Trip Report Mexico City/Guanajuato
Mar 1st, 2008, 07:29 AM
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Trip Report Mexico City/Guanajuato
We spent Feb 15th-23rd in Mexico City and Guanajuato and loved both places. American flights from Boston through Dalllas were ok but the plances that AA uses for domestic flights usually have no TVs or music. Food for sale on the way down we didn't need since we brought our own but be warned-they ran out on the flight down.
We arrived after 11:30 P. M. in Mexico City (on time) and had no trouble finding the official taxi booths. It cost about 200 pesos to the Catedral Hotel near the Zocolo. Thanks to Fodors and people on this forum for recommending this hotel. It is an incredible bargain. I wrote a review on Trip Advisor for anyone who is interested.
On day one we walked around the Zocolo and then took the red tourist bus for a three hour tour. You can get on and off but we didn't. We love these busses in cities- you get an overview of all the big sites and a feeling for where things are. The recorded tour was in English and very good.
The only bad part was that it really took almost four hours because the traffic back was very bad. Dinner at the Cafe Tacuba near the Zocolo. We returned here a few nights later- reasonable with great food.
Next day was Sunday and we took the Subway out to the National Museum of anthropology. Since it was Sunday the subway was not crowded and very easy to navigate and dirt cheap. This museum is as great as all the guide books say-don't miss it. Afterwards we checked out the Chaupultec(sp?) park which was crowded with Mexican families and then started to walk the Paseo de Reforma back to our hotel. We stopped and walked around the Zona Rosa and had lunch at an outdoor cafe there. The Paseo is closed to traffic on Sunday and people bike, roller blade etc.-very nice. Eventually we reached Almeida park which was fillled with people and music and then back to the hotel. This took all day. No dinner that night because as we were sitting on the hotel balcony enjoying the view of the Cathedral my wife started to get the chills. She went to bed and took tylenol and was fine in the morning. We think she might have had a little dehydration which she has a tendency to get because she doesn't drink much but who knows-it could have been worse.
On Monday we bought a tour to Teohuacan Ruins from the travel agent in the lobby. For some reason they also included the Basillica of the Virgin of Guadalupe which we hadn't paid for. Both places were very interesting. We had a fabulous tour guide- there were only 7 of us in a minibus. I think we lucked out because we returned on the tour company's big bus and the guide didn't seem as knowledgeable.
On Tuesday we visited the ruins and museum right next to the Zocolo. Walking through Aztec ruins under the shadow of the Cathedral and other buildings is a unique experience. The other ruins we have visited are all in the middle of nowhere. The museum here is superior. Don't miss it. Then about eleven we got on the subway again to go to Coyoacan and San Angel. Even though it was past rush hour the subway was jammed for the first few stops. After that it cleared out a bit and the ride was comfortable.When we exited the subway it was pretty hot so we took a cab to the Trotsky house and then walked to the Frieda house. We had both read a novel about Frieda and seen the movie so we enjoyed both places a lot. Then we walked to the Coyoacan Zocolo- a really beautiful place. Had lunch at a place recommended by Fodor on the Jardin there. We didn't see any sitio taxi stands for the ride to San Angel so on the waiter's advice we walked a few blocks and took a small bus to San Angel.By the way neither of us speaks any Spanish. The driver and passengers were very helpful and we wound up at San Jacinto square after leaving the bus and walking a few blocks. A nice area but we liked the Coyoacan Zocolo a lot more. Since it was rush hour by now and we were hot and tired we took a sitio cab back to the hotel-$15. Subway was $.40 but it was vacation. Besides, after seeing how crowded the subway could be at eleven in the morning we knew we didn't want to be on it during rush hour.Dinner that night was at Sirenas (recommended in Fodors) which overlooks the Aztec ruins and the Cathedral-they have a beautiful outdoor patio on the third flood. This was the most expensive meal of the trip-about $50 for two with beer-the wine list was expensive. My wife's meal was outstanding but my shrimp were somewhat overdone.
On Wed we took a bus to Guanajuato. One very nice feature of the Hotel Catedral is the travel agent in the lobby. She sold us the tickets and helped us pick a good time. Cab ride to the bus terminal was short and the traffic wasn't bad. The terminal was easy to navigate and while you can't really understand the announcements it is relatively small and you can see the buses clearly. As you get on the bus they hand you a sandwich and a drink. The first class bus is plush- large comfortable seats, a TV., drapes on the window, air conditioned and a clean toilet room in the back of the bus. We joked that the Mexican bus gave better service and was more comfortable than American Airlines. Tickets were about $45 each for the five hour ride to Guanajuato.
Guanajuato is in the book 1,000 places to see before you die and it definitely deserves to be there. It is beautiful and charming. The Meson de los Poetas is a beautiful restored colonial mansion-I reviewed it on Trip Advisor for anyone who is interested. We arrived on a Wed afternoon and the original plan was to spend Thurs in Guanajuato and go to San Miguel Allende for the day on Friday. However the tour to San Miguel from the tourist office was in Spanish and included places on the way that we weren't interested in- the guide made it sound like a tour of places famous in the war for Mexican independence. A taxi would be $100 and we loved Guanajuato so we stayed there for the next two days and visited just about everything. Just walking around this town is fun. I usually get sick of churches fast but the ones here are the best restored churches I have ever seen and I've seen a lot in Europe.
On Sat we took a cab at 4:30A.M. to the Leon/Guanajuato airport. (BJX)I couldn't get on the later flight with my FF tickets. Fairly small airport but very modern- big planes do land here but we were on a 40 or 50 seater to Dallas. If you want to skip Mexico City this is a good airport to consider. We landed on time at Dallas- a clear sunny Saturday but sat on the runway for 45 minutes??? How does that happen on a clear Saturday??No gates open they said. Customs was another 45 minutes- at least 40 customs booths but only six open for hundreds of people. Had to go through security again- hopped on the monorail to another terminal and got to the Boston gate as the flight was loading. No time to buy food- good news is that they didn't run out and the Asian Wrap sandwich was excellent-worth the $5.
Thanks to everyone who wrote about Mexico City on this forum.
We arrived after 11:30 P. M. in Mexico City (on time) and had no trouble finding the official taxi booths. It cost about 200 pesos to the Catedral Hotel near the Zocolo. Thanks to Fodors and people on this forum for recommending this hotel. It is an incredible bargain. I wrote a review on Trip Advisor for anyone who is interested.
On day one we walked around the Zocolo and then took the red tourist bus for a three hour tour. You can get on and off but we didn't. We love these busses in cities- you get an overview of all the big sites and a feeling for where things are. The recorded tour was in English and very good.
The only bad part was that it really took almost four hours because the traffic back was very bad. Dinner at the Cafe Tacuba near the Zocolo. We returned here a few nights later- reasonable with great food.
Next day was Sunday and we took the Subway out to the National Museum of anthropology. Since it was Sunday the subway was not crowded and very easy to navigate and dirt cheap. This museum is as great as all the guide books say-don't miss it. Afterwards we checked out the Chaupultec(sp?) park which was crowded with Mexican families and then started to walk the Paseo de Reforma back to our hotel. We stopped and walked around the Zona Rosa and had lunch at an outdoor cafe there. The Paseo is closed to traffic on Sunday and people bike, roller blade etc.-very nice. Eventually we reached Almeida park which was fillled with people and music and then back to the hotel. This took all day. No dinner that night because as we were sitting on the hotel balcony enjoying the view of the Cathedral my wife started to get the chills. She went to bed and took tylenol and was fine in the morning. We think she might have had a little dehydration which she has a tendency to get because she doesn't drink much but who knows-it could have been worse.
On Monday we bought a tour to Teohuacan Ruins from the travel agent in the lobby. For some reason they also included the Basillica of the Virgin of Guadalupe which we hadn't paid for. Both places were very interesting. We had a fabulous tour guide- there were only 7 of us in a minibus. I think we lucked out because we returned on the tour company's big bus and the guide didn't seem as knowledgeable.
On Tuesday we visited the ruins and museum right next to the Zocolo. Walking through Aztec ruins under the shadow of the Cathedral and other buildings is a unique experience. The other ruins we have visited are all in the middle of nowhere. The museum here is superior. Don't miss it. Then about eleven we got on the subway again to go to Coyoacan and San Angel. Even though it was past rush hour the subway was jammed for the first few stops. After that it cleared out a bit and the ride was comfortable.When we exited the subway it was pretty hot so we took a cab to the Trotsky house and then walked to the Frieda house. We had both read a novel about Frieda and seen the movie so we enjoyed both places a lot. Then we walked to the Coyoacan Zocolo- a really beautiful place. Had lunch at a place recommended by Fodor on the Jardin there. We didn't see any sitio taxi stands for the ride to San Angel so on the waiter's advice we walked a few blocks and took a small bus to San Angel.By the way neither of us speaks any Spanish. The driver and passengers were very helpful and we wound up at San Jacinto square after leaving the bus and walking a few blocks. A nice area but we liked the Coyoacan Zocolo a lot more. Since it was rush hour by now and we were hot and tired we took a sitio cab back to the hotel-$15. Subway was $.40 but it was vacation. Besides, after seeing how crowded the subway could be at eleven in the morning we knew we didn't want to be on it during rush hour.Dinner that night was at Sirenas (recommended in Fodors) which overlooks the Aztec ruins and the Cathedral-they have a beautiful outdoor patio on the third flood. This was the most expensive meal of the trip-about $50 for two with beer-the wine list was expensive. My wife's meal was outstanding but my shrimp were somewhat overdone.
On Wed we took a bus to Guanajuato. One very nice feature of the Hotel Catedral is the travel agent in the lobby. She sold us the tickets and helped us pick a good time. Cab ride to the bus terminal was short and the traffic wasn't bad. The terminal was easy to navigate and while you can't really understand the announcements it is relatively small and you can see the buses clearly. As you get on the bus they hand you a sandwich and a drink. The first class bus is plush- large comfortable seats, a TV., drapes on the window, air conditioned and a clean toilet room in the back of the bus. We joked that the Mexican bus gave better service and was more comfortable than American Airlines. Tickets were about $45 each for the five hour ride to Guanajuato.
Guanajuato is in the book 1,000 places to see before you die and it definitely deserves to be there. It is beautiful and charming. The Meson de los Poetas is a beautiful restored colonial mansion-I reviewed it on Trip Advisor for anyone who is interested. We arrived on a Wed afternoon and the original plan was to spend Thurs in Guanajuato and go to San Miguel Allende for the day on Friday. However the tour to San Miguel from the tourist office was in Spanish and included places on the way that we weren't interested in- the guide made it sound like a tour of places famous in the war for Mexican independence. A taxi would be $100 and we loved Guanajuato so we stayed there for the next two days and visited just about everything. Just walking around this town is fun. I usually get sick of churches fast but the ones here are the best restored churches I have ever seen and I've seen a lot in Europe.
On Sat we took a cab at 4:30A.M. to the Leon/Guanajuato airport. (BJX)I couldn't get on the later flight with my FF tickets. Fairly small airport but very modern- big planes do land here but we were on a 40 or 50 seater to Dallas. If you want to skip Mexico City this is a good airport to consider. We landed on time at Dallas- a clear sunny Saturday but sat on the runway for 45 minutes??? How does that happen on a clear Saturday??No gates open they said. Customs was another 45 minutes- at least 40 customs booths but only six open for hundreds of people. Had to go through security again- hopped on the monorail to another terminal and got to the Boston gate as the flight was loading. No time to buy food- good news is that they didn't run out and the Asian Wrap sandwich was excellent-worth the $5.
Thanks to everyone who wrote about Mexico City on this forum.
Mar 1st, 2008, 09:56 AM
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Enjoyed your trip report, and am in awe that you walked from Chapultepac Park back to the Zocalo. There are two rush hours on the subway, I understand, as people go home midday as well.
Guanajuato is the perfect town for just hanging around in, so picturesque, much more than San Miguel IMO. My sister loves to visit Mexican churches as well--she says you can see much more than in Italian ones, for example, where you have to pay for every little thing, such as to have the lights turned on.
Guanajuato is the perfect town for just hanging around in, so picturesque, much more than San Miguel IMO. My sister loves to visit Mexican churches as well--she says you can see much more than in Italian ones, for example, where you have to pay for every little thing, such as to have the lights turned on.
Mar 17th, 2008, 10:17 AM
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I agree - Guanajuato is a very special place. The churches are magnificent, especially the Cathedral and La Valenciana. Strolling around the pretty plazas with fountains, climbing up into the callejons, the funicular to the Pipila monument, having breakfast or a drink (well, more than one) at a sidewalk cafe on the Jardin - it was just a perfectly charming place to be.
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