Xochimilco (so-chee-MEEL-coe) is the remnant of when CDMX, then known as Tenochtitlán, was the Aztec capital of a city built on fill and connected by canals, much like Venice. Here you can be poled through the canals and see vignettes of Mexican culture as you eat food bought boat side, enjoy mariachis and marimbas floating by on other
trajineras among the floating garden island
chinampas.: it’s crowded and lively on the weekends, so book a tour or arrive early.
Link to Wikipedia article. Xochimilco is endangered, IMO, with notable environmental degradation since I was a kid visiting; see it now.
Those with natural history interests can ask if the Axolotl (essentially neotenic tiger salamanders)
criadero (nursery) can be visited. (El Cree-uh-DAY-roe deh ash-oh-LOW-tays.)
A visit to Xochimilco is like stumbling across an oasis in the desert. This eclectic place is set in the middle of a colossal city where you can discover colors your eyes have never seen before. Declared a World Heritage Site since 1987, rediscover its colors as you walk down the aisles of its markets full of iris flowers. Float along the walled canals lined with gardens and curtains of trees on brightly painted and decorated trajineras (a traditional flat-bottomed boat) and evoke a time when this watery surrounding dominated the landscape of the Anahuac. Discover the small artificial islands, called chinampas, which are used to grow flowers, vegetables and ornamental plants. Visit the Axolotl museum, aquarium and nursery at Casa Xólotl -
link. (Pronounce SHOH-lowtle)
Take this magnificent tour as you eat and drink your fill of the different Mexican delicacies accompanied by the music of the Mariachi or Marimba from Veracruz. visitmexico.com
Frida Kahlo Museum (La Casa Azul) (
link - English) is nearby.in the Colonia del Carmen neighborhood of Coyoacán. She was born here, lived here (for a time with Diego Rivera) and the Museum is imbued with her spirit and art, as well as Rivera's. Lengthy ticket queues may be encountered - but in advance or on tour if you’ll be visiting on a busy day.
Link to Wikipedia article.
Teotihuacán (tay-oh-tea-wa-CON) The ever-popular and massive archaeological site is 25 Miles out of town, done easily on a day trip,
Teotihuacan. We don’t know much about the people who built this enormous city of massive temples, houses with running water and murals, supported by a vast agricultural complex supplied by an intricate system of aqueducts, but it’s amazing. The Pyramid of the Sun is third largest in the world after the Great Pyramid of Cholula and the Great Pyramid of Giza. - Wikipedia.
Link.
I’d recommend a visit to
Bazar del Sábado, Saturdays only, off San Ángel on Plaza San Jacinto. This 18th century home features a variety of high quality locally manufactured crafts and articles you can be proud to take home. Add a lunch in
San Ángel Inn restaurant (must reserve) for a nice lunch in beautiful surroundings (old colonial convent and hacienda, gardens). Some of Mexico’s elegant homes are here (mostly behind walls), and even a fountain in memory of the “San Patricios”, the St. Patrick Batallion / Batallón de San Patricio that fought the US Army in 1846-1848, including US army Irish soldiers who sederted, joined the San Patricios. Eighteen were caught by American troops, summarily tried and were hanged here. (Mexico has a significant population of Irish descendants.)