On our way from La Habana, Cuba, to Quito, Ecuador we (me and Miranda) had a long layover in Mexico City. I have this rule that any layover over 5 hours during the day, means I want to get out of the airport. And so it happened in Mexico City. Just some hours, and I totally fell in love with the city. Basically made a plan to return to Mexico next year (of course, this was before the world got in a global lock-down and everything turned very insecure. Let´s see about that now). So, here is what do in Mexico City on your 6-hour layover.
I was lucky to have a friend, thanks Rolando!, (going back to one of our Communications Conferences in Montreal back in 2015) who lives in Mexico City and told us to go meet him at the Mercado Roma. He showed us his neighborhood in a good 3 hours, perfect for if you just want to get a very first taste of Mexico City and don´t want to spend your time at the airport.
Before leaving the airport
If you have large hand luggage that you do not want to take into the city, you can store it at the luggage lockers outside the baggage claim.
Also, good to know: as you are going through migration, of one of the forms that you have to hand in, they’ll tear off part of one and give it back to you – don’t lose this! They’ll ask for it back when you’re checking in again.
We took a cab from the airport with a fixed price and went straight to the Mercado Roma. Other than that, the safest way to get around while in the city is Uber.
Also, just make sure that you calculate enough time to get back to the airport (check if it happens to be rush hour by any chance) and that you will have to go through migrations and security check again. It would be a shame to miss your flight altogether, although it could be a nice excuse to end up spending a looottttt more time in Mexico than you had planned for 😉
Mercado Roma
Mercado Roma is a gourmet market that offers the best of Mexico City´s gastronomic scene (though it´s a little more expensive than your general food stalls). As they say themselves: ´the place where product, quality, food, architecture, and coexistence come together´, and totally the best place to try all of your new and delicious Mexican dishes, of course with a real michelada.
You sit on big tables, sharing them with other people, and you can order from the different market stalls around. People will also come passing by your table offering different dishes from their stalls.
What I liked about this place is that it´s definitely a creative place in which the menu and the dishes they offer are never the same. They change throughout the year, trying to adapt to their clients. Of course, it´s also still a market, so you can buy some little gifts for him (fried insects, anyone?).
Mercado Medellin and El Comedor de Los Milagros
After this fantastic lunch, we went to the market around the corner, the Mercado Medellin, to see the ´real Mexican markets´. A real labyrinth of endless corridors, stackes with chilies, fruits, veggies, ground spices, brightly colored candies and dried fruits. There´s also the typical Mexican food like hot chilaquiles (fried corn tortillas), huaraches (corn cakes served with various toppings) and conchas (sweet rolls), and of course many piñatas (the paper dolls that are very typical for Mexican, and generally in Latin-America, birthday parties).
We took also a quick step into El Comedor de Los Milagros (de eatery of miracles), which seemed to be a great place to hang out at night as well with different stalls preparing tequilas, cocktails and again, communal tables (you know, I love the communal table, and if you´re a solo traveler, it´s even better!)
And unfortunately, with this, it was basically time to go back to the airport as it was around rush hour and we had no ideas how long it would take us to get back.
Other things to do
If you have a bit more time though, there are some things my dear local friend recommended to do:
The Centro Historico district is where many museums and other attractions are, so it’s the perfect place to hang out if you don’t have much time. Places to visit are the city´s oldest market of La Merced, another market that will touch all of your 5 senses.
Not too far away is the Zócalo square: representing both the modern-day city and its ancient counterpart, the pre-Hispanic capital of Tenochtitlán. Colonial buildings as well as the ruins of the Templo Mayor and the adjacent museum.
If you need some green and peace before folding yourself in an airplane again, Parque Alameda might be the way to go. And once you are there, you might as well visit the next-door Palacio de Bellas Artes. Many say it´s one of the most beautiful buildings in Mexico City.
Time to get that lay-over in Mexico City?
Of course, you can also try and stay longer by combining your flights in that way that you can stay a couple of days without paying extra for your flights. How to do that? Read all about it in this article.
