Three spots you must visit in Mexico City

My super cool sis- and brother-in-law came to visit us last week from New York. We squeezed in dozens of activities in six days, including street food burritos, conchas at Bondy and dancing (with bottle service!) at a Mexican club until 3 a.m.

Three places, however, emerged as favorites. Here they are:

1. Drinks at the top of the Torre Latino

A few weeks ago, a friend told me that the bar at the top of the Torre Latino — the famous mid-century skyscraper downtown — offered amazing views of the city, without any type of cover charge. I’d never been to the Torre, so off we trekked on Tuesday night around sunset. We rode the shaky elevator up to the 37th floor, and then got out and rode another elevator up a few more floors.

When we got off, we found a glass-walled bar, and beyond that, the entire city spreading out into the horizon. I think we were all speechless for a few seconds.

Then we ordered a few beers and margaritas, and enjoyed the Kenny G muzak. After that we walked to Al Andar, my favorite restaurant in the Centro, for tacos and mezcal. The Torre Latino bar, however, had already set the tone for the trip. Our visitors were in awe of how big the city was; Crayton and I, after seven months, were reminded again of why we moved here in the first place.

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Torre Latinoamericana, AKA Torre Latino
Located at the corner of Eje Central/Lazaro Cardenas and Calle Francisco Madero in the Centro Histórico
Prices: The bar is free to enter; beer was about 40 pesos a piece. Martinis are a bit pricier at 120 pesos a piece.

2. Xochimilco

Given the purpose of a trip to Xochimilco — to take a lazy boat ride on a series of canals, while you eat, drink beer and sing to mariachi music — I’m surprised I hadn’t visited before last week. The city lies about 40 minutes south of us by car, so we booked a cab for the day and went on Thursday, a quieter day than the supposedly rowdy weekends. Visitors can also bring their own food, so I threw tortas, veggies, peanuts and dip in a tote bag.

We arrived at the dock around 1 p.m. and found a boat quickly. The prices are posted on a bulletin board, so you don’t have to feel wary of people ripping you off.

Then, we climbed into the boat and just… floated. And ate. And gazed out the sides of the canal at the trees and flowers, and the occasional nursery. We also drank beer from an ice bucket, and bought a few mariachi songs from the floating mariachi boat. Click on the audio below to the photo to listen to them singing “Mexico Lindo y Querido.” (Note: one of them is kind of off-key.)

Apparently the canals are open every day, and into the wee hours of the morning on the weekends. At night the boats are lit by candlelight. I’d like to get a group together and try that out, but in the meantime, I must learn more mariachi songs. Mexico Lindo y Querido fell kind of flat for me.

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Xochimilco
A suburb located about 40 minutes south by car; you could also take a the Metro and the Tren Ligero and it’s a short cab ride once you’re there.
Prices: The cab was about 100 pesos an hour; the boat ride was 140 pesos per hour, which is pretty cheap split between a large group. While beer is inexpensive — we paid 20 pesos a bottle — food can be outrageously expensive, so it’s best to bring your own snacks. Our friends got gouged on their taco plates, paying 300 pesos for around eight tacos and rice. (I’m still wincing at that.)

3. Lucha Libre!

My friend Julie is a lucha fanatic, and she’s been telling me for weeks how fun the matches are. With visitors in town, we finally had an excuse to go. The headline match was Mistico versus Negro Casas.

We bought seats in the middle section — had no trouble buying tickets, even 30 minutes before the match began — and a few friends of ours bought headband ribbons that said “Mistico” in glittery letters. We ended up having a blast. Fans shouted at the wrestlers, beat on drums, and pumped their arms in the air. A group of women wrestlers pulled each others’ hair.

One lucha fighter — my favorite, Maximo, whose schtick is that he acts overtly gay — even had a midget friend dressed in a turquoise furry monkey suit. YES. THAT HAPPENED.

Unfortunately, the arena doesn’t allow cameras inside, but I did snap a few photos with my iPhone. In the first one, you can kind of see good-guy female lucha wrestler Dark Angel get flipped over by one of the meanies, or rudas.

We left the match ebullient and a bit hoarse. Mistico, the good guy, won.

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Lucha Libre at Arena Mexico
Dr. Lavista No. 197, Colonia Doctores
Prices: Our tickets were 180 pesos a piece, and the seats were great. However, Julie says the real action lies in the first five rows. Tickets there cost about 300 pesos. Also, don’t expect to eat much more than popcorn and chips there. If you want to eat more substantially, try some of the taco vendors outside before the match starts. It’s also worth wandering around and checking out the T-shirts, masks, glittery headbands, etc.

If you know of any other tips I didn’t mention here, or if you have a few favorite “go-to” Mexico City activities outside of the usual suspects (pyramids, Zocalo, Frida Kahlo’s house, etc.), definitely let me know. We’ve got more visitors coming in December.