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Eternal Spring

Our Guide to Mexico City (2026)

Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City is like a Rick Steves guidebook for Mexico City ... that in many ways is nothing like a Rick Steves guidebook for Mexico City

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About

About

About the Book

Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City isn't like other guidebooks.

For starters, we're still writing it. The version you're reading now is the second edition of the book, and we're actively improving it and adding new content each week. Everyone who purchases Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City will get free updates each month through the end of 2026.

We focus on food and drink. We realized early on in our previous adventures that these experiences are among the best reasons to travel. While we also highlight the best of this city's incredible sights, as well as practicalities like navigating the Metro, language difficulties, and local customs, above all we want to share the restaurants, bars, and meals that best showcase the city’s diversity and hospitality.

This book is opinionated. Instead of wasting your time with lengthy descriptions of obvious destinations you could easily find more about online, we point you to the experiences that matter the most to us and ignore the filler. Your time is valuable, and we respect that.

This book is personal. As its name suggests, Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City is built on the incredible experiences we've had here, centered in our Roma Norte neighborhood. We feel strongly that if you want to have the best possible experience in Mexico City, you should stay in an Airbnb or short-term rental in Condesa, Roma Norte, or another suburban neighborhood, and use it as a base to explore the area and the rest of the city.

This book is informed by a lifetime of travel. For 20 years before the COVID-19 pandemic, we lived part-time in Europe. We have a passion for travel, but we're not tourists checking items off a bucket list. We prefer to go deep, not "living like a temporary local," as European travel guru Rick Steves recommends, but literally being a local, becoming part of a place. Americans, Canadians, and others will find this easier to do in Mexico City than anywhere in Europe, thanks in large part to its friendly and welcoming residents.

This book will provide you with the information you need to have your own wonderful experiences in Mexico City, no matter how long you wish to stay. But it's also the first edition, and Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City will only get better with each passing month and year. It's a living thing, continuously updated, and it will grow and improve over time as we continue to explore the city and share our experiences and opinions.

Thank you for joining us on this journey. As you will discover, Mexico City is a truly magical destination that ranks among the greatest places on Earth. We hope you love her as much as we do.

You know what? We know you will.

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Author

About the Authors

Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott is an award-winning technology journalist and blogger with over 25 years of industry experience and the author of about 30 books. He is the major domo at Thurrott.com and the host of three podcasts: Windows Weekly with Leo Laporte and Richard Campbell, First Ring Daily with Brad Sams, and Hands-On Windows. He was formerly the senior technology analyst at Windows IT Pro and the creator of the SuperSite for Windows. You can reach Paul via email or on Twitter at @thurrott.

Stephanie Thurrott

Stephanie Thurrott is an award-winning freelance writer and content creator. You can find her work in publications like Today.com and Everyday Health. For more than 20 years, she’s been covering health and wellness, personal growth, travel, and food, and dabbling in just about any other topic that grabs her attention. When she’s not writing, look for her exploring the back roads and trails of Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley or searching for the best tacos in Mexico City.

Contents

Table of Contents

📖 About this book

  1. 🤔 How to use this book
  2. 🗃️ Download the book
  3. So many links!
  4. This is the second edition of the book!
  5. 📝 We want your feedback!
  6. 👥 Connect with us online
  7. ✍️ Meet the authors
  8. 🙏 Thanks!

💜 ¡Bienvenidos!

🌄 Mexico City

  1. ❓ Why Mexico City?
  2. 📖 Understanding Mexico City
  3. Mexico City is more accessible
  4. Mexico City is more affordable
  5. The food is better in Mexico City
  6. The history and culture of Mexico City is incredible
  7. But … Is it safe?
  8. The people in Mexico City are nicer
  9. The language in Mexico City is easier to learn
  10. 📓 Planning your trip to Mexico City
  11. Where to stay in Mexico City
  12. How long to stay
  13. Other factors to consider when visiting Mexico City
  14. When to go, when not to go
  15. 📓 Before you go: A pre-trip checklist
  16. 📓 Travel smart

🗺️ Orientation

  1. 🏘️ It’s all about the neighborhoods
  2. 👮 Common sense safety advice
  3. ✈️ Arrival in Mexico City
  4. 📓 Helpful hints for first-time visitors
  5. Many places are closed on certain days
  6. Look both ways, then do it again
  7. Do not rent a car
  8. Take advantage of the corner store
  9. Know where to get medical help
  10. Mexico is addicted to noise
  11. 🗺️ Getting around Mexico City
  12. Walk locally
  13. Uber between neighborhoods
  14. Use public transportation when possible
  15. Maybe rent an Ecobici bike

👁️ See and do

  1. 🏛️ What to see and do in Mexico City
  2. El Ángel de la Independencia
  3. Arena México (Lucha Libre)
  4. Avenida Amsterdam
  5. Avenida Francisco I. Madero
  6. Avenida Paseo de la Reforma
  7. Catedral Metropolitana y Sagrario Metropolitano
  8. Gran Hotel
  9. Museo Frida Kahlo
  10. Museo Nacional de Antropologia
  11. Palacio de Bellas Artes
  12. Palacio Postal
  13. Plaza de la Constitución (Zócalo)
  14. Teotihuacán
  15. Torre Latinoamericana
  16. Xochilmilco
  17. 📅 Suggested daily itineraries
  18. Day 1: Centro Histórico
  19. Day 2: Alameda Central and Monumento
  20. Day 3: Reforma and Chapultepec
  21. Day 4: Condesa and Roma Norte
  22. Day 5: Coyoacán and San Ángel
  23. 🚗 Day trips and splurges
  24. 🌮 Taco tour

🍽️ Eat and drink

  1. 🌮 Not the Mexican food you’re familiar with
  2. 🍴 Eating norms and customs
  3. The mealtimes are later than you’re used to
  4. Servers are usually hands-off
  5. 🔑 Key phrases to know
  6. 🍴 Eat locally, eat inexpensively
  7. Street food
  8. Cocina económicas
  9. 💲 Tipping
  10. 🚰 No, you can’t drink the water
  11. 🍴 Our favorite restaurants in Mexico City
  12. La Azotea
  13. Café de Tacuba
  14. Café Tacobar del Sur
  15. Carmel
  16. Merotoro
  17. Oxa
  18. Pargot Restaurante
  19. Primer Cuadro
  20. Pujol
  21. San Ángel Inn
  22. Sud 777
  23. Tacos los Alexis
  24. Taquería Álvaro Obregón
  25. Taquería Los Cocuyos
  26. Terraza Gran Hotel
  27. El Tizconcito
  28. Vigneron
  29. 🍸 Our favorite bars in Mexico City
  30. Baltra Bar
  31. Bar Mauro
  32. Bijou Drinkery Room
  33. Brooklyn Spekeasy
  34. Café Tacobar del Sur
  35. Diente de Oro
  36. Form+Matter(FO+MA)
  37. Handshake Speakeasy
  38. Hanky Panky
  39. Licorería Limantour
  40. Rubi Wine Cocktails
  41. Supra
  42. Tlecān

🏛️ Centro

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Our favorite things to see and do in Centro
  3. 🚶 Avenida Francisco I. Madero walk
  4. 🚶 Alameda Central walk
  5. 🍴 Eat and drink
  6. Our favorite restaurants in Centro
  7. Our favorite bars in Centro

🌸 Juárez

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Our favorite things to see and do in Juárez
  3. 🍴 Eat and drink
  4. Our favorite restaurants in Juárez
  5. Our favorite bars in Juárez

🚶 Reforma

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Our favorite things to see and do in Reforma
  3. 🚶 Reforma walk
  4. 🍴 Eat and drink
  5. Our favorite restaurants in Reforma

🛍️ Polanco

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Our favorite things to see and do in Polanco
  3. 🍴 Eat and drink
  4. Our favorite restaurants in Polanco

🌳 Chapultepec

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Our favorite things to see and do in Chapultepec

🌴 Condesa

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Our favorite things to see and do in Condesa
  3. 🚶 Condesa walk
  4. 🍴 Eat and drink
  5. Our favorite restaurants in Condesa
  6. Our favorite bars in Condesa

🏠 Roma Norte

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Our favorite things to see and do in Roma Norte
  3. 🍴 Eat and drink
  4. Our favorite restaurants in Roma Norte
  5. Our favorite bars in Roma Norte

🍸 Roma Sur

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Our favorite things to see and do in Roma Sur
  3. 🍴 Eat and drink
  4. Our favorite restaurants in Roma Sur

🐺 Coyoacán

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Fuente de los Coyotes
  3. Jardín Centenario
  4. Jardín del Arte Allende
  5. Jardín Hidalgo
  6. Mercado de Coyoacán
  7. Museo Casa Kahlo
  8. Museo Casa de León Trotsky
  9. Museo Frida Kahlo ⭐️
  10. 🚶 Coyoacán walk
  11. 🍴 Eat and drink
  12. Our favorite restaurants in Coyoacán

🌷 San Ángel

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Bazar San Ángel
  3. Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo
  4. Plaza del Carmen
  5. Plaza san Jacinto
  6. 🚶 San Ángel walk
  7. 🍴 Eat and drink
  8. Our favorite bars in San Ángel

🚗 Day trips

  1. 👁️ See and do
  2. Estadio Azteca
  3. Teotihuacán ⭐️
  4. Xochimilco ⭐️
  5. 🎈 Hot-air ballooning in Mexico: A bucket-list experience
  6. How to make it happen
  7. How the day unfolds
  8. How much does it cost?
  9. Tips
  10. 🌄 The other Xochimilco
  11. Xochimilco sunrise tour
  12. Tips
  13. 🍴 Eat and drink
  14. Sud 777 ⭐️

✈️ Connections

  1. 🛩️ Mexico City’s airports
  2. Ⓜ️ Public transportation
  3. Metro

🔦 Practicalities

  1. 📅 Mexico City holiday calendar
  2. 🛏️ Vacation rentals
  3. 📞 Get reservations
  4. Restaurants
  5. 🍸 Cocktail bars
  6. Sights
  7. 👄 Language
  8. Duolingo basics: Our strategies and tips to help you get started
  9. 💬 Practice in Google Translate
  10. 💲 Money
  11. Using cash
  12. Getting cash
  13. Using credit cards
  14. 🧑‍⚕️ Medical care in Mexico City
  15. Pharmacies
  16. Walk-in doctor’s offices
  17. Doctor appointments
  18. Special services
  19. Hospitals
  20. Major emergencies: 911
  21. Before you go
  22. ⛅ Climate and conditions
  23. Climate considerations
  24. Other considerations
  25. 📱 Electronics
  26. You don’t need power adapters or converters

📓 Resources

  1. 📓 Our resources
  2. This book
  3. Website
  4. YouTube channel
  5. Instagram
  6. Maps
  7. 📓 Other resources
  8. YouTube channels
  9. Websites and newsletters
  10. Books
  11. Movies
  12. TV shows
  13. Learning Spanish

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