems that the people of the city (know for being brutal during fights) lost confidence in their leader Montezuma and didn’t want to fight for him anymore. The Spanish after concurring the Aztec city, built a new city resembling a more Spanish city and most of the original buildings and Temples were destroyed over time.
Mexico City became the capital of what it was called, the “New Spain”, which was a territory that included modern Mexico, Guatemala, the Spanish Caribbean countries including Cuba and the Philipines. However, on September 15th, 1810, Mexico took its independence and became a country with CDMX as its capital.
How Aztec became Catholic
The Aztec people with time became Catholics mainly due to a vision where a dark-skinned Virgin Mary came to one of the local Indigenous farmers called Juan Diego in 1531 at the same location where the Aztec had one of their goddesses called Tonantzin, and asked Juan to build a church at that location. This was a sign to the Aztec people, that their gods are asking them to convert to Christianity. That church today is where millions of people pilgrim to. Many other churches were built around, and next to the original church and became a compound of churches called the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Mexico City Airport (MEX)
Mexico City Airport (MEX), also called “Benito Juarez International Airport”, is an old airport built in 1931 and been renovated few times, from what I experienced it is not that big compared to the city’s large population. There is a project of a new airport called Texcoco Airport, which is outside Mexico City and still under construction which supposedly will open in 2022 (but construction stopped it seems) and will be one of the biggest in the Americas.
The MEX now has 2 terminals. All the local flights are from terminal 1, and the international flights can be from Terminal 2’s international side or from Terminal 1.
How to go from the airport to the city
The best way to move from and to the Airport from the CDMX center is by getting a Taxi (strongly recommend take only an Airport taxi) or an Uber. Taxi can cost somewhere between 15 to 30 USD and might take a 20 to 30 min drive. Or by Bus, which will take longer but cost way less (not recommended if you are carrying a large suitcase) it will cost around 3 USD only. There is also the option of traveling by the Metro which costs less than $1. I never tried the Bus or the Metro on my trip, so can’s talk about that.
The above is also true for traveling inside Mexico City, but you need to be careful when using taxi services. It is recommended not to grab any taxi from the road, it is recommended to ask the Hotel to arrange a taxi or local people usually save the number of few ranked taxi company numbers and call them, they are locally called “Sitios taxi” looks like any other taxi but have the name of the company and phone number which theoretically make them more trackable and less possibility to cause problems.
There are services that can provide taxi and driver per hour based and the price varies but seems the prices hoover around 40 USD per hour (can be less or more depending on the type of car and number of travelers), and there are many websites you can book through or call.
Of course, you can always rent a car and drive, but if you only drove in the US and Canada before, you need to be very careful, people drive in a less regulated way in Mexico and especially on crowded roads like CDMX. Always look around when crossing a traffic light, your green light does not guarantee the opposite direction cars will stop especially at night times. Also, when it rains there could be many pits on the road filled with water, so you don’t see them. I have seen a small car was in one of these pits and they needed a towing car to tow it out of the hole.
For touring inside the CDMX, I used “touribus”. It is the famous two-story, open-top big red tour bus (you can find it in most major cities in the world). I bought a two-day ticket (not a big difference in the price of the one-day and two days ticket) and it was very convenient and fun. The link below is their official link, they have many other tours, but I just used the bus only.
https://mexico.city-tour.com/en/tourist-bus-routes-mexico
The bus has four different lines (you can find it on their website, or the agent will show it to you and you can take a picture to remember the routes), each line identified by different colors. Mexico City is a big city and 2 days were not enough to get off the bus at every stop, but at least I was able to understand where I should go later on my own, and how long the walk it requires.
What to expect in CDMX in regard to COVID
One thing I noticed in CDMX, is that the mask and sterilization are taken very seriously by both people and organizations. Getting to Mexico no vaccine or test requirements, my feeling was that the private businesses take the COVID seriously without the need for government rules and regulations.
When you enter any business, entry, and exit are well designated and you can’t see people crossing in and out of the door. Mask is required, your temperature is taken, you are asked if you want to sanitize your hands before entry. In less regulated street food places, or local indoor markets, you will still have to comply with the above, but the 6 feet rule does not apply anymore. In general, I felt Mexico City was more organized than the US in that aspect.
When you leave to get back to the US, you are required to do a COVID test, even for American Citizens. There are two companies you can have your test with, and the result is sent to you electronically in 30 min. that electronic file has a barcode that you need when you leave the airport. The test is scheduled electronically, the same day, or the next day (the US require negative result in less than 72 hours). My test cost me 26 USD and 45 min between wait time and test. The test was extremely organized with zero mistake possibilities.
I have done my test at a testing agency called “CHOPO” test centers, they are very famous it seems and has many locations. The test was very organized, great communication and instructions, very transparent operation, extremely clean and everything sterilized, all test samples placed in front of you in a tagged and sealed pouch with name and barcode, zero mistake possibility.
The“Farmacias del Ahorro” is another place to do the test in. In both places, you need online registration and pay before you do the test. However, the pharmacy seems to accept walk-ins, but not all branches have the test. I also think there is one place in the airport offers test, but I didn’t want to take the risk of being late, so did it in the city and the cost is more in the airport location I believe (but still very affordable).
Where to visit in Mexico City
I rented a hotel room close to the palace of fine arts “Palacio de Bellas Artes”, which is at the center, walking distance from many of the places I wanted to visit. Also, close to many local street food places and small restaurants.
The places that are worth visiting in CDMX are the following:
1. Plaza del Zocalo: Also called “Plaza de la Constitucion”
This is the birthplace of the Mexican constitution and is in the heart of the city. It is a huge plaza with a big Mexican flag and a big sign of CDMX that people usually take pictures of next to it. The following are things worth visiting at Zocalo:
a) The national Place “Palacio Nacional”:It is the official residence of the president since independence.Originally built by Hernan Cortes, after he conquered the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1521 as his house (the Old House, or Nacional Monte de Piedad), and stayed in it till 1530. In 1962, the Spanish Crown bought the land and the house from his Son and expanded the palace. In 1810 after September 15th independence, the freedom bell tower was added.The palace is a huge and beautiful building, and inside is extremely beautiful and contains the must-see famous mural by Diego Rivera (Frida Kahlo’s husband).
b) The Metropolitan Cathedral:
It is the biggest cathedral in Mexico and huge and beautiful structure. The construction started in the year 1525 and took 250 years to complete the construction. It was built on an Aztec temple, which can be seen from intentionally left covered holes in the concrete floor outside the cathedral. In 1793, the Belltower was added and in 1813 the statues of “Faith, Hope, and Charity” were added.
c) Plaza de Santo Domingo:
The plaza and the church with the same name are located in the former home of Cuauhtémoc (the descending Eagle), a description of aggressiveness and bravery, referred to as the last Emperor of the Aztecs also called Guatimozin, nephew and son-in-law of Montezuma II.
The Plaza and the church were named Santo Domingo in the sixteenth century after the Spanish concurred the city.
The church also was called “The house of Inquisition”, because here was where the Dominicans resided when they arrived in 1525 (in the house before the church was built), and then the house and they built a jail inside the house and the church and was the center of the Spanish Inquisition.
d) Another interesting activity was the ancient Aztec rituals of cleansing the soul.
Groups of people wearing like Aztec times and performing rituals under tents. It is free to participate, but you can donate 2 or 3 USD. It was an interesting thing for me to try and at the end and as a bonus, the person performing the ritual will give you his feeling of your personality and future (kind fortune-telling and based on what they call it the spiritual energy). Even if you don’t believe in that type of fortune-telling, it was fun, something I have never done before.
2. Chapultepec Park and castle “Bosque y Castillo de Chapultepec”: (the bus stops here)
A must-visit destination. The park is more than 680 acres of land, the castle is located at the hilltop with a beautiful view over the city, it is one of the most beautiful castles I have seen. The palace was a summer home to many elites in the Spanish government, but in 1882 the president Manuel Gonzalez, declared the palace to be his resident and he stayed in it till 1939. Now it is a park, with water features, a beautiful Starbucks at the entrance (it seems that CDMX has more Starbucks than any city I visited), many restaurants, many foods, and gift stands.
The castle has an entry fee, but it seems when I visited it was too early and I entered for free.
3. Basilica of our lady Guadalupe:
This is a huge compound with many churches including the original church where a dark-skinned Virgin Mary came to a local farmer Juan Diego in 1531 and asked him to build her church at the same location as the temple of Tonantzin, one of the Aztec goddesses. This helped the church, to convince the Aztec people to convert to Catholicism.
It also has huge park, water feature with a beautiful statue telling the story of the vision that the local farmer had. In addition, the compound contains many kiosks selling food, snacks, refreshment, gift article, and holy water, in addition to a shopping mall and huge parking structure (when you park, make sure you know how to get back because there is more than one structure it seems).
4. Coyoacan Pak: (the Bus stops here)
The central park has a fountain with a statue of two Coyotes, and this is where the name of the area came from. It has beautiful park, restaurants, food kiosks, ice cream shops and two mercados, the “Mercado de Coyoacan” and the “Mercado Artesana Mecixano”.
It is also close by the muesuem of “Frida Kahlo”, the house of Leon Trotsky, UNAM (university city or Ciudad Universitaria).
5. Xochimilco: (meaning the flower field)
Also called Venice of Mexico City, and the very festively decorated water ferries called Trajneras. It is a nice place to spend a complete day in. you might need a car to go there, for it is a bit far.
6. Piramides de Teotihuacan (Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the moon):
It is a place definitely worth seeing, the ruins of a complete Aztec city (this city was abandoned way before the Spanish arrived). The city has two main Pyramids, plus the ancient residential rooms, marketplace, and more. It can easily be a complete day trip. There is also an early morning balloon riding, but they start very early, and seems the last balloon is around 8 am. Also, there is a nice restaurant compound with big signs on the road directing traffic to them.
The gates to the city open at 9 am, it is free for Mexicans, but around 2 or 3 USD for foreigners and another 2 to 3 USD for car entry. We were there early and suddenly at 8:30 the gates opened, and there are no well-defined signs or instructions, so we drove in. only when we asked where to go, the guards at the gate said tourists at 9:00 am, all these people entering are the employees. So, we had to wait till 9 to be able to get the passes and enter.
7. There are so many other places and museums to visit, I chose some as a quick list:
a)Pasceo de la Reforma or Angel de la Independencia. (The reform circle, or the Angel on independency statute).
b) Monument of the Revolution. It is a beautiful place with a French coffee shop serving crepes, hot and cold drinks, one inside the building next to the gift shop, and another on the roof. It is a must-visit, and it might take you around 2 hours.
There is a small fee to enter, and inside there are many stories of how it was built, and at the top unbelievable view of the city. Going down the stairs is from inside the dome, so you can see the structure of the dome from inside. The elevator is panoramic and beautiful.
c) Almeda Central and Museum of fine Art, “Palacio de Bella Artes”. A beautiful building, in the center of the city. The place is full of walking areas, restaurants, shopping areas and very close to the famous Churreria (place selling Churros) called “El Moro”.
The Almeda Central (park), has live music and people dancing in groups and couples, the music and the dance are free, you can donate 1 or 2 USDs if you like. It starts at 6 pm till after 10 pm seems and it seems it is there even on weekdays.
d) House of Tiles (Casa de Los Azalejos), a very nice breakfast, lunch, and dinner restaurant, with live Piano and vert affordable. Very beautiful and must-see place and a very nice place to take pictures. It has also a mural marking the place where Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa had their dinner/meeting.
e) Plaza Garibaldi: It is a mile or two from the Palace of the fine art. It is a big plaza where all the mariachi bands are located. You can hire a mariachi band per song, an hour, or a day from that location, also has bars (some need prior booking) and you can sit and enjoy the bands.
There are tens of different mariachi bands playing at the same time in different locations in that plaza. It was something I have never seen before and was really fun.
f) Museo Soumaya, a very modern and beautiful structure, and an interesting museum were built by Carlos Slim (the telecom Mexican Billionaire) in the memory of his wife Soumaya.
There are many more places, but I think these are a good start for a weeklong trip. Of course, I didn’t talk about the food, because that is a complete book worth of information. many delicious foods in Mexico City, there is something for everyone, my favorite was Taco Pastor, and at breakfast the poached eggs in green salsa with freshly baked bread.
Conclusion
In short, Cuidad de Mexico is a big, and fun city. People are extremely nice, I felt safe both as personal safety and COVID wise, the city is mostly clean, easy to navigate, and affordable.
The city is a mixture of the old and new, people are traditional, yet I saw many people more into western cultures. The city is chaotic, fun, a mixture of fast and slow at the same time, busy, and relaxing at the same time. it reminded me of the old Middle East with small cultural and language differences. I can see why for many westerners it is hard to live in, but for me, it felt like home, and I definitely loved the city.
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