Mexico Citywhat to see, tours and where to stay

Start with Centro Histórico, Roma & Condesa, Coyoacán, Polanco & Chapultepec and Xochimilco. Mexico City is inland, so build the plan around heritage, food and landscape. Three days — the centre on foot, the flagship sight plus market, one booked excursion into Mexico City. Five days — add a second excursion and a slow day for museums, food and a local festival if the dates line up. Seven days — add two longer trips further into Mexico City and a rest day. Group each day by walking distance and never cross Mexico City twice in one day.

Mexico needs no tourist visa for EU, UK, US, Canadian, Australian and most South American passports for stays up to 180 days; you receive an electronic entry record (FMM) rather than a stamped card at major airports. Bring a passport valid for the whole trip, an onward ticket and an address for the immigration form. No vaccinations are mandatory, though hepatitis A and typhoid cover is commonly advised, plus mosquito precautions on the coast. Requirements change: confirm against your own government's travel advice and the official immigration site before you book.

Mexico City is safe for visitors by the standards of Mexico (Ciudad de México and the Valley of Mexico): violent crime is rare and the real risk is opportunistic — pickpocketing on crowded transport, at photo spots and in busy markets, plus unmetered taxis and card machines pre-set to a higher amount or your home currency. Avoid deserted station areas and unlit outskirts late at night, use the official taxi rank or a ride-hailing app after dark, keep your bag in front of you in queues, photograph your passport, and check your own foreign-office travel advice page before departure. Travel insurance with medical cover is worth it.

Walk the centre of Mexico City and use public transport for anything further out; a hire car only pays off for the countryside of Mexico City. In Mexico (Ciudad de México and the Valley of Mexico), the Metro is a flat fare and the fastest way across town, with women-only carriages in peak hours; Metrobús covers Insurgentes and Reforma, Ecobici the central colonias, and app taxis are the safe default at night — ADO and Pullman coaches handle Teotihuacán, Puebla, Tepoztlán and Taxco For accommodation, stay inside or immediately beside the historic centre for a first visit: you walk to the sights and save two taxis a day. The edge of the old town is the value option — a few minutes further out, cheaper and quieter at night — and a room over a courtyard beats one over a bar street.

Prioritise Centro Histórico, Roma & Condesa, Coyoacán, Polanco & Chapultepec and Xochimilco. What you can skip without regret: the restaurants with photo menus and touts on the main square, any hop-on bus if the centre is walkable, and paid "panoramic" viewpoints when a free one gives the same picture. Mexico City is inland, so plan around heritage, food and landscape rather than beaches.

Use the scheduled airport bus or regional train for the cheapest transfer into Mexico City, an official taxi from the marked rank when you arrive late or with luggage, and ignore anyone offering a private transfer inside the terminal. In Mexico (Ciudad de México and the Valley of Mexico), the Metro is a flat fare and the fastest way across town, with women-only carriages in peak hours; Metrobús covers Insurgentes and Reforma, Ecobici the central colonias, and app taxis are the safe default at night — ADO and Pullman coaches handle Teotihuacán, Puebla, Tepoztlán and Taxco

Day 1 — the historic core of Mexico City on foot, clockwise from the main square, with lunch where you end up rather than walking back. Day 2 — the single biggest sight first thing, then the market and the residential streets around it, and a viewpoint at sunset. Day 3 — one excursion into Mexico City booked in advance, back for a late dinner. Group everything by walking distance and never cross Mexico City twice in a day.

The classics are the same everywhere: unmetered taxis quoting a flat fare, "free" bracelets or flowers, distraction pickpocketing on crowded transport and at photo spots, card machines handed over pre-set to a higher amount or to your home currency, and restaurants without printed prices. Check the meter, always pay in local currency, and keep your bag in front of you in queues.

In Mexico (Ciudad de México and the Valley of Mexico), 10–15% in restaurants, 10–20 pesos for market counters, 100–200 pesos a day for guides. Breakfast 08:00–11:00, comida the main meal at 14:00–16:00, dinner rarely before 20:30; taquerías and cantinas run late. Cover shoulders and knees inside churches, greet staff before ordering, keep your voice down in residential streets at night, and expect shops in smaller towns around Mexico City to close in the early afternoon.

Most of what makes Mexico City memorable costs nothing: walking the historic centre and its squares, the market hall, the outside of Centro Histórico, the churches that ask only for a donation, the parks and gardens, and the viewpoint that looks back over the roofs. Add a stretch of the old walls, the riverside or greenway path, and the ridge road above town at sunset. Municipal museums in Mexico (Ciudad de México and the Valley of Mexico) usually have one free afternoon or evening a week, and many cathedrals are free outside visiting hours if you go to pray rather than to tour — check the times at the door on your first morning.

Free: the highest point of the old town, the bell tower terrace when it's open, and the bridge or promenade that looks back at Mexico City's skyline. Paid: a rooftop bar or tower ticket — worth it only if you arrive forty minutes before sunset to get the rail. Inland, the ridge or castle road above town gives the widest light.

the Metro is a flat fare and the fastest way across town, with women-only carriages in peak hours; Metrobús covers Insurgentes and Reforma, Ecobici the central colonias, and app taxis are the safe default at night — ADO and Pullman coaches handle Teotihuacán, Puebla, Tepoztlán and Taxco If your 5-day plan is mostly on foot in Mexico City with one excursion, buy singles or a multi-journey card and skip the tourist pass; if you're crossing the city several times a day or using it with museum entry included, a 48 h pass pays for itself.

Locals go where there's no ticket desk: the residential lanes just outside the walls of Mexico City early in the morning, the neighbourhood bar with four tables and one dish, the cemetery or convent garden that nobody photographs, and the hill road out of town at dusk. Ask the person serving you coffee where they eat on Sunday — in Mexico City that question opens more doors than any list.