We left CDMX over four months ago, but I want to close the loop on Leg 18. And, the second have of our CDMX stay had some pretty epic activities to document. We also continued to enjoy the wonderful quality of life we always have in Mexico City. To be honest, I’m already ready to go back! But we have other priorities for the rest of 2026 and 2027 so we’re probably looking at a couple of years at best before we can return.
Professional Tennis Tournament
Earlier in our Mexico City stay, Chad noticed a banner advertising the Mexico City Open near Parque Chapultepec. After a little research, we found out that it is an official ATP Tennis tournament played annually on the clay courts at Centro Deportivo Chapultepec. Unfortunately, it is only a men’s tournament, even though we enjoy women’s tennis too. It doesn’t attract the biggest names in tennis but the participants are definitely pros. So, we decided to buy tickets to one of the later days of the tournament (I think it was primarily quarterfinals).
We attended on a Wednesday and were able to get day passes for the tournament for $15 each, purchased online a few days in advance. We didn’t have a lot of great choices for our reserved seats in the main stand, so I’d probably advise purchasing sooner.
We’d planned to take the Metro up to the park, but it was far too crowded the morning of the tournament so we came out and got an Uber. That’s one of the nice things about the Metro only costing 5 pesos is that we don’t mind paying the cost to see if the train will work and ditching it if it’s jampacked. There was a fair bit of traffic so we got there just a bit after the first matches had started at 11 a.m. There were very few other spectators there that early but we enjoyed watching the match and were very impressed by how hard the players hit the ball.
After the first match, we took a break for lunch. The tournament used a weird wristband payment system where you had to go to a cashier to get a band and load money onto via cash or credit card to be able to purchase concessions. A little annoying versus paying directly but it worked out okay. And I kept the wristband as a souvenir! For lunch we shared a beer and an Argentine-style pork sandwich. After relaxing a while, we decided to check out the matches on some of the other courts, including an American doubles pair it was fun to root for.
Later in the afternoon, we returned for the primary match in the main grandstand, which was won by the player who ultimately won the whole tournament, James Duckworth. He was very good. There were a few more people in the stands by that time and we enjoyed the match. We’d definitely attend a professional tennis tournament again and would love to go to the US Open one day. In the meantime, the Mexico City open was a great first taste.
Cable Car Tour
A few days later, we went on a group tour we booked to check out Mexico City’s most interesting public transit, cable cars. To be honest, I can’t remember how we came across this tour or why we booked it, but it was certainly worthwhile. It was a free tip-based tour. We met our guide, Oskar, one morning in front of the Belles Artes Metro entrance that is modeled off the metros in Paris. We were hoping to get breakfast in the park, but the food carts weren’t quite set up yet at 10 a.m. But we found a tamale stand across the street by the Teatro Hidalgo Ignacio Retes. Since some of the tour participants were running late, we had time to grab and enjoy a couple of tamales and a cup of champurrado. We might have skipped this if we realized that the guide intended to stop for lunch in a market halfway through the tour, but that wasn’t made clear in advance and we were able to enjoy some juice at the market anyway.
Once everyone had assembled, we took Metro line 8 down to the Constitución de 1917 stop in the southeast of the city, which is where the cable car line starts. It was the first CDMX metro ride for all of the others on the tour. I always forget how few tourists actually use it, though frequently we’re the only ones we see when we ride. Chad and I embraced the CDMX metro right away on our first visit in 2018 so don’t think twice about riding it, but I can see how it would be intimidating for a typical tourist.
Our guide led us to the cable car entrance so we could board and start heading over the city to the Iztapalapa neighborhood, which is the most populous of the city. We had to transfer cable cars partway up and the second one is recognized as the longest public transit cable car route in the world by the Guiness Book of World Records.
Throughout our ride, the guide shared information with us about the construction of the cable car route and the Iztapalapa neighborhood. Being able to take the cable car rather than a bus significantly shortened commute times for people, which was the main goal of the project. Since the cable car routes (known as the cablebus in CDMX) started operating in 2021, many of the roofs have had murals added. The buildings along the route are also very colorful and photogenic.
In Iztapalapa, Oskar took us to a traditional Mexican market, which was pretty old hat for me and Chad but a new experience for the others. Most of the others got some lunch at one of the fondas in the market and we found a delicious fresh juice stand since we were still full from our tamales. After lunch we just reversed the route on the cable cars and chitchatted with the guide and other tourists. Though the route takes less time than it would to go by bus from Iztapalapa into the city, it still was something like 30-45 minutes each way in the cable car. In heavy traffic, the bus can take a couple of hours. And it was definitely a scenic and relaxing ride.
Back at the Constitución de 1917 stop, Oskar gave directions to everyone for how to take the Metro to their next destinations. We headed back to the center of town to visit the Museo Vivo del Muralismo, a museum about the extensive mural culture in Mexico City (led, of course, by Diego Rivera). We enjoyed the murals and a late lunch after in the main tourist part of Mexico City. It was a fun day.
Castle Chapultepec
Our other fun activity in CDXM, besides a 3rd trip to the Museo Soumaya and our overnight trip to Cuernavaca, was to finally visit Castle Chapultepec. We booked tickets online for the first entry on a Wednesday morning and apparently took a bus up to the park for 10 pesos each. There must be one that heads up there from Coyoacan, but I don’t recall it this many months later (however, the expense is recorded in my spreadsheet). I think we may have taken our usual metro up to Balderas but found Line 1 to be too crowded so changed to a bus. I have a vague recollection of that and trying to figure out the bus stop. The regular buses in Mexico City can be a little confusing. You pay by cash and if it is a bill (like for our 20 pesos for this ride) you roll it up and slip it through a little hole next to the driver.
I do recall we arrived in Parque Chapultepec in good time despite the challenges and made our way to the castle. Backpacks aren’t allowed so we stored ours for 10 pesos (I think) at the base of the hill next to the second ticket check. We managed to beat most of the crowds and I have to say, the castle was far more impressive than either of us predicted. It was a beautiful place to walk around, had great views of the city, and the exhibits were very informative about Mexican history. I can’t believe we waited so long to experience it! While it isn’t a must-visit for us, it was certainly worthwhile.
After our castle sightseeing, we stopped in the on-site cafe for Chad to recaffeinate and then stopped in the park for a little bag of Dorilocos as a snack. Then we decided to press on to visit one of our favorite CDMX museums, the Museo de Arte Moderno, before a late lunch. They had another exhibit on Remedios Varos, which we felt was a must-see after enjoying the one they had in 2023 so much. This one was also good, though very crowded in the early afternoon.
After our museum fun, we headed over to a Guadalajaran restaurant called El Pialadero de Guadalajara to enjoy some birria and tacos. It was a tasty meal, though very meat-heavy. We followed that up with a fancy paleta with gummy bears in it near our old Airbnb by the Seville metro station and then took the metro home.
Life in CDMX
The rest of our time in Mexico City was just spent enjoying many of our favorite things – walks in the Viveros, parks, and around our neighborhood, delicious meals out, drinks at my favorite bar (El Fronton), and going to the movies (in this time, Wizard of the Kremlin at the Cineteca Nacional and Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die at Cinemanio in Plaza Lareto – where we stumbled across a student jazz performance!). I’m running out of steam on this blog so I’m just going to throw all the photos below.
Summary
Once again, we had a fantastic time in Mexico City. I think we could happily spend a full four-month leg there. However, there are tons of places in Mexico we also want to see, so I don’t think that will happen anytime soon. We particularly liked our interesting Airbnb this time (review below). I forgot to include in my last post a photo of the bedroom where I spent most of my time other than meals. We also especially continued to enjoy our balcony and Chad developed a great repertoire of mezcal cocktails to enjoy on it. Truly I can’t wait to return to Mexico City.
Airbnb Review – My husband and I had a wonderful six-week stay in this home. The location is ideal on a historic street in Coyoacan. The host met us for check in right on time and was so welcoming and kind. We had great communication with her throughout the stay. The kitchen was very functional and the wifi worked well. The terrace attached to the upstairs bedroom was our favorite part. There were lots of thoughtful touches, like a nightlight on the stairs. Some nights early on were pretty chilly but there is a really nice space heater with a remote control that warmed the room right up. The last couple of weeks, the bedroom got a little overwarm in the late afternoon but there is a fan that helped. The host provided a free cleaning every two weeks, which was nice, though a little tricky with scheduling. We were so happy we chose this special home for our six weeks in Mexico and would love to stay here again in the future.