The Floating Gardens of Mexico City

Advantages: Unique day or half day trip
Disadvantages: A fair distance out of town

...Having lived in Mexico City since the start of July, I can't believe it's taken me over 3 months to visit this place, since it's one of the most famous attractions in the city and has been since the 1920s. Xochimilco (soch-ee-milk-oh) is an area located to the south of the city, known for its series of canals, the remains of old Lake Xochimilco. Quick trivia here, this was home to canoeing and rowing competitions when Mexico hosted the Olympics back in 1968. ~ Getting There and When To Go ~ Xochimilco isn't just a bit south of the city, it's a long way away, so much so that it took me over an hour to get there and I already live south of the centre. Metros only run as far as Tasqueña (end of Line 2, the blue one) and from there you can either catch the Tren Ligero ("electric train" or as I would call it...a tram) or take...

zoe_page 21.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Xochimilco, Mexico City

A Green Oasis In The City

Advantages: Loads of free stuff to see and do
Disadvantages: Can be busy at weekends

...The Bosque de Chapultepec, also known as Chapultepec Park is a 1600 acre expanse of green space to one side of Mexico City Centre, which has been a public park since the 16th Century, and remains one of the largest in the world. Within its gates there are many different things to see and do, and I have whiled away many a weekend here. LOCATION The park is located on the outskirts of the city, to the west of the main attractions such as the Zócalo. I have walked from there to here, and it took over an hour, so is not recommended (the route, along Reforma, is not too interesting). Being so large, it can be entered from various directions and is served by various Metro stations including Chapultepec, Auditorio and Constituyentes which are a much better option. OPENING TIMES While the various attractions within the park have...

zoe_page 07.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Chapultepec Park, Mexico City

VIVA MEXICO

Advantages: More filled with excitement than Robbie Williamses pants
Disadvantages: Keep your ehad screwed on and there are none.

...Mexico City. The world?s fourth biggest city, with probably one of the worst reputations. I went there not by choice but out of necessity because that was the only way you could have gotten me there. I was living in Mexico, about five hours away from Mexico City in a place called San Luis Potosi when my passport ran out. That meant only one thing. A trip to the British Embassy in Mexico City. I was terrified. Because you read about it don?t you? You read about all the horrific things that happen in Mexico City. You read that Mexico has the highest Kidnapping rate in the world. (It?s just taken over from Columbia) You read about people that only stepped out of their hotel rooms for a second and are mugged on the doorstep. So I wasn?t looking forward to it. This is what I found. We took the bus in and hit Mexico City...

xelan 08.08.2004 · Read review
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Review of Mexico City (Mexico)

D.F. - Distinctly Fascinating

Advantages: I've NEVER been ANYWHERE like it
Disadvantages: Read and find out

...There are many detailed reviews on specific attractions in Mexico City, listed separately on this site, so what I would like to do is to give you an overview of what day to day life is like in this city, to prepare you should you ever choose to visit. I arrived in Mexico City also called DF (Federal District) in July last year and was immediately inducted into the wonder that is the rainy season. My new flatmate took me to the supermarket, we stocked up and, the minute we stepped back outside the monsoon started. Every day for the next two months, like clockwork, it rained from about 2pm for an hour or so. And then it stopped. Autumn arrived, and with it, the dry season. Things were looking up. I love Mexican supermarkets. The thing I often miss most when abroad is Tesco, because so many other countries simply have no passable...

zoe_page 06.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mexico City (Mexico)

Down Mexico Way

Advantages: Wonderful ancient ruins to explore
Disadvantages: food was often fairly poor

...A few years ago I went on a cultural tour of Mexico, visiting Mexico City, Merida, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Oaxaca, Palenque and Monte Alban. Getting There The journey to Mexico from London Heathrow was easy and uneventful (apart from being upgraded to first class then being forced to use the Concorde Lounge. The First Class Lounge was being renovated) A direct BA flight taking just over 11 hours. Mexico City We had nothing booked on arrival apart from the first night's accommodation at the Best Western Majestic Hotel. This was a lucky choice as it must be one of the best in Mexico City, on the west side of Zocalo, the main square, with a 7th floor roof-terrace and restaurant overlooking the enormous plaza de la Constrictucion, Catedral Metroplitana and Palacio National. An absolutely fantastic location, and the roof terrace...

AndrewPo 03.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of General: Mexico

Tequila and table dancing in Tijuana, Mexico

Advantages: Good shopping, bars and clubs
Disadvantages: Can be sleazy

...take passport and/or visa, and be prepared for questioning at the border control when re-entering the usa. The US authorities are understandably, very security conscious. The border at Tijuana is said to be the busiest in the world, and illegal immigration is a big problem so be prepared for a wait! My experiences at the border was that when entering Mexico there are no controls whatsoever. When leaving Mexico, on one visit, we waited for 2 hours before we went through. At other times, which were very early mornings, we near enough walked through. Immigration are likely to ask if you bought anything, may check your bags, and want to know your intentions in entering america. * tj- partying and shopping! * tijuana is often referred to as "t-j", maybe english speakers are too lazy to use the spanish pronunciation. This border...

MissDirect 28.09.2003 (30.10.2007) · Read review
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Review of Tijuana (Mexico)

If you don't want to get mugged or kidnapped in Mexico City - Read this.

Advantages: Lots of fun, loads to do, easy to get to other places
Disadvantages: Can be very dangerous

...I used to live in Mexico city. There are a couple of things that all travellers there should know. For a start, never take a taxi off the street. Get your hotel to call you a sitio taxi. Your name and destination are then recorded. This is important because in Mexico City there are many kidnappings, muggings and murders. You will be targeted if you don't look latino. If for some reason you have to get in a taxi off the street there are a couple of things that you can do to protect yourself. The first is to make sure the license plate starts with an 'L'or an 'S' if it doesn't it probably means that the taxi is stolen and that the person driving it is in a crime ring which mugs passengers. The second check is to make sure that the number on the license plate matches the number on the side of the door. The third check - and this...

travelbug 26.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Mexico City (Mexico)

Bella Italia in Mexico ... literally

Advantages: Yummy food, nice atmosphere
Disadvantages: A bit like Pizza Hut meets any other pizza chain in the world, and clearly not Mexican

...Mexican food, proper Mexican food as opposed to that Tex Mex stuff, is not all that vegetarian. That's how I justify the fact that I live in Mexico and, um, eat Italian food. A lot. Italiannis is a restaurant chain here that is owned by WalMart, which is a little random, though WalMart own quite a few places here including another supermarket chain, some clothes stores, and VIPS restaurants. As the name would suggest, Italiannis is the Italian Restaurant part of the "family". ~~ Ambience ~~ "Buongiorno", chirped the hostess as we arrived last night. As my 4th language of the day, she just got a muttered "Buongiorno" in return before I go into Spanish. She then asked my name, as she or her colleagues have every time I've been to any of the local branches. I try to spell it for her "Zeta, oh ay" and she things I'm called "Shazay...

zoe_page 28.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Italiannis, Mexico

The City By The (Other) Bay

Advantages: Closest beach to Mexico City, donde vivo ahora
Disadvantages: It rains a lot this time of year

...So, in a nutshell, Mexico and Spain fought a war of Independence, and 198 years later, I moved to Mexico. Woo! And, for my first Mexican Independence day I decided to leave the big city behind and head to the beach. Acapulco is the nearest beach to Mexico City, so off we went. ~~~ Getting There ~~~ Some people would fly to Acapulco. It takes 45 mins from here, and is quite a civilised way to travel. Not us. We took the Autopista del Sol (Highway to the Sun) which should take 4 - 5 hours, but of course took us longer (think 6.5 hours) because of the long-weekend traffic. Mexico doesn't really do trains, but the busses are as comfy as busses can be. Included in our 700 pesos (£35) return trip, we got a drink and a snack (no veggie sandwich, and Japanese peanuts...I do not know what made them Japanese) and 3 films each way. Yes, films...

zoe_page 18.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Acapulco (Mexico)

Viva Las Mexico

Advantages: Great weather, great people, cheap prices loads to do!
Disadvantages: None

...Back in 1996 Alex and I decided to take our annual holiday, usually when we took our holidays we would go in the winter months, this was always cheaper and it was easier for me to get holidays at work. Anyway this year I had changed jobs and I was the one that decided the holidays and vowed that I would be taking a summer holiday for a change even if it meant more expense. A lot of my friends have told me that they are saving up for the holiday of a lifetime, but how do you know that you are going to enjoy that holiday? I like to take the holiday as it comes and make form it whatever you will then decide if that was your holiday of a lifetime. That is exactly what happened when we went to Puerto Vallarta in 1996, there was no lifetime saving (I am only 27) no working all the hours under the sun! Just a last minute deal to Mexico...

Squidget 28.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of Puerto Vallarta (Mexico)