Mexico City in 3 Days: An Itinerary From a Video Guide

A Mexico City 3-day itinerary for a first visit can cover the Anthropology Museum and Chapultepec Castle on Day 1, the Zócalo, Templo Mayor and a lucha libre night on Day 2, and Paseo de la Reforma, La Lagunilla market and the Palacio de Bellas Artes on Day 3. That is the plan in Tourist to Local's video 3 Days in Mexico City With a Local, published in September 2025 by Martin, who grew up about an hour outside the city, and his wife Juliana.

Below is their route day by day, built only from what the video shows and says, with links to the moment where each stop appears.

Mexico City 3-day itinerary at a glance

Martin frames it as the trip he would plan for someone he cares about: late-night taco spots, neighborhoods that are not trending online and the touristy places that are actually worth it. A few things to know before you follow it:

• The hotel partnered on the video. The Best Western Hotel Majestic is introduced as a partner that helped make it possible, and the description includes affiliate links for tours and tickets.
• The days follow the week. Plaza Garibaldi is a Friday night stop, and Day 3 relies on Sunday traditions.
• It is food-first. Most days are built around breakfast, a taco stop and dinner, with sights in between.

Day 1: Chapultepec, fancy tacos and a mariachi night

The day starts at 8:03 a.m. at El Cardenal, an institution Martin's father took him to as a kid. On the table: bread with fresh cream (nata), a torta de tamal (a sandwich with a tamal inside), flautas and poached eggs on beans. The creators' advice: if you can, try the hot chocolate.

If you only fit one museum into the trip, the creators pick the National Museum of Anthropology. They describe 22 permanent halls and over 600,000 pieces, from colossal Olmec heads to the Aztec sun stone, and one of the creators' favorite things is that it covers all of Mexico, not just the Aztecs.

Next is Chapultepec Castle in the Bosque de Chapultepec, once the home of Emperor Maximilian in the 1860s and later a military academy and national museum. Expect marble staircases, stained glass and panoramic city views, for 100 pesos.

Lunch is the first half of what the creators call Mexico City's taco debate: fancy versus classic. At La Once Mil, tacos start at 99 pesos, around $5, with fillings like mushroom barbacoa and snapper al pastor. Martin's verdict is that it is not an everyday taco because it is expensive, but it is worth it.

The classic half comes at night at Taquería Los Cocuyos, a hole in the wall in the Centro Histórico they describe as cheap, fast and messy. Martin's favorite is the tongue taco, and the al pastor is excellent too. Then walk to Plaza Garibaldi, where mariachis play whatever the hour. On their Friday night, they heard Veracruz-style music and norteño and ended up at a mariachi show after a promoter waved them inside.

Day 2: The Zócalo, a giant library and lucha libre

Azul Histórico is a breakfast spot the creators found by accident and loved for its architecture and little patio. Order the quesadillas on blue corn tortillas, and know that in Mexico City a quesadilla does not automatically come with cheese.

Then spend the morning on the Zócalo, where the Catedral Metropolitana, Templo Mayor and Palacio Nacional, the presidential palace, share one square. The cathedral is massive, and the creators say you should go in. Templo Mayor, right behind it, was the religious and political heart of the Aztec Empire, and you can walk the excavated site. The creators point out that across Mexico, churches often stand near older ruins, because temples were destroyed and churches built close by.

A few miles north, the Biblioteca Vasconcelos is a free library the creators call the coolest they have seen in their travels. Right across from it, at an unmarked market, they found tacos de canasta, which they call the most classic taco of Mexico City. These are served out of a basket, usually from bicycles or small stands, and you eat them standing up.

Dinner is a splurge at Limosneros: bone marrow with chicharrón, slow-cooked pork ribs and a pork belly al pastor that one of them predicts will ruin all other tacos. Then go to lucha libre, which started in the 1930s as working-class theater. Their three steps: get a mask, book seats online or join a tour that starts with tacos and mezcal, and grab a beer.

Day 3: Reforma on a Sunday, La Lagunilla and Bellas Artes

The creators planned to cycle on Day 3, but rain changed the plan, a good reason to keep a flexible backup like the ones in our rainy day backup plan guide.

1. Walk Paseo de la Reforma. Every Sunday the city closes the boulevard to cars, and it fills with walkers, runners, cyclists and skaters. To ride, the creators point to the EcoBici bike share: download the app, pick up a bike and ride.
2. Browse La Lagunilla. This Sunday flea market mixes antiques, clothes and food stalls.
3. See a show at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The art nouveau exterior gets the attention, but to see the inside, including the famous Tiffany glass curtain of nearly a million pieces, you need a ticket to a performance.

If you see one performance there, the creators say to make it the Ballet Folklórico, which they describe as a decades-long showcase of Mexico's music, dance and culture. Both creators used to perform, and they say the show brought back memories of their performing days.

What the creators recommend

• El Cardenal for a traditional breakfast.
• The Anthropology Museum if you only pick one museum.
• Chapultepec Castle for 100 pesos.
• Tongue and al pastor tacos at Los Cocuyos.
• Templo Mayor, to see the Aztec city under the modern one.
• Biblioteca Vasconcelos, free and worth the detour.
• Lucha libre, absurd and, in their words, absolutely beautiful.
• The Ballet Folklórico at Bellas Artes.

The video does not tell you to skip anything. Its warnings are practical: the green salsa that looks like guacamole is one of the spiciest, the fancy taco line can take an hour, and tacos de canasta are not on Google Maps, so follow the crowds.

Where to stay and getting around

The creators based themselves at the Best Western Hotel Majestic, right on the Zócalo, which partnered on the video. Its upstairs breakfast room looks over the square, and the location puts Day 2's cathedral and Templo Mayor at your door. For more time, they point to Coyoacán, Xochimilco and Roma Norte as the next areas to explore.

Each day clusters stops so you are not crossing the city repeatedly: Chapultepec then the Centro on Day 1, the Zócalo and the area to the north on Day 2, and Reforma, La Lagunilla and Bellas Artes on Day 3. That is the idea behind grouping stops by neighborhood. Day 1 also starts with an 8 a.m. breakfast, so if you land the day before, our tips for a first day in a new city with jet lag help you arrive rested.

The mix of street tacos and two big dinners also makes the plan easy to scale. Swap Limosneros for another taco stand and you have a cheaper version; our guide on how to plan a trip on a budget shows where else to trim.

Check before you go: the video was filmed in 2025, and entry fees, show schedules, lucha libre dates and opening hours change. Confirm them on official sites before you book.

Turn this video into your own plan

The video gives you the places and the order, but not a budget or a schedule for your dates. A natural next step is to turn this same video into a plan on Vidtrip with your own dates, budget and pace, keeping Martin and Juliana's picks and linking each stop to its moment in the video.