Mexico City Tours
Coming to Mexico City? Why not let me show you around?
Let me be your go-to girl and customize a Mexico City tour for you that will include everything you want to see in the city. Whether you are coming from Los Angeles, Mumbai or Fargo, North Dakota, I can guarantee you sounds, sights and tastes that you never knew you were missing.
Customized tours can include local kick-ass restaurants, market extravanganzas, meeting organic farmers or having a history lesson. C’mon, go ahead, stump me with a wild request for a baseball memorabilia tours or 24 hours of Luis Barragan.
Depending on length, complexity and whether you want an “all-inclusive” package, these tours can run from 60usd to several hundred dollars. You choose your budget and I will come up with an itinerary to please.
Want to visit Frida Kahlo’s house, see the Pyramids, and tour the Museum of Anthropology? I have three expert guides that I work with and can highly recommend for these tours that I don’t do. Send me an email and we can schedule it!
Besides customized tours I have a few awesome standards that I have crafted over the past several years in Mexico, here are your options:
NEWEST TOUR Cantinas & Tacos
Cantinas and tacos, no two things are more representative of Mexico City’s classic food and drinking culture. Come with me on a tour through the Centro Historico where we will start and end in two of the city’s most iconic cantinas and in between each ourselves into oblivion with delicious tacos on the streets right in the middle of city’s beating heart. This tour starts mid-afternoon and finishes up early evening so you can go out afterwards if you haven’t had enough. This tour is generally 3-4 hours long and includes 3-5 stops for food, and 2 stops at local cantinas. This tour is not appropriate for vegetarians and vegans.
Mexico City 101
First time in Mexico City? Little nervous about it? We’ve got you covered. On this tour we ride the metro and metrobus, talk taxis and tips, learn to order street food like a local, and refine our market shopping skills. Along the way, we will see a few of the city’s quirkier attractions, eat some delicious food, and have plenty of time to go over all your questions and quandaries. Seriously… anything at all that you want to ask we got your answer. This tour is generally 2.5-3 hours long and includes 2-4 stops for food and drinks along the route.
Trolling for Tacos
This 3-hour evening walking tour includes all of my favorite out-of-the-way, blow-your-mind, eat-till-your-eyes-bludge-out taco stands. I promise you will dream about these tacos months after you have left Mexico City. We hit up between 5-7 stands along with a beer or two and other drinks. Think you can handle it? Put on your eatin’ pants and come on. This tour is generally 3-3.5 hours long and includes 5-7 stops for tacos, as well as drinks (including beers) along the way.
Lunch on the Street
On this lunchtime tour we rub shoulders with the office workers, nurses and hispters, all out to hunt down some lunch or a snack at Colonia Roma’s delicious daytime food stands. We will sample from the vast variety of daytime fare popular with the lunch crowd in Mexico City, stop by the market, and get an on-the-ground feel for the daily motion of the streets. This is a great tour for vegetarians and anyone who wants to experience the everyday of the capital. We end with something sweet and a nap (at our respective homes of course!). This tour is 2-3 hours long and we make 5-7 stops for food along the route. This tour is great for vegetarians.
Have Mercy!
The city’s second largest bulk market, Mercado la Merced, is an overwhelming blend of sights, sounds, smells and tastes. If you have ever dreamed about mountains of mangos or torrents of tomatoes, you need to see this massive market labyrinth. We’ll spend 2 hours exploring the market and eating, then see some of the barrio — one of the most important to Mexico City’s history. This tour is 3-4 hours long and involves a lot of walking. We make 5-7 stops for food and drinks.
Chinampa Mornings
Maybe you’ve been on a marimba-and-Corona laced trip through the Xochimilco canals, but you haven’t yet experienced the chinampas. This half-day tour takes us into the backwater labyrinth of one of the world’s oldest agricultural systems. We’ll spend the morning gliding along the canals’ serene waters, and meet an incredible family that has turned their family island farm into a fully sustainable paradise. This tour may or may not include breakfast from one of THE BEST fondas in the city… that’s up to you. This tour includes breakfast and an afternoon snack with drinks. The tour usually lasts 5-6 hours.
Women of the Roma
Of Roma’s most fascinating characters, my favorites are all women. Surrealist powerhouses Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo, tragic heros like Joan Vollmer, witches, assassins, even a first lady. This 3 hour walking tour looks at how these incredible women shaped the hood and Mexico at large. We will stop for coffee or drinks and make sure you go home with something sweet in your pocket. This is a historical walking tour that last between 2.5 and 3 hours and includes a stop at the end for a beverage.
La Lagunilla Market
One of the oldest, shadiest, and most outrageous markets in the city. In three hours we will wander the rows of antique collectibles, drink our weight in micheladas and maybe even get a tattoo. What begins as a leisurely Sunday stroll ends with pot-smoking minors and pulque all around. If you are ready for some deep urban adventuring, this is the place to be. This tour is generally 3-4 hours and includes about 5 stops for food and drink in the market.
The Secrets of Chapultepec
* TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED* The Bosque de Chapultepec is one of the city’s most underappreciated destinations, come with me and find out why. We will spend two hours biking the bosque’s 1st section, learning about the generations of indigenous and colonial inhabitants of “cricket hill,” and exploring the park’s more beautiful and tranquil corners. This tour is 1.5-2.5 hours long and we stop for a beverage at the end of it. The price includes the bike rental.
Roaming the Roma
After writing TWO editions of “Mexico City Streets: La Roma,” I am pretty much an expert on Colonia Roma. It helps that I live here and love every. single. inch. of the neighborhood. This tour is a little bit of everything: famous Roma residents, best taco shops, historical landmarks and the most recent street art. On this 3-hour walking tour we roam the Roma, learning past, present and future, as well as stopping at the local market for some eating and several street stands along the way. This tour is generally 2.5 to 3.5 hours and includes a lot of walking. We make 4-5 stops for food and drink.
We Want Beer
Mexico’s craft beer scene has BLOWN UP and sampling some local brew on your trip to Mexico City is obligatory. On this tour we will hang out with brewers, get back-end tours of local breweries, and sample some of CDMX’s finest. It’s a slow and leisurely crawl and closing time is up to you. We will stop for a taco or two along the way and I’ll make sure you get a designated (Uber) driver to get you home. This tour includes 5-7 stops alternatively for beer and tacos, and usually last between 3 and 4 hours.
Centro Histórico Walking Tour
Spend a few hours with me walking through some of the oldest sections of our beautiful city. We’ll start with a little something sweet and then, coffee in hand, traverse the cobble-stoned labyrinth of the Centro. We’ll step into some of the city’s most iconic buildings, take in the urbanscape from 44 floors up, and maneuver through some of Mexico’s most crowded commercial streets, surrounded by the uniquely Mexico City smells, sights and sounds. This is a great tour to get a basic overview of the city’s history and to see some of its best architecture. This tour generally lasts between 2.5- 4 hours and includes 2-3 stops for snacks.
***Seasonal Tour*** Day of the Dead
Starting October 20th until the 2nd of November we are celebrating the dead at Jamaica market! How? By gorging ourselves on holiday treats, purchasing stuff for our DOD altars, taking in the melee as we eat delicious market snacks and of course, visually feasting on the tons and tons of copper marigolds, feathery white nube (cloud) flowers, and velvety purple cockscomb. Come ready to shop, there will inevitably be something you can’t live without. See the Day of the Dead in Mexico City at its most colorful! This tour is generally between 2.5 to 3 hours and includes 5-7 stops for food and drink of the season.
What do my clients have to say about my tours?
“There couldn’t have been a more thoughtful and well-planned two-and-a-half-day tour of one of the great cities of our modern world. From street food; to markets; panoramic skyscraper views at dusk of a city that stretches out endlessly; and the magical gardens of Xochimilco. All are done in an intelligent, fun, and accessible manner. Hope I have an opportunity to visit Mexico City again with Mexicocitystreets.” -Marc
“Lydia’s tour offered a unique mix of history, architecture, and amazing food. We sampled tacos from a nearby market and walked around the Roma neighborhood learning about the many fascinating women who’ve resided there over the years. In addition to great insights, Lydia provided a local’s perspective that gave us a real sense of the neighborhood and city. “ – Drew
“I was traveling solo and had a two-day layover in Mexico City. Not speaking Spanish or knowing the city at all, I didn’t want to venture out on my own so I booked with Lydia for some city walking tours. That turned out to be a great decision. Over the two days, Lydia showed me a side of the city that few tourists see or experience. From all the various food stalls to places of worship, market stalls, shops, homes, and parks, I really gained an insight into Mexico City as lived by a local. I would recommend Lydia as a tour guide anytime.” – Monique
“My family and I took a tour with Lydia through the Lagunilla Market and we had a great time! She is an awesome guide and extremely knowledgeable. If you’re looking to get to know Mexico City on a deeper level, then I’d definitely recommend her services.” – Andrew
“Lydia guided me on a tour of a number of craft beer bars in the area. Lydia is the perfect blend of fascinating local insight, good company, and fun conversation – I learned loads, visited places I would never have found, and tried some fabulous beer and food. A brilliant evening, Will definitely repeat next time I’m in Mexico City” – Mike
** By booking a tour you are agreeing to the Mexico City Streets Cancellation Policy — check it out