We're visiting both cities at the end of October from Canada and want to start our stays with short 2-4 hr private walking tours for our group of 6. We're staying by the Zocalo, and we want to get the lay of the land, understand how the locals live, and scope out places we'll return to later for deeper dives. We do NOT want to be escorted to a shop to buy stuff.

Does anyone have any recommendations for specific guides or tour companies? We did this in Rome and found a company that hired historians as guides - what a great experience! Having said that, as long as the guide is knowledgeable and can communicate well we're happy, though we are all English speakers.

Many thanks for any pointers!

- R.