6 Days in Mexico City: First-Timer Plan
Six days lets you go back into the Historic Centre for the buildings you walked past on day 1. Days 1 through 5 run the same Historic Centre, Chapultepec, Coyoacan-Xochimilco, Roma/Condesa, and Polanco core as the 5 day itinerary ; day 6 goes deeper downtown with the Palacio Nacional murals and the tiled buildings around Bellas Artes. Building toward a full week? The 7 day itinerary closes with a taco crawl and a mezcal flight on top of this.
Book these before you go:
- Casa Azul timed entry via GetYourGuide - mandatory online ticket, no walk-up window exists, book 2-4 weeks out
- Xochimilco trajinera tour via Viator - skips negotiating a boat rental at the embarcadero yourself
- Roma Norte or Condesa hotel on Booking.com - book before Day of the Dead season eats availability
- Lucha libre night via GetYourGuide - a seat plus pickup beats fighting Ticketmaster.mx’s Spanish-only checkout cold
Day 1: The Historic Centre
Morning: The Zocalo and the Metropolitan Cathedral, both free, then Templo Mayor’s excavated site and museum for around 100 MXN ($6).
Afternoon: Lunch at a Mercado San Juan fonda (80-150 MXN comida corrida), then Palacio de Bellas Artes if it’s not Monday: 75 MXN ($4), in-person purchase only, sales cut off at 5:30pm.
Evening: Dinner in Roma Norte or Condesa. Street tacos al pastor run 12-25 MXN if you’d rather graze than sit down.
Day 2: Chapultepec
Morning: Museo Nacional de Antropologia first, before the tour buses. It’s 210 MXN ($12), walk-up only, no advance ticket needed, and it earns the half day you’re giving it. Current hours are posted at mna.inah.gob.mx .
Afternoon: Chapultepec Castle, same 210 MXN price since January’s INAH increase, for the views and the Diego Rivera murals inside the National History Museum. See inah.gob.mx for current pricing.
Evening: Dinner in Polanco or back in Roma, your call.
Day 3: Coyoacan and Xochimilco
Morning: Coyoacan first. Walk the plaza and Mercado Coyoacan before your timed Casa Azul entry; the museum is 320 MXN ($18) and includes the Museo Anahuacalli nearby. Book only at boletos.museofridakahlo.org.mx ; there is no walk-up window, and the online checkout adds a small service fee on top of the 320 MXN ticket.
Afternoon: Uber to Xochimilco, roughly 30-40 minutes from Coyoacan. Contract a trajinera at an official embarcadero only, 750 MXN ($43) per boat per hour split across your group, capacity around 18.
Evening: Dinner back near your hotel, Roma or Condesa.
Day 4: Roma Norte and Condesa
Morning: Walk Roma Norte’s Art Nouveau streets starting at Plaza Rio de Janeiro, then cross into Condesa’s Art Deco blocks around Parque Mexico and Parque Espana. Both parks are free.
Afternoon: Lunch at a Mercado Roma fonda, another 80-150 MXN comida corrida, then browse the boutiques and galleries along Alvaro Obregon and Amsterdam.
Evening: A mezcal flight at La Clandestina before dinner nearby; a bar pour runs 80-150 MXN.
Day 5: Polanco and Zona Rosa
Morning: Museo Soumaya, free every day of the week, for the Rodin collection and the building itself; Museo Jumex sits right across the plaza if you want a second free stop.
Afternoon: Wander Polanco’s upscale shopping strip on Avenida Presidente Masaryk, then head to Zona Rosa for its dense Korean food enclave near Roma and Reforma. Use metro.cdmx.gob.mx to check Line 1 stops if you’d rather take the subway than an Uber between the two.
Evening: If it’s a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday, swap dinner for lucha libre at Arena Mexico instead.
Day 6: Downtown Landmarks
Morning: Palacio Nacional, right on the Zocalo, free entry with photo ID; Diego Rivera’s murals inside cover the sweep of Mexican history across two floors, and most first-timers rush past it on day 1 without realizing it’s free to go in.
Afternoon: Casa de los Azulejos two blocks over, the blue-tiled Sanborns building, free to walk into even if you don’t eat there; Palacio Postal next door has the same free-to-enter policy and better ceilings.
Evening: A slower dinner, back in Roma or Condesa, or wherever you haven’t tried yet.
| Day | Focus | Don’t miss |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Historic Centre | Templo Mayor’s excavated temple site |
| 2 | Chapultepec | The Anthropology Museum, half a day minimum |
| 3 | Coyoacan + Xochimilco | The 750 MXN per-boat trajinera rate, not per person |
| 4 | Roma Norte + Condesa | A mezcal flight at La Clandestina |
| 5 | Polanco + Zona Rosa | Museo Soumaya, free every day |
| 6 | Downtown Landmarks | Palacio Nacional’s free Diego Rivera murals |
Is six days too many for Mexico City?
No, if you use the extra day for depth instead of distance. Six days lets you go back into the Historic Centre for the free sights day 1 doesn’t have time for, Palacio Nacional and Casa de los Azulejos specifically, rather than adding a rushed day trip that fights the whole point of a slower CDMX visit.
What’s actually left to see on day 6 after Roma, Condesa, and Polanco?
The Historic Centre itself, mostly. Day 1 covers the Zocalo, the Cathedral, and Templo Mayor, but skips the free Diego Rivera murals inside Palacio Nacional and the tiled buildings flanking Bellas Artes, both of which reward a slower second pass more than a new neighborhood would at this point in the trip.
One concrete tip: do Palacio Nacional in the morning specifically, since the security line to get in moves faster before the plaza fills up. For the full CDMX planning rundown, see the Mexico City guide .