MmePerdu

Just information, menachem, just information. It's what we do, is it not?

ssbbaa77

I visited Cabo San Lucas once few yrs ago as a solo female and there were lots of guys who made me uncomfortable being by myself. They were not used to seeing a woman traveling alone...

suze

That is surprising. I've been to Cabo San Lucas, or more often to Puerto Vallarta, as a solo female. I've never been uncomfortable or even felt people noticed I was traveling alone in either of those places. Or Amsterdam.

mlgb

We don't know if you are a younger, taller, blonder version of a solo female, but often in some Latin countries that attracts more attention than the older, shorter, dark-haired woman. I worked with a young woman from Mexico City and she used to say "All my life I've been competing with blondes".

In Latin countries it's also more typical for women to be with at least one other person (friends, family or SOs) when out strolling, especially at night after whatever time stores close and working women have finished their after-work errands and commutes. It's sort of a cultural holdover from the days of being chaperoned.

I stick to well-lit commercial streets at night and avoid shortcuts through unfamiliar dark streets. That applies in any number of major cities across South America (including Lima, Bogota, Medellin, Buenos Aires, Quito, and Santiago) as well as Mexico City, or any unfamiliar city where it is easy to get lost and even crossing a street can put you in the wrong place. I ask a local what time it's best to use a taxi or Uber rather than walk, and in fact whether there are places that I shouldn't walk at all. I'd tell you the same thing if you were to come visit in Los Angeles.

Admittedly I don't hang out in bars and in general avoid alcohol-focused touristy places like Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen, etc. as much as possible. I also avoid stumbling home late at night after a few too many.

If you are interested in being "fashionable" that also might attract the wrong kind of attention. I know I can't totally blend in, but I do "dress down" when traveling. I don't want to be seen as a walking ATM (or worse).

danon

One of the reasons I was a bit uneasy in lovely , lively Condesa (at night ) wasn’t the fear of men but the chance of tripping on the uneven sidewalks in many poorly lit streets. It may sound strange to some, I have impaired vision and that was one of the reasonsI stayed on Reforma to following year.
I did leave my expensive watch at home, but not being tall or blond...I was safe otherwise.lol

amyb

Not paranoid but your comment right after mine about making statements without justification was a bit coincidental. I was there last November for 10 days for business. I've traveled to 28 other countries, including Russia, China and four African countries, solo. That the metro feels the need for a female-only car is an indication that someone else (or many someone elses) felt unsafe there as well and they do what they can to accommodate that.

I never said that culture was limited to art or European art. My comment was that the museums I went to were not as strong in their holdings as other world-class museums I've been to around the world. And I stand by that. You're entitled to your opinion, I'm entitled to mine.

Cowboy1968

"Bike path" means in Amsterdam: Any pavement that can be navigated with a bicycle.
You have designated bike paths, which you can identify easily as a pedestrian.
And you have the other bike paths, which elsewhere are called street, sidewalk, bridge, square, pedestrian zone, bus lane, tram lane, etc.
Even on narrow pedestrian streets, crowded with people from one end to the other, slowing down or stopping is out of the question for cyclists.

GEsssa

Have been to DF (what the locals call Mexico City for Distrito Federal) as my daughter lived there for 8 years. There is plenty of art to see.... in the "Centro" there are the Diego Rivera murals in the National Gallery, a museum dedicated to the culture of Mexico (a new museum), the Museo de Bellas Artes.... In the south of the city there is a wonderful Saturday Market as well as Frida Kahlo's House and another museum with some of her paintings. You can also go out of the town to Teotihuacan to see the ruins or to the Iglesia of the Virgen Guadalupe. Besides all of that, there is a lively restaurant scene and plenty of shopping. Take your taxis at major hotels, not on the street and you should be fine. Enjoy!

danon

“Take your taxis at major hotels, not on the street and you should be fine. Enjoy!”

Yes except one is often nowhere near a major hotel.
I took taxis on the street ...only once in two visits the driver tried to rip me off big time, fortunately I speak Spanish and we settled it.

ssbbaa77

Now wondering how the spread of the new virus will affect traveling to any of these destinations in the spring. Hard to predict but better safe than sorry!?
Are they applying stricter screenings these days?

thank yiu

Daniel_Williams

I’ve been to both Amsterdam and Mexico City and I’d agree they’re completely different animals.

I was disappointed in Amsterdam as I had hoped the city would exude a more unique somehow Dutch vibe, and would be more of a revelation than it actually was. I undoubtedly had expectations detached from reality. In many places, I felt like I had not left the anglosphere (especially in the Leidseplein where I felt like was in West End London). Which is fine, but was not aligned with my hopes. The city is much more swarming with foreign tourists than Mexico City.

This said, the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum were fantastic, and I did enjoy some character-rich pubs in the Jordaan. The canals are picturesque, the history fascinating and architecture handsome in places with some day-trip towns looking out of a fairy tale (Delft comes to mind). I must add that I absolutely loved the great cycling networks (which is not an option in much of Mexico), especially cycling from Haarlem to Parnassiastrand. Overall, I had a nice time.

Mexico City was actually life-changing for me, in the way I perceive the world. More than I would have imagined. The glimpses of otherworldly ancient civilizations were mind-blowing. English is not omnipresent like in Amsterdam. The Museo de Antropologia there is one of the best museums I’ve been to anywhere, and the only one ever where I was so enthralled, I spent the whole day and felt I barely scratched the surface. My trip to Mexico City was a cultural awakening that prompted me to explore the country and its historic cities and archaeological sites with much greater depth—I learn so much every new trip to Mexico and truly have found things to love in just about every community I’ve visited. Another bonus is your money goes much further than in Holland!

Have fun, it’s an enviable decision to have to make!

Leely2

I had a similar experience with CDMX, not the first time I visited (too young), but when I returned a few years ago in my 40s.

One thing I love about Mexico City, and Mexico in general, is how central protest culture--and protest art--is.

Speaking of which, apparently there's a new exhibition at the Whitney. From the NYT review, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/a...s-whitney.html:

How Mexico’s Muralists Lit a Fire Under U.S. Artists -- A stupendous show at the Whitney Museum explores the profound impact of Mexican painters — the meeting and mingling that enriched American culture

5alive

​​​​​​Cultural tunnel vision.

You didn't just say art museums, or European art museums, you said museums.

The Anthropological Museum is one of the very best of its kind in the world. It is phenomenal.

The breezy critique of the art there and elsewhere in Mexico City is just insulting. And for the record, I like Rembrandt. A lot. But the Rivera murals at Palacio Nacional were astounding too.

As to other comments....

The comparison of Mexico City to Rome isn't a bad one.

As to transit, our hosts told us that the US Embassy recommended that all US government employees take Uber rather than taxis.

ssbbaa77

Thank you very much
i can wait on this decision until the virus situation settles

Daniel_Williams

Just to say I do know how to use apostrophes and semi-colons, they seem to disappear in the sent message

mlgb

Everyone uses Uber now as an alternative to taxis. Even Mexicans.