Mexico City Review

On 30 November 2007 we went for the first time to Mexico. (Actually it was the 2nd time, but I do not count a one daytime stop with a cruise ship). We flew from Reagan National via Houston to Mexico City and arrived late at night at the airport. We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, we stayed in the Posada Vienna, which we had booked through lodging.com for the price of 35.25 USD per night including american breakfast (coffee/tea, toast/marmelade, eggs the way you want and fresh juice). The hotel is filled with decorations and mural paintings and gives you the feeling that you are in Mexico. Some of the hotel staff speak some english and that really adds to the experience that you are in a foreign country.

We had read about how unsafe it could be in certain areas and we also heard and read about smog and polution. We stayed 4 nights in Mexico City and during that stay we never felt uncomfortable. We did not experience the airpolution being worse than any other larger city in the world. At some places though one can smell the sours, but those were exeptions.

In Mexico city we used the subway to get from one place to the other. One ride costs 2 pesos (20 dollarcents) no matter the distance. We also took taxis and they also cost a fraction of what a taxi ride would cost in the US. Taxi's are a bit more primitive though. The most expensive ride was with the taxi from the airport to the hotel (225 pesos). The return ride was only 100 pesos. The price in most taxi's is depending on time. Lots of people try to make a buck by selling goods in the subway or just simply by entertaining with music. That also made riding the sub a must for sniffing the mexican way of life.

Visiting the city was great, we went to the Cathedral and went into the sacristy (10 pesos)and the choir (10 pesos). We also climbed the belltower (20 pesos) from where one has a great birds view on the old city. We went to the palace (free admission, show your passport) and admired the mural paintings by Diego Rivera and the palace's architecture and botanic garden.

We also went to the museum of anthropology (45 pesos), this is really a must do; this is definetaly one of worlds best museums, with lots of dioramas. We spend almost one whole day there.

We also went to the museum of modern arts in te morning before we left and that was a huge disappointment for us. We had hoped to see more works from Diego Rivera and Frida Kalo. There was however only one panting of Diego Rivera and none from Frida. It turned out that the collection was on tour through Europe.

We also went to the pyramides north of the city. We took the metro to the north bus terminal and from there we took the bus to the pyramides (28 pesos one way) from terminal 8. The pyramide complex (45 pesos) is enormous and one can climb to the top of the pyramide of he sun; that is if you are not afraid of heights. The small museum gives a good impression on how that area had developped over the centuries.

Being catholic we also had to visit the Virgin of Guadeloupe and the cathedral.

We also went to an evening show at the "Belles Artes", it was Fiesta Mexicana, Mexico's history shown in dance and music. A very entertaining but relatively expensive (compared to broadway however very cheap) for about 30 USD.

What was very striking was the fact that on Dec 1 the ice skating ring was opened on the big square. It seemed that all of Mexico had to witness, it was that crowded. It turned out that one could go skating for free!! An ice skating ring, while the outside temperature was 25C/77F!!

Dining experience was good, we did not experience bad quality or service whether it was lunch or dinner and one can have a good 4 course meal for as less as 64 pesos. One can also eat buffet on the rooftop with a view on the big square for 130 pesos. We also had  capuchino with 2 pieces of cake in an old stylish cafe that was also approximately 130 pesos per person. 

Of course in Mexico you drink mexican beer at one third of the price you pay in the USA in a bar.

We saw a lot, but we did not see all what we wanted to see. 4 nights, 3.5 days was too short and thus we need to go back.