Here are a few reasons why Mexico City is most definitely worth visiting.

Is Mexico City Worth Visiting? (What To Know Before Going)

ByHaley Posted on
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Trying To Decide Where To Visit In Mexico And Wondering If the Capital, Mexico City, Is Worth Visiting On Your Trip?

My first visit to Mexico City was the first trip I took completely on my own, and although it was a bit of an intimidating destination, I loved it so much that I’ve returned multiple times and I would say it’s definitely a city worth visiting for its history, culture, sports, food, and tons of interesting sites/attractions.

🇲🇽 Is Mexico City Worth Visiting?

Parts of Mexico City are walkable but you can't walk everywhere and it wouldn't always be the best way to safely get around.

⭐️ Overall – Is Mexico City Worth Visiting:

  • ✅ if you like city travel with mild temperatures, fascinating history, lots of archaeological sites, interesting cultural activities, big sporting events, huge holiday celebrations, and delicious food, CDMX is definitely worth adding to your Mexico trip
  • ❌ but if you’re not a fan of huge metropolitan areas, places with lots of people and lots of traffic, places where you do have to be more alert and cautious, and places that have had some natural disasters, Mexico City might not be worth visiting for you

*️⃣ What’s The Difference Between DF And CDMX? there is no real difference, both refer to Mexico City; DF stands for Distrito Federal (Federal District, like the US’s DC), the capital of the United Mexican States, while CDMX stands for Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City)

✅ Why Mexico City Is Worth Visiting

I love Mexico City and would recommend it to anyone with similar interests, but below are some actual reasons why you might find this capital city worth visiting on your next trip to Mexico.

The History

The history alone makes Mexico City worth visiting.

For places in North America, I think Mexico City is one of the most fascinating historical cities not only from the time of the Spanish, but also the Aztecs and some even older mysterious civilizations.

Here are just a few of the amazing historical and archaeological sites worth seeing that you can check out while visiting Mexico City:

  • 📍 Templo Mayor – Aztec ruins under the city, discovered by electrical workers in the 1970s
  • 📍 Zocalo – the main historic center of Mexico City, a must see during any trip here
  • 📍 Casa de la Malinche – home of La Malinche, the woman who is often considered a traitor because of her help (and enslavement) leading to the conquest of the Spaniards over the Aztecs
  • 📍 Plaza de las Tres Culturas – pre-Hispanic historical site (pictured above), and location of the 1968 brutal massacre of more than 300 unarmed student protesters
There are so many interesting sites to see in Mexico City that really make this city worth visiting.
  • 📍 Teotihuacan – the most famous archaeological site in this area, whose origins are still unknown

The Sports

It's definitely worth it in my opinion but I'm a huge fan so I might be a bit biased.

On my very first visit to Mexico City, one of my top interests was to go see a professional soccer game. I randomly chose a game that fit with my schedule, and I’ve been a diehard fan of that team ever since (going on 12 years now), so I definitely think this kind of event is one of the main reasons Mexico City is worth visiting.

Soccer (or futbol) games are typically held in Mexico City on weekend evenings (and sometimes midweek) and there are four top league teams in this city, so you can almost definitely find a game to attend on your trip.

I’d highly recommend going to a Club America game so you can see the great Estadio Azteca (pictured above), and if you want the best and most exciting experience, I’d recommend going to the country’s biggest rivalry match between Club America and Chivas.

➡️ Want To Go To A Soccer Game In Mexico City, But Confused Or Nervous About Doing It Alone? if you don’t want to figure out all the details on how to go to a game on your own, you can find some guided soccer match-day tours here

The Celebrations

The special events make Mexico City worth visiting.

Being the capital of Mexico, Mexico City is a wonderful place to visit to experience some special Mexican celebrations like Dia de la Independencia or Dia de Muertos.

Dia de la Independencia is Mexico’s Independence Day which is in September, not May (cinco de Mayo) like many people think. On this day the president steps out onto the balcony in the Zocalo square to shout the famous “Grito de Dolores”.

Dia de Muertos is the Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead, and although it was not one of the biggest places for celebrations in the past, after the 007 movie that showed a huge Day of the Dead parade, too many visitors asked about it so the city decided to actually do it every year.

The neighborhood of Coyoacan (pictured above) is also pretty festive at this time, and the Xochimilco canals have a special La Llorona show during this time of year.

The Food

Mexico City surprisingly has a decent amount of healthy food options, including organic restaurants.

It can be a bit harder to find healthy food in Mexico, but I’ve found a decent amount of healthier options in Mexico City with a good variety of cuisines, so I can actually enjoy eating out here.

Mexico City is also home to 10 Michelin-starred restaurants, two of them are two stars while the other eight are one star, plus even the taco stand-type places are pretty delicious here.

There are also quite a few guided food tours in Mexico City, like these highly rated options:

The Shows

Going to a Lucha Libre match is a great way to experience more of the Mexican culture.

It might be a little bit cheesy, but I think because it lets you really experience more of the Mexican culture, going to watch a Lucha Libre show in Mexico City is definitely worth it, plus it’s easy to find a guided tour if you don’t want to go alone while you’re visiting this capital city.

The famous Palacio de Bellas Artes is a performance hall and museum (featuring murals by Diego Rivera), so you also may be able to find more upscale shows if that’s your thing.

For a more informal show, you can also visit Garibaldi Plaza for some Mariachi music and the Tequila Museum.

The Nearby Sites

Although it's technically located outside of Mexico City, no week long trip is complete without seeing the Teotihuacan Pyramids.

Besides all of the interesting sites and attractions you can visit right in Mexico City, there are also a number of great places to visit within a few hours of this capital city:

  • 🛶 Xochimilco – almost all of present day Mexico City was built on top of a lake by the Spanish in the 1500s, but Xochimilco is the one remaining canal area where you can still get a feel for what it was like before the Spanish arrived and when locals used trajineras (boats) to get around; it’s technically still part of Mexico City, but it can take up to an hour to reach

❌ Why Mexico City Might Not Be Worth Visiting

It's one of my favorite cities to visit, but others might not enjoy it for a few reasons.

Although I love visiting Mexico City and think it’s a fantastic place to travel to just for the cheaper prices and nice weather alone, a few things to know before going to this capital city that might make you wonder if it’s really worth visiting on your next trip to Mexico include:

  • ⛑️ Safety – Mexico City is a very large Metropolitan area and it’s not typically known as one of the safest places to visit
  • 🚗 Transportation – along with general safety in Mexico City, you should be very particular about the kind of transportation you use here to be extra safe
  • 👥 People – if you’re not a big fan of crowds like me, you might find Mexico City to be way too crowded
    • in the whole metropolitan area of Mexico City, there are 22-23 million people
  • 🫨 Disasters – although it’s not something that happens all the time, Mexico City is a frequent earthquake place, and because the Spanish filled in the lakes and built on top of the old Aztec city, it is not stable ground and some earthquakes have ended in severe disasters
    • a symbol of Mexico City, especially after some of these disasters, is the Angel of Independence because it has withstood all major earthquakes so far
    • there are also two nearby active volcanoes in this part of Mexico that could end in disaster should they ever fully erupt
    • the rainy season in Mexico City (summer and fall) also brings severe flooding at times
    • FAQ: Is Mexico City Sinking? yes Mexico City is sinking because of the old lake bed that was filled in by the Spanish and built directly on top of
      • you can visibly see many buildings sinking in Mexico City
      • pictured above, a level photo taken that shows the right side of the church sinking
  • 🚰 Water – you can not drink the water here
    • don’t drink it, don’t drink anything with ice, and don’t eat anything washed in water (like lettuce) unless you want to experience Moctezuma’s revenge and spend most of your trip in the bathroom
    • I won’t even brush my teeth in the sink water
  • 🇪🇸 Spanish – although with guided tours you’ll likely be fine, for the rest of your travels in Mexico City, Spanish is definitely recommended and extremely helpful since not a ton of people speak English here

📆 How Many Days Do You Need To See Mexico City

Here are a few reasons why Mexico City is most definitely worth visiting.

There is so much to see and do in Mexico City to easily fill a week, but it does depend on your interests and budget to determine exactly how long you need here.

I’ve been to Mexico City multiple times and I still want to continue visiting (especially for the soccer), so I think with all the attractions in the city as well as the interesting nearby locations, you should plan for at the very minimum a 5 day trip.

🔁 Sum Up: Is Mexico City Worth Visiting?

With all of the amazing historical and archaeological sites, the exciting sporting events and shows, the delicious food, fun celebrations, and interesting nearby sites, I think Mexico City is 100% worth visiting (it’s actually my favorite city in Mexico), despite the larger number of people, higher amount of traffic, more frequent natural disasters, and higher need to be extra cautious and aware. It’s a great place to visit that’s hard to get bored in, and it has really nice mild weather so I definitely recommend adding a stop to this capital city on your next Mexico trip.

Haley

Haley is the owner and author of Adventure Evermore, a travel blog that encourages users to explore, adventure, & bucket list around the world, no matter what anxieties or other difficulties they may have. When she's not writing blog posts about her favorite destinations, she's reading, playing soccer, or watching sports, movies, or TV (especially The X Files).