Mexico City: Artful Exploration

¡Bienvenidos a la Ciudad de México! Home to 21 million people, Mexico City is the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, and a food lover’s paradise. After settling into our hotel, we’ll hit the streets on a guided tour in search of the very best street food. We’ll stop by hole-in-the-wall joints with lines stretching down the block and genteel blue-tiled cafes. In the evening, we’ll visit a mezcalería to sample a range of artisanal mezcals, then mash our own guacamole in a molcajete and enjoy some delicious tlayudas. We’ll round out our Friday night with a classic Mexico City experience: great seats to cheer (and boo) along as luchadores, Mexican wrestlers colorfully dressed up as superheroes and villains, tumble and fly around the ring.

Art is almost a religion in Mexico City. From street murals to world-renowned museums, modern skyscrapers to European-style homes, they really have it all. This morning, we’ll make the pilgrimage to downtown’s Centro Histórico, where iconic, wedding-cake-like cathedrals and plazas give way to arcades of humble shoe shops and dark alleyways—perfect for exploring. First, we’ll visit the Cathedral and Templo Mayor to learn about the winding religious history of Mexico City from the Aztecs to the rise of Roman Catholicism. We conclude our art tour at Casa Pedregal, the modern and minimalist color-blocked home designed by artist Luis Barragan. We’ll have lunch at the adjoining Tetetlan restaurant and then walk the beautiful grounds of this space beloved by architecture enthusiasts and artists alike.

We spend our afternoon admiring a more ancient art form: the floating gardens of Xochimilco, the last remnant of an expansive network of canals and waterways developed by the Aztecs, which we’ll explore by boat. We’ll cruise the canal on our floating party boat complete with plenty of drinks, color and our own mariachi band in tow!

Up, up and away! Our alarms will go off well before dawn, but for the best possible reason: a hot-air balloon ride over the majestic Teotihuacan pyramids. After gliding through the neon-pink sunrise, we’ll celebrate our landing with a hearty breakfast before exploring the pyramids again, this time by foot, in the cool of the morning with our local guide to bring the stories of this fabled site to life.

We’ll have lunch at a restaurant nearby, dining on a special menu of pre-Hispanic cuisine to pair with our historic morning. This afternoon will give us plenty of time to explore some of Mexico City’s hip neighborhoods, La Condesa and Roma, on our own, with their Michelin-starred restaurants, chic boutiques, and marble-topped cafes. We’ll meet back up as a group tonight for dinner at one of the city’s most highly rated restaurants, Masala y Maiz, for a tantalizing meld of Mexican, Indian and African flavors.

This morning we’ll head to the “creative center” that is the Coyoacan neighborhood. The home of famed artist Frida Kahlo is a place bursting with history, plazas and narrow streets still preserved from centuries past. Here, we’ll tour the vibrant markets for tastings and lunch.

In the evening, we’ll learn about another hidden local treasure: Mexican wines from the country’s best vineyards. Winemaker and friend of Modern Adventure, César Margin, will introduce us to the history, terroir, and politics of Mexican wine-making as he leads us through a degustación. Our tasting will be paired with delicious bites that showcase the depth and scope of all we have experienced.

Ah, the journey of Mexico City is over. We’ll eat a final breakfast and pack up, then say adios to Mexico City and our friends. Until next time we meet!