23 Mexico City Bucket List Ideas (with lots of History & Adventure Options)
Looking For Some Inspiration On Mexico City Bucket List Ideas?
Mexico City was the first place I visited 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 because there are so many incredible things to see, do, celebrate, and experience in this great capital city, so there are plenty of things you can add to your bucket list here.
🪣 Bucket List Ideas For Mexico City
While most of these bucket list suggestions are for Mexico City proper, there are also a few extra ideas for places or things you can do all around this central capital region.
1. Celebrate Dia De La Independencia 🇲🇽
Being the capital of the country, Mexico City is a wonderful place to visit to experience some special Mexican celebrations like Dia de la Independencia in the month of September (Mexico’s Independence Day which is not on cinco de Mayo like many people think).
“Grito de Dolores” is the famous Mexican battle cry that was shouted by independence hero/martyr Miguel Hidalgo on September 16th, 1810. His mob-army and fight for independence was crushed when he was executed in 1811, but his cry remained the cry for Mexican independence.
Every year throughout the country small towns and cities repeat this cry on the night of September 15th, but Mexico City is the big event where the president steps out onto the balcony of the National Palace to shout this “Viva Mexico” battle cry.
2. Explore The Archeological Site Of Teotihuacan 🛕
Teotihuacan is one of the most interesting and mysterious archaeological sites in Mexico in general, and one of the best sites to see in the Mexico City area so it’s definitely worth visiting if you love history like me.
The easiest way to get here is on a guided tour, but you can also reach it on your own or opt for the unique up in the sky view.
3. Watch A Lucha Libre Show 🤼
Although it can be a bit cheesy, I think because it lets you experience more of the real Mexican culture, going to watch a Lucha Libre show is definitely worth it when visiting Mexico City, plus it’s easy to find a guided tour if you don’t want to go alone.
4. Celebrate Dia De Muertos 💀
Dia de Muertos is the Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead at the end of October/beginning of November, and although CDMX 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 here, too many visitors asked about it so the city decided to actually do it every year.
The neighborhood of Coyoacan is also pretty festive at this time, and the Xochimilco canals have a special La Llorona show during this time of year.
5. Drift Through The Floating Gardens Of 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 (especially in bad traffic), although it’s pretty easy to do if you go on a guided tour.
6. Cheer With 87,000 Other Fans At A Liga MX Game ⚽️
One of my biggest bucket list items my first trip to Mexico City was to go to a soccer game, but I never imagined that I would become a diehard fan of the team I saw and I would need to return many times just to go their games, especially their huge rivalry game.
Besides the fact that going to any soccer game in Mexico is such a great way to really experience local culture, the Chivas vs Club America match is the best of them all and usually sells out.
No matter what kind of season either team is having, this rivalry game is always an exciting and intense one, plus it’s in the famous Estadio Azteca which is a site worth seeing on its own.
➡️ 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 of the details on how to go to a game on your own, you can find some guided soccer match-day tours
7. View An Active Volcano From The Top Of A Pyramid 🌋
There are actually two volcanoes somewhat near to Mexico City, one the active Popocatépetl volcano about 55 miles (90 km) away, and the dormant Iztaccihuatl volcano also about 60 miles (97 km) away.
Getting to see the active Popocatépetl volcano on my day trip to Puebla and Cholula from Mexico City was one of the most exciting events of my day and a reason why I think this area is worth visiting (another being the Great Pyramid).
8. Eat At A Michelin-Starred Restaurant 🧑🍳
Mexico City has a lot of amazing and delicious food, even some healthier options that I can actually eat, but it is also home to 10 Michelin-starred restaurants, two of them are two stars while the other eight are one star.
There are also a few guided food tours here like:
- 🌮 Local Foodie Adventure CDMX with 5.0 stars and over 1,300 reviews
- 🌮 Mexico City Historical Centre Food Tour with 7 Tastings & Drinks, 5.0 stars, and over 1,000 reviews
- 🌮 Private Mexico City Cooking Class with Culinary Historian Lucia, 5.0 stars and 120+ reviews
- 🌮 Michelin Taco Bike Tour in Roma Norte and Condesa, with 5.0 stars and 160+ reviews
9. See Ruins Underneath The City 🏚️
Mexico City used to be a network of lakes during the time of the Aztecs, but when the Spanish arrived they filled the lakes in and built right on top of the Aztec ruins.
The Templo Mayor Museum shows some of those Aztec ruins that are still underneath the city, which were discovered by electrical workers back in the 1970s.
10. Taste Test Grasshoppers 🪲
Although I wasn’t brave enough or interested in taste testing these “delicacies” in Mexico City, if you visit the large and famous Chapultepec park, you’ll find plenty of these insect snacks for sale.
The word Chapultepec comes from the Aztec language and means “grasshopper hill”, so this is an iconic thing to do/taste here in this Mexico City park and something you might want to add to your bucket list.
11. Relive The Battle Of Cinco De Mayo 🤺
5 de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day like most people think, and it is not a holiday celebrated everywhere in Mexico.
5 de Mayo is most important for the people in Puebla (a town pretty close to Mexico City) because it is the day of “La Batalla de Puebla” when the French attempted to take over Mexico by marching towards Mexico City, but were stopped and defeated.
They didn’t win the war here, but they did win the battle and the 5th of May continues to be a symbol of Mexican courage, if not all over Mexico, at least in Puebla.
Other than visiting Puebla on May 5th (there are some celebrations and it is an official holiday in Puebla), you can see the 5 de Mayo Avenue sign like the one pictured above, visit the Museo Interactivo de la Batalla del 5 de Mayo, walk through the Pasaje Histórico del 5 de Mayo, or stop at the Guadalupe Fort Museum.
12. Be Serenaded By Marichis 🎻
Although it’s not always the safest place to visit in Mexico City (especially at night), something you have to do at least once in Mexico is listen to some Mariachi music and the Garibaldi Plaza, a little northwest of the historic city center, is the perfect place to do this, plus you can also visit the Tequila Museum here.
13. See How The City Is Sinking 🕳️
Although it’s not something that happens all the time, Mexico City is a frequent earthquake location, 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 because of this.
Mexico City is actually sinking because of this old lake bed that was filled in by the Spanish, and you can visibly see many buildings sinking here like the level photo that I took above of this right-leaning church.
14. See The Religious Image That Brings 20+ Million A Year 🛐
The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a pilgrimage site that millions visit each year to see the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and for Mexico City travelers, it’s often included on a trip to Teotihuacan, so you could easily get multiple things crossed off of your bucket list in just one day.
On my first visit to Mexico City I was traveling during the spring season and without realizing it, I visited the Basilica in the middle of a huge pilgrimage time so I got to see so many people coming here with lots of big and colorful displays.
15. View Ancient Artifacts At The Anthropology Museum 📜
The Museo Nacional de Antropología (the National Museum of Anthropology) is one of the largest and coolest museums in Mexico City and definitely worth adding to your bucket list if you love history and want to see some really cool ancient artifacts.
My main reason for visiting was to see the huge Aztec Calendar (Piedra del Sol) pictured above, but the whole museum was pretty awesome.
16. Visit The Home Of Mexico’s Most Famous Artists 🎨
The Coyoacan neighborhood in Mexico City is one of my favorite neighborhoods here because it’s always so festive at different times of year, and it’s also the location of the famous artist, Frida Kahlo’s former home.
17. Stroll Through The 1700 Acre Chapultepec Park 🐼
Chapultepec Park is what I call the Central Park of CDMX, but it’s more than double the size of the New York equivalent, and it’s very easy to spend the entire day exploring here.
Some things you can see and do in this area include:
- Zoológico de Chapultepec – a free zoo
- Museo Nacional De Antropologia – National Anthropology Museum
- Taste Test Grasshoppers – a popular snack sold all over this park
- Castillo de Chapultepec – castle & museum
- Chapultepec Lake
- Souvenir Shopping
- Jardín Botánico del Bosque de Chapultepec – botanical garden
- The Angel of Independence – symbol of CDMX that’s withstood all the earthquakes
- Librerías Gandhi – my favorite Spanish bookstore
- Museo Soumaya – art museum
18. Go Inside Of A Pyramid ⛏️
While all archaeological sites in Mexico are super interesting and fun to visit, one of my favorites has been the Great Pyramid of Cholula (just a little outside of Mexico City), because you can actually go inside of it.
It’s also an interesting and mysterious archaeological site because it was thought to have initially been constructed around 300-200 BC, being modified over time by groups like the Toltecs and Aztecs, but the initial constructors still remain a mystery (even the Aztecs thought one of their gods constructed it long ago).
19. Witness The Monarch Butterfly Migration 🦋
One of the biggest bucket list items still on my to-do list for Mexico is to see the great Monarch Butterfly Migration, and although it doesn’t actually happen super close to Mexico City, there are tours you can take from this capital region since this is such a special wildlife activity for the country.
20. Jump In The Hot Springs Of Tolantongo ♨️
The hot springs of Tolantongo are also located a little further away from Mexico City, but since it is a such a popular place to visit, there are plenty of tours you can take to easily get here.
21. Hike With A View Of Two Volcanoes 🥾
Although I’ve already seen the active volcano near Mexico City, one thing I do still have on my bucket list is to see it a bit closer on a more adventurous guided hiking trip.
22. Explore The Magical Town Of San Miguel De Allende 🪄
Since you might not want to stay overnight here, one of the furthest away day trips you can take from the Mexico City area is to the magical town of San Miguel de Allende where you can wander around on cobblestone streets, visit the parish of Archangel Michael, see paintings inside the Convent of San Francisco, and much more.
Although it’s a ways from Mexico City, you can somewhat easily visit this town on a guided tour.
23. Take A Historical Trip To Tula 🗿
And if you want to add more archaeological and historical sites to your bucket list for the Mexico City area, a much less visited but equally if not more important historical site is that of Tula.
It’s also not super close to Mexico City but luckily there is a highly rated guided tour you can take that will also take you to a 16th century Jesuit complex.
🔁 Sum Up: Mexico City Bucket List Ideas
Although Mexico City isn’t always considered the safest place to visit and some may try to discourage you from checking out this capital region, I’ve had amazing and safe trips every single time I’ve traveled here and I think it is one of the best destinations to visit in Mexico because there are so many interesting, historical, adventurous, and fun things you can add to your bucket list in this central Mexico area.
