Mexico City, Mexico: Perfect Long Weekend

Fly to Mexico City and tell me it's not the most populated city on the planet. Officially, it is not. But unlike Tokyo, New York and other mega cities, the truth is they just don't know. The barrios are impossible to count accurately.

When I flew here for a long weekend getaway, it was the most phenomenal descent I've ever had. First there's the anticipation and anxiety of it all. But then you look out the window and wow! From the time we left 30-something thousand feet, to the time we landed all you could see was sprawl. Los Angeles could be a suburb of Mexico City!


Mexico City is on my short list of close-to-home, foreign-feeling getaway cities. Perhaps only in the province of Quebec can you get the feeling you're in another culture, without crossing the oceans. Whether it is the food, the Aztec and colonial history or just the cityscape it's easy to know you are not in a faux village such as PV or Cabo. This is the real deal.

The best thing that happened to make this trip successful was my taxi driver from the airport. Having spent a LOT of time brushing up on security issues, I had pretty well freaked myself out before ever arriving. But upon meeting my "approved" taxi driver my fortune changed. He asked if I wanted to hire him for private touring. The cost including gas, excluding tolls & entrance fees was only $80 USD payable at the end of each day. Having a great grasp of English and a modern cab, how could I say no? Logistics and safety just got a lot easier on this short trip!

First stop: the Zocalo. When the Aztec Empire called the valley Tenochtitlan, this was the center of the empire. After the fall of Montezuma II to the Spanish conquistadors, a great transformation took place - a transformation seen throughout the Aztec Empire to this day. Stone temples were slowly taken apart and with a ready supply of bricks, Catholic cathedrals were erected. Look at this photo of both Templo Mayor, and the Cathedral Metropolitana and you will see not only the destrution of the older Aztec site, but how similar in color the ruins are to the colonial church in the back.

From Mexico City, Mexico

While the cathedral was only passively interesting to me, Templo Mayor was exceptional. Although damaged in the 1500's by the Spanish, it was for me one of the rare locations I describe getting a "sense of place." History happened right here and it changed the world. Mexico speaks Spanish today because of the Cortez's conquest here. Mexicans look different from European Spaniards because of the ethnic mix that began here. Countless bloody human sacrifices in tribute to the sun were performed here. Budget half a day to explore this area.

From Mexico City, Mexico

The next and final day of my trip was the most impressive. If you have a life list, you absolutely must include the pyramids at Teotihuacan. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the society that built these major pyramids in the 2nd to 5th century AD was possibly the largest civilization on Earth. Later deserted, the Aztecs of the 16th century regarded these ruins as the birthplace of the gods. Today you can climb the two most important sites: Temple of the Sun and the slightly smaller Temple of the Moon. A bit of advice: bring water, sunscreen and your best pair of lungs. At an elevation of over 7,000 ft you will know that you climbed the third tallest pyramid in the world once you summit Temple of the Sun.

A city this large is too huge to cover in a simple blog post. I'll boil it down for you in closing: the rich history here goes back thousands of years and is easily accessible. To do this region justice you need at least a week, but having only a long weekend I was quite pleased with what could be accomplished here on a short visit. Regardless of your available time, I encourage each of you to update your bucket list with this city - only 3 hours south of Los Angeles, Houston or Miami.