Guided Cultural Journeys

Together, we can walk around the city and take public transportation, with a focus on witnessing the most common aspects of life here. The Mexico City metro, for example, moves over 5 million people per day. It is an inexpensive, clean and well-organized system, and many stations have spaces dedicated to art exhibitions that change periodically. We could walk by a public elementary school when the kids get out. In a country where there are no public school buses and most people do not have cars, school letting-out time is a massive confluence of parents, children, and small-scale snack and food vendors. Or, we could walk through one or many different tianguis, the itinerant street markets that have existed since pre-hispanic times and continue to appear once a week in every neighborhood in the city.

Below are just a few ideas; we can develop others to match your interests. Some, like Centro Histórico, can take up to three days if you want to see everything on our list. Ask us for more details on the options that interest you.

It may have already occurred to you that the line between education and culture is rather arbitrary ... this means that some of the topics included here can easily be included in an Educational Journey.

• Centro Historico: Palacio de Bellas Artes, Alameda Central, Palacio Nacional, Catedral, Templo Mayor, colonial buildings, museums, 20th Century murals in public buildings, social and economic scene surrounding the Centro Historico …
• Parque de Chapultepec - Museum of Modern Art, of Anthropology, of Mexican History (Castillo de Chapultepec), Rufino Tamayo Museum, paddle boats and lake, children's petting zoo, weekend favorite for low-income Mexican families and friends
• Prehispanic Mexico City - Teotihuacán (1 day), Templo Mayor, Cuicuilco, Metro Pino Suarez
• The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the largest public university in Latin America, and its surroundings.
• Handicrafts - to buy: La Ciudadela, Bazar Sabado (San Angel). To meet artesans: Milpa Alta, Xochimilco
• Xochimilco floating gardens
• Coyoacán - Colonial-era resort for the Spanish, Frida Kahlo Museum, Trotsky Museum, Museum of Popular Culture, upper-class artsy-bohemian meeting place for musicians, artisans, intellectuals
• Martes de Arte en Tepito (Tuesdays only) - taking over a public plaza to offer a public service: music and dance, free art and handicrafts workshops in a low-income neighborhood.
• Bazar del Chopo - alternative/counterculture art and music street market (Saturdays only)
• Get to know daily aspects of different neighborhoods: street markets, schools, residential areas.

Independent Cultural Journeys

This is a good option for those who like exploring on their own but want some good local information on what to do. It is also the cheapest option. We help plan the day according to your interests, and meet with you prior to that day. At that time, we provide you with maps and precise directions of how to get to where you want. Includes Mexico City Information Kit, Metro map and some city maps. You can choose from the same list of topics as the guided cultural journeys, or make up your own itinerary.