Mexico City With Kids
We have taken our own three kids to Mexico City, on top of three months living in Merida and trips to Oaxaca, Cancun and the Riviera Maya. This is what I tell families before they land in one of the great cities in the world.
Best For
nine and up for the museums and the walking, younger kids do fine at a slower pace
Recommended Nights
3
Getting There
Mexico City International Airport (MEX), about 30-45 min to Roma Norte or Polanco
Known For
Aztec ruins under a colonial capital, world class museums, and some of the best street food anywhere
The Capital Most Families Skip For The Beach
I put Mexico City in the same sentence as Paris and Tokyo and people look at me like I have made a mistake. It has the best anthropology museum in the world, a Diego Rivera mural cycle inside a working government building, Frida Kahlo’s house, and a canal system left over from the Aztec city the Spanish built right on top of. Most families fly into Cancun and never see any of it.
It is about four hours from Dallas and closer from Houston. You do not need two weeks in Mexico to make this work. Three days does it on its own, and it pairs easily onto Oaxaca or the Yucatan if you have more time to spend.
Who It Is For
Families who already have a passport stamp or two, kids nine and up who can handle a real museum and a full day of walking, and anyone who wants Mexico beyond the resort strip.
Who Should Wait
If your only kid is under five, the altitude and the walking will wear everyone out fast. Save Mexico City for when the youngest can hike a museum wing without a stroller, and start with the Riviera Maya instead.
Getting Around
General ranges, not exact schedules.
What Is Worth Your Hours In Mexico City
The Zocalo And Centro Historico
One of the largest public squares in the world, ringed by the Metropolitan Cathedral, the National Palace and the ruins of the Templo Mayor. Go inside the National Palace to see the Diego Rivera murals telling the whole history of Mexico across one stairwell, free to enter.
Palacio De Bellas Artes
An Art Nouveau and Art Deco palace with a Tiffany glass stage curtain inside and more Rivera and Siqueiros murals upstairs. Kids do not need to love art history to be impressed by the building itself, and the surrounding Alameda Central park is a good spot to let them run after.
Chapultepec Castle And Park
The only royal castle in North America, built on the hill the Aztecs called the grasshopper hill. The National History Museum inside covers everything from the Spanish conquest through the Mexican Revolution, and the park below is where the whole city goes to breathe.
The Neighborhoods, And What Each One Gets You
Roma Norte, Condesa and Polanco sit within walking distance of each other and cover almost everything a family needs. Skip staying directly in Centro Historico with young kids, it is worth visiting by day but is busier and less walkable at night.
Hotel MX Roma By Wyndham
Affordable and walkable on tree lined streets full of cafes, a short taxi from most museums and an easy base for a family traveling light.
Hotel Circulo Condesa
A quiet, leafy spot near Parque Mexico, one of the best neighborhoods in the city for an evening walk with kids after a full day of sightseeing.
Hyatt Regency Mexico City
Steps from Chapultepec Park with a pool and stroller-friendly streets, a solid pick for a first Mexico City trip or a family with a younger kid in tow.
Mexico City With Kids, Not Just Around Them
Mexico City works for kids because so much of it is hands-on rather than behind glass, if you pick the right pieces of it.
Downtime Pick
Bosque de Chapultepec, one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere. Rowboats on the lake, wide shaded paths, a zoo with free admission, and enough open space for kids to just run after a morning of museums.
What To Eat In Mexico City
Tacos Al Pastor
Elote
Chilaquiles
MoleNicole’s Perspective
Three Months In Merida Taught Us Mexico. Mexico City Is Still Its Own Thing.
We spent three months living in Merida, in the Yucatan, with our kids. Rented a house in Centro, hired a tutor, found the best tortillerias in the neighborhood, the whole thing. That is where I learned how Mexico works day to day, not from a resort.
Mexico City is a different part of the country and a different kind of trip. We have taken our own kids there too, along with Oaxaca, Cancun and the Riviera Maya, and it is the one that surprises people most. Eight years teaching social studies, and the Aztec and Maya halls at the Museo Nacional de Antropologia are as close as I have come to watching that curriculum stand up in front of me. Give the altitude a full day before you push a big sightseeing schedule. Everyone, kids included, does better for it.
Teotihuacan
Pyramids That Were Already Ancient Ruins When The Aztecs Found Them
Teotihuacan sits about an hour outside the city, and nobody knows which civilization built it, the Aztecs found it abandoned centuries before they arrived and simply named it. Climb the Pyramid of the Sun, one of the largest pyramids in the world, and the smaller Pyramid of the Moon at the other end of the Avenue of the Dead. Go early, before the heat and the tour buses, and bring more water than feels necessary. A guide adds real context that a self-guided walk misses, especially for kids old enough to ask why.
Where The Money Is Worth Spending
A Private Guide Through The Anthropology Museum
Hiring a private, English speaking guide for a half day at the Museo Nacional de Antropologia turns a good museum into an unforgettable one. The Aztec Sun Stone and the Maya rooms get explained instead of just labeled, and a guide can pace it to match how long your kids can pay attention.
What I would not pay for. A private sunrise hot air balloon over Teotihuacan runs several hundred dollars per person and asks a lot of kids who are already adjusting to the altitude and an early wake up. Do the guided ground tour instead and save the balloon for a trip without little ones.
Things I Tell Every Client Before Mexico City
Mexico City Travel Bingo For Kids
A printable bingo card built around the real things you will see walking Mexico City with kids, the kind of thing that turns a metro ride or a museum queue into a game instead of a meltdown. Instant download, ready to print at home.
Get The Mexico City Bingo CardMexico City With Kids, Answered
How many days do we need in Mexico City?
Three works for most families. That covers the Zocalo and Centro Historico, Chapultepec Castle and Park, and a day trip to Teotihuacan, without rushing any of it.
Is Mexico City safe for kids?
Mexico City is safer for tourists than the headlines suggest. Stay in Roma Norte, Condesa, Polanco or Coyoacan and use rideshare instead of hailing taxis, and it is a very manageable city with children.
Is the altitude a problem for kids?
It can be for the first day. Mexico City sits at 2,240 meters, and kids can get tired or headachy faster than usual. Plan an easy first day and push water more than you think you need to.
Should we do Teotihuacan as a day trip or stay overnight?
A day trip works for almost every family. It is close enough to Mexico City that an early start gets you there before the heat and back in time for dinner.
What is the best age for Mexico City with kids?
Nine and up gets the most out of it. The museums, the walking and the altitude are all easier once kids can pace themselves through a full day.
Ready To Put Mexico City On The Calendar
Send me your dates and how old your kids are and I will tell you how many nights Mexico City needs, which neighborhood to sleep in, and how to build the rest of Mexico around it.
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