We did Mexico City with a 9 + a 12 year old

And only 50% of us got diarrhea!

This post is mainly free, but I’m paying for it a bit halfway through because it includes some slightly personal stuff. Plus, I have a little announcement/reminder that’s just for the paid subscribers.

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So many people told me how amazing Mexico City was that I worried the experience couldn’t possibly live up to the hype. I was so glad to be wrong! We had an incredible spring break late last month with lots of great experiences and a few literally crappy ones. Here are some notes if you’re considering going with your family someday.

Flying in: We used miles, so we flew from Chicago to Dallas and then into CDMX. Customs/immigration was no big deal. Because of the mountains and heat, there is some turbulence coming into Mexico City, so do what you need to do to get ready for that (it wasn’t traumatizing turbulence, but it wasn’t nothing). Our flight attendant cheered and said, “Viva Mexico!” as we landed, which was a good way to start the trip.

Hotel: We stayed at the Hilton Reforma, which I would stay at again. It has several restaurants on the premises and room service (we got in late, so I was glad we didn’t need to find a grocery store if we had rented a place), plus an indoor and outdoor pool, which is essential for my kids. It’s clean and comfortable, and we got a rate with breakfast included. The breakfast buffet was massive, with a mix of Mexican, American, and otherwise continental breakfast foods, all quite good.

On top of this, we were across the street from Alameda Central, the city’s oldest municipal park, which has various food/craft/junk stands set up in the evening. (The park is so clean, well-lit, and busy that I felt very safe, even walking through it alone at night.) The hotel was also close to several great museums and the La Ciudadela Artisan Market which has everything you could want for souvenir shopping (there’s conveniently an ATM in the hotel lobby). It’s also close to a Circle K and a little mall with a McDonald’s if you have picky kids/need a break from Mexican food. The only downside is that there could be a lot of traffic in the area so twice it took us a really long time to reach the hotel.

Day 1: Frida Kahlo museum and house (you’ll want to get tickets ahead of time). Ideal for: Kids who have some perfunctory interest in art/history, but even if not, the house is a beautiful site with a little snack shop and plenty of lovely courtyard places to sit if you are with a kid who doesn’t feel like looking at all of Frida’s stuff. On top of that, it’s near the Viveros de Coyoacán, a beautiful tree park where you see folks doing various kinds of exercise routines and classes. The Coyoacán area is great to explore, especially around the San Juan Bautista church. Half the pleasure of CDMX is just walking around, checking out the architecture, street food stands, indigenous people selling plant medicine, and folks dancing, smooching, and walking their dogs.

That evening: Luche Libre wrestling at the Arena Mexico. Ideal for: Kids who enjoy sports and spectacle and can handle a bit of noise (it’s not ear-splitting, but bring earplugs or headphones if your kid might be sensitive). Not only is it just good campy fun (I found myself laughing a ton) it’s interesting to hear about how how the matches are a way for residents to let off steam (your kid will learn the word pendejo.) We used a tour guide for the evening through Viator, which I don’t think is strictly necessary, but it’s nice to get cultural context. Plus, Carlos took us out to dinner and brought us wrestling masks as part of our package. There were a million stands outside the arena selling masks, and my kids were desperate for more.

Day 2: Monday was a bit of a random day — I put my husband in charge of everything and he realized most things were closed. The museums he chose that were open, well, they killed time and got us out but I wouldn’t say they are something anyone needs to see (a police museum, an ‘art toy’ [i.e. action figure] museum, and a chocolate museum, which is not nearly as thrilling as that sounds. The kids even convinced my husband to take them to a Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum which I flat out refused. I walked around by myself while they did that. At dinner that night my husband began to feel sick which meant that on…

Day 3: …he sadly had to miss our excursion to the floating gardens of Xochimilco, which is a real shame because it was maybe my favorite part of the trip. On the advice of my friend Catherine we went with a tour guide named Ana who I can’t recommend highly enough. I could write a whole essay about what a fascinating and kind person she is but just trust me. She gives you much more than just a comfortable and knowledgeable tour. Ideal for: Kids of any age who can more or less be trusted to behave appropriately on a boat ride in a UNESCO site (so: stay inside the boat, don’t throw shit off the boat, etc.) There are no bathrooms on the boats, but I think a confident parent can change a diaper on one.

Highlights included seeing how farmers in the area make a living, an axolotl breeder/farm, enjoying taking photos of all the wildlife (and local farm dogs), and eating elotes and quesadillas made on another boat. While we were gone, my husband got himself some meds, electrolytes, crackers and bananas for his tummy.

On the way back, my older son also started not to feel well. Once I set the kids up for screentime I did some solo sightseeing in the Centro Historico, including the Cathedral, which is laughably huge. Like, “Yo dawg, I heard u like churches so I put a church in your church so you can go to church while you’re at church.”

My younger kid and I later went to the La Ciudadela artisan market:

Ideal for: Kids who can be trusted to peruse goods for sale responsibly and not go running off (it’s kind of a maze!) If you want to do some shopping while you’re in town, I recommend doing a little inventory ahead of time of what you might want or need and can pack for the return trip. A lot of things tempted me but am at a boring age now where I’m like “Well I already have a straw tote” or “I don’t think I want to deal with polishing silver jewelry” or “Am I really a wooden display wall mask person?” or “Where would I even display a beautiful copper pitcher?” I ended up getting a colorful tablecloth and napkins and some ceramic salt and pepper shakers. 👵🏼

If you want to read the rest, please c’mon over to the paid subscriber side! My free readers get a lot but I gotta save a few things for the paid folks who go the extra mile to show their support. But I’ll give you a li’l discount to sweeten the deal: