Last year I spent a week in Mexico City (CDMX) and loved it. I wrote about that here and said that I had a long list of reasons to return. So, return I did. This time, the goal was to share my love of CDMX with my husband and four of our friends. I also wanted to explore it beyond the usual tourist-y things. Case in point, the photo above. It’s a special farm in Xochimilco. More on that activity below. Lots of friends have asked for this 5 day itinerary. I’m pleased to share it here on Savour it All.
How to Get there
La Cuidad de México – CDMX – or Mexico City has a greater metro area population of over 22 million. That girth makes it easy to find a direct flight to CDMX from most major cities in the world. Happily, Calgary got a direct flight in May, 2025. From Calgary, the direct flight with WestJet is only 5 hours and it arrives about 1 am. This is actually good. There is zero traffic at that time.
I booked a driver through our hotel’s concierge. They were there waiting and sent a WhatsApp message as soon as our flight landed. We breezed through the city and were at our hotel within 30 minutes. The drivers were so nice, we booked them for departure too. That WestJet flight turns around so they picked us up at 10:30 pm the eve of our departure. Our exit was smooth as silk. You can DM me for their details.
Where to Stay
Hotel Villa Condesa
On this trip, I decided to get out of the historical center and explore the Roma Norte and Condesa barrios. We stayed at Villa Condesa in Roma Norte and loved it. There are only 15 rooms and the team are very attentive and friendly. Breakfast was included in our price and it was served in a glass-walled conservatory in the garden. The food was fresh and the coffee, hot. My favourite were the beautiful little sopas you see below.
Our room was spacious. It had a small balcony, a large bathroom with a walk-in shower, and a comfy bed with great sheets. The hotel has a walled garden where we enjoyed happy hour in the afternoon. There are several sitting rooms where you can curl up with a drink or a book. We never found time for reading books but we did have margaritas in a couple of cozy spots. Vacay priorities!
Villa Condesa books up quickly but my friend Nicole (@notefromabroad on Instagram) stayed at nearby Casa Izel and enjoyed it. She thought the restaurant Xuna there was fantastic.
Day 1: Start with a Food Tour
I had a great time with my friend John Chavez’s Hungry Nomads Street Taco Tour last year. So sharing the experience was at the top of my list for this trip. It’s a 7 hour tour. Whoever heard of such a thing? But, John is so passionate (but chill at the same time) he makes the time fly by.
Food tours are always a great way to spend your first day in any new city. You meet a local. They guide you to where all the good food is and you can relax and get your bearings. Shameless self promotion: If you are coming to Alberta, check out my company, Alberta Food Tours, here.
Jamaica Market
Our first destination with John was Jamaica Market. Our first tasting was about a dozen fresh fruits. There were a few that you can only find in CDMX. We also had our first tacos of the day here; Carnitas at the famed Carnitas Paty. We watched maiz tortillas being made and ate them hot off the press with a little salt. Scrumptious. Next, we ate esquitas (creamy, spicy street corn kernels served in the husk) and toured the massive flower market.
Back in the historical center, we continued on our taco quest. We started with blue corn quesadillas and gorditas (chubby and stuffed with goodies like cheese or beans). These came from a family that travels 90 minutes each way DAILY to their little alleyway set up. The food is fresh, the set up clean, and the repeat business speaks for the quality. We followed this with canasta (basket tacos). About 500 small tacos are cooked and piled in a large metal “basket.” Hot oil is poured over and they stay hot for hours. John shared a great canasta story. As a youth, he used to eat at least 8 of these (at this same place) every day. He lived and still lives in the neighbourhood. Forget cookies and milk. This was his after school snack. Incredible.
Mas (more) Tacos
We finished the taco tasting strong with el pastor (pork with a shawarma-like cooking method) and suaderos (beef brisket tacos). The latter were everyone’s favourite. We also tried a fermented agave drink called Pulque. It came off a bit slimy actually but it was fun sitting in the local’s bar with the regulars. You can also taste some insects like crickets, ants, and agave worms. These are clever snacks and Pre-Hispanic foods of great utility. We learned that the Indigenous people harvested them from crops that might otherwise fall prey to infestations. They cured the crops and preserved the pests as tasty morsels of protein. Today, the Mexican people mix them with peanuts and chilies and they are still a favourite snack. We finished at famed El Murro for crispy, fresh-from-the-fryer churros. No need for dinner.
After, the tour we walked around the Zocalo and headed for sunset drinks on the rooftop of Circulo Mexicana. After the sunet, we were still full. We walked the few blocks over to the Palacio de Bellas Artes. From there it was a tree-covered, fountain-filled walk through Alameda Central park (the oldest park int he Americas) to the find the subway home. We had an early night after so little sleep the night before.
Day 2: A Guided Walking History Tour
Museo Nationale Anthropologia to Chapultepec Castle
We spent 6 hours and walked over 20,000 steps on a guided tour of Museo Nationale Anthropologia (MNA) and Chapultepec Castle. I booked this tour with a company called Mexico Apie. We loved it but if you are not into history, this will be information overload.
Our guide Ana was a walking encyclopedia. With her PhD in History, she warned us that she could talk forever. But she also shared that she would not be offended when we waived the white flag of brain fatigue. At the MNA, her focus was on Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. She shifted into the time from colonization to Mexican Independence at Chapultepec. Though it was a lot of standing and walking, we broke up the day with a light lunch. Ana took us to a little open air sandwich eatery in Chapultepec Park called Itzia. Away from the madding crowds, we were refreshed and ready for the final segment of the tour. We made it from 10 am to 4 pm. At that point, the thirst for happy hour outweighed the thirst for knowledge.
That “not too sweet” margarita at Rosetta
Dining tip: I booked dinner at chef Elena Reygadas’ Rosetta this night. Rosetta is famed for Italian-Mexican fusion. Order all the pastas. That’s my tip. Each one was more delicious than the one before.
- Sweet potato mezzelune with buttermilk and macha sauce,
- Ricotta ravioli with fennel and tarragon,
- Buckwheat orecchiette, broccolini and anchovies,
- Potato gnocchi with Taleggio cheese and radicchio,
- Tagliolini, lobster, zucchini and bottarga,
- Tagliatelle with Italian sausage and chile de árbol,
- Pappardelle with chicken livers and sage;. Order them all!
Rosetta has one Michelin star. The team are superb. The main room is cavernous and noisy. We ate on the street-side tables and found it quieter than the interior. They make a “not too sweet” margarita which is often hard to find and greatly appreciated. Chef Elena is a great mentor for women chefs and sponsors a scholarship in aid of this. You can find her Rosetta Cookbook at the restaurant or at Gallina de Guinea cookbook store in San Angel.
Day 3: Friday Kahlo and Coyoacan
Frida Kahlo’s Blue Home
I booked entrance tickets to the Frida Kahlo Museum for 10 am. This is when it opens and is the least crowded. You have to watch the website for the release date of these tickets about 2 months out. I’d recommend allowing about 1.5 to 2 hours for the visit. From there, enjoy one of the many coffee shops in the area. Or, check out the nearby Coyoacan Mercado. There’s lots of lively stalls to eat at there.
We meandered over to San Angel square. It was a 45 minute hoof. Our visit fell on a Saturday. This is the day that there are 500 artists in the San Angel park. It’s fun to wander through the pathways and take in all the different styles of art.
EATS: We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at OXA in the adjacent Place San Jacinto 11. Chef Ana Martorell is the owner. Favourites were the Soft Shell Crab Taco, the Garlic Shrimp, and the Fried Suckling Pig Taco. We also shared the Roasted Cauliflower with tortilla dust, ancho chile and sour cream as a side.
We walked back to the main park in Coyoacan for an early dinner at Los Danzantes. This restaurant originates in Oaxaca City where it has earned a Michelin star. We were thrilled to have a private room upstairs at this location. It was quiet and we could visit with my friend Paul from CDMX who joined us. The food was great. The service was okay. We were tucked away. Maybe a little too tucked away?
Los Danzantes – Coyoacan
Note: This was a pretty mellow day. If it was my first time in CDMX, I’d forgo San Angel. After Frida Kahlo, I would take an UBER back to the city center to the Museum of Modern Art. Or, give yourself the challenge of finding as many Diego Rivera Murals as possible.
Day 4: Xochimilco Beyond the Party Boats
Xochimilco
We took a deep dive into the authentic food growers’ culture with an early morning private tour of Xochimilco (Saw-chee-mill-co). Our guide, Sergio, founded Pachoa Mexico with three friends during the pandemic. Pachoa is an Indigenous word for “a hug with feeling.” It was their pledge to each other to always be there for each other and their people. I was thrilled to find this company and have my friend John Chavez to thank for it.
Pachoa’s offerings take you deep into the culture. There’s no fluff. There were six of us and that was the group size limit. We drove past the colourfully painted party boats that Xochimilco is known for. It was early in the morning and we could see them tied up in wide open canals. Our car stopped at the end of an alley in the small town beyond. We walked down the alley and through a gate and found ourselves in a maze of verdant life. Plots of perfectly aligned vegetation were as far as the eye could see. These are known as Chinampas and the farmers are Chinamperos.
The Chinampas
The land here is ancient. It is fertile because the valley is surrounded by 9 now dormant volcanoes. Those volcanoes spewed ash which mixed with the mud of what was formerly a lake but is now Chinampas. The mud has been layered like lasagna for 700 years to build the land. It includes carbon and nitrogen layers of compost. This structure is built up on dykes above canals. The canals are flooded naturally, seasonally, during the rainy months.
We met a farmer, Don Juan, and punted in his flat bottom canoe out to the edge of his lands. This area is capable of feeding the 20+ million people of CDMX but there is a problem. Don Juan shared that the next generation is not returning to the land. University in Mexico is very inexpensive. The children of farmers are getting degrees instead of dungarees. Sergio and his friends are looking for solutions. They are as passionate as the Chinampas.
A True Farmers’ Market
From the fields we flowed to the farmers’ market in the town, San Gregorio Atlapulco. It’s open 7 days a week and all the produce comes from the farms surrounding. We ate at two taco stalls. The first had a line up for their special steak and chorizo sausage taco. I’m drooling as I remember it. The last stop was run by two women. We tried about six different blue corn tacos each with a different vegetarian filling. I loved the Huitlacoche (a fungus found on corn). It is like Mexico’s answer to truffles.
If you want to book with Pachoa, use the code: AMIGOS at checkout. It’s redeemable for $15 off any of their experiences. I am not paid to share this. But I’m happy to do it to support them in a small way.
Dinner on this evening was a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We dined at Azul Condesa. There are three Azul restaurants in CDMX. I’ve also dined at Azul Historico. This restaurant group is the creation of chef Ricardo Munoz Zurita. The specialties will always be traditional Mexican Regional dishes. The settings are lovely. The service attentive. The presentations are delightful, especially the tortilla soup. It is served in a special bowl designed to look like the symbol of the Day of the Dead celebration, Lady Catrina.
Azul Condesa
Day 5: Teotihuacan Pyramids
Teotihuacan Pyramids
Our fifth day in CDMX fell on a Monday. Museums are closed Monday so I booked us on a tour to the Teotihuacan Pyramids. It included a 1.5 hour stop at LaGruta for lunch after the tour. Our tour host, Jane, had a PhD in Teotihuacan history. She is an activist for the preservation of the site and donates part of her profits to this cause.
The Teotihuacans were a civilization before the Mayans or Aztecs. They existed from 100 BC to 700 AD. Theories about their disappearance relate to internal conflict or loss of water sources. There were no donkey, horses, or cows to help with labour before the Spanish. So, the pyramids were build by hand. There’s a temple for the sun and moon and smaller ones for the months. No matter that our morning started out misty. The sun was made to bake this land. If you go, take a hat, sunscreen, and lots of water. It’s worth it.
Dinner: Talk about saving the best for last. We all agreed that the food quality at Contramar was the best we enjoyed. The service team seemed to have a spidey sense if we even thought about wanting something. The restaurant was BUSTLING! It is noisy for sure. But again, the service was attentive and the food extraordinary. Get the tuna tostadas. We also loved the grilled tuna and pineapple taco. And, we shared the famous Contramar red and green mole fish and a few salads. The fish was grouper and perfectly grilled. Desserts are a phenomenon here. Save room!
Contramar
We flew home late that night. It was worth it. I’d return to CDMX in a heartbeat.
CDMX was safe and clean. There are parks, trees and flowers. The architecture is well-preserved and gracious in style. There is filtered water everywhere. None of us had tummy issues. There are 68 restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide. There’s a phenomenal street food scene. This place is a food lovers dream. I still need to return to check out Masala y Maiz and perhaps even Pujol!
San Miguel Allende or Merida on the Yucatan are both on my Mexico bucket list. When I return to Mexico, I think I’ll always find a way to stop in CDMX for a few days. CDMX se ha ganado un lugar en mi corazon. You see. I’m already practicing for the next time. That money I spent on the Babbel app will be worth it.
Bottom line: CDMX helps me Savour it All. Will you go? Have you been? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for sharing, Karen. It’s been years since we first visited and it would be great to experience this place again!
This is so up your bowling alley culture queen! Let me know if I can help and thanks for reading Tina. Hugs, Karen