In a city of 20 million people time is the most precious good and traffic your worst enemy.

If you want to make the most out of your stay, planning ahead is essential in CDMX. A good way to start may be exploring the city with the Turibus although it may sound tacky. Select a tour and pick a few things you really want to see. You will need to make hard choices because there’s no way to visit them all.

Our first pick was Frida Kahlo, well not herself obviously but la Casa Azul. The great thing about it aside from the museum with lots of unibrowed portraits is that you are in the neighbourhood of Coyoacán. Leave your hotel early (don’t forget to buy your entry tickets online unless you want to queue) and have breakfast in the area. It’s a great neighbourhood with small colourful houses, cobblestone streets and markets.

Another stop that we really enjoyed in CDMX was Xochimilco. Impossible to articulate so just ask for the colourful boats. The hourly rate for a trajinera is 350MXN which is quite fair. During your trip little boats will offer you drinks, food and even your favourite song performed by mariachi bands.

Another place you should consider is the Zócalo. The Zócalo; officially Plaza de la Constitución; is the main square in the city center which you may remember from the last Bond movie.

The time in between sightseeing we spent of course eating and drinking; what else?

If you have only one night I would strongly recommend that you visit the restaurant Dulce Patria in Polanco. Fantastic mexican food. Every dish we ordered was perfectly prepared and full of flavours.

The advantage of being in Polanco after dinner is that there are plenty of cool bars within walking distance for a nightcap or two. If you are into mixology and proper drinks you should definitely stop by Limantour.

Now that you are a little tipsy it’s time for a very cool place, a speakeasy right around the corner in a taqueria. Impossible to find and probably most of their guests will never know but if you know the password and walk through the fridge you will be rewarded with something special. Just look for the Surtidora Don Batiz.

A few last tips:

For lunch you could try Contramar, their tostadas de atún are to die for.

Otherwise also Los Danzantes in Coyoacan is a very good choice for lunch, especially if you are anyway in the area.

Use Uber. It’s cheap and it is safe.

If you are travelling with USD check the exchange rates. They vary extremely. And it is always a good idea to have a few $ in Latin America just in case…

Sorry for all the typos but doing a while blog post on an iphone is a painTrghKikl……