3 Days in Mexico City Itinerary: Centro, Chapultepec, Roma, Coyoacán and Xochimilco

This three-day itinerary groups sights by contiguous borough so you spend your time walking historic plazas and museum courtyards rather than sitting in Valley of Mexico traffic. Remember that INAH and INBAL national museums (including Templo Mayor, Chapultepec Castle, the National Museum of Anthropology, the Frida Kahlo Museum, and Palacio de Bellas Artes) close every Monday; if your trip spans a Monday, shift the Day 3 southern canal walk or a Teotihuacan pyramids day trip (Teotihuacan's archaeological zone stays open daily, though its on-site museums close Mondays) onto that day.

Day 1: Tenochtitlan, Vice-Regal Palaces and Alameda Central

• Morning at the Zócalo: Start in the Zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución) at the Metropolitan Cathedral and adjacent Sagrario Metropolitano, then spend two hours exploring the excavated twin pyramid stages and eight exhibition rooms of the Templo Mayor Museum. Before midday, visit the National Palace (bring an official photo ID to join the guided viewing of Diego Rivera's stairwell murals) or walk north up Calle República de Argentina to see Rivera's early frescoes at the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso.
• Midday along Calle Madero: Stroll west down pedestrianised Avenida Francisco I. Madero past the sixteenth-century Church of San Francisco to the eighteenth-century Casa de los Azulejos (House of Tiles), clad in blue-and-white Puebla Talavera ceramics, and step inside the gilded wrought-iron interior of the 1907 Palacio Postal (Main Post Office).
• Afternoon and Evening at Bellas Artes: Tour the Art Deco halls and mural galleries of Palacio de Bellas Artes, walk through shaded Alameda Central to the Museo Mural Diego Rivera, and ride the lift to the forty-fourth-floor Mirador of the 1956 Torre Latinoamericana as dusk settles across the basin before ordering tacos al pastor and fresh churros.

Day 2: Chapultepec Castle, Anthropology Museum, Roma and Condesa

• Morning on Chapultepec Hill: Arrive when the gates of Bosque de Chapultepec open and climb the woodland ramp to the National Museum of History at Chapultepec Castle for panoramic views straight down Paseo de la Reforma to the Angel of Independence.
• Late Morning and Early Afternoon at MNA: Cross Paseo de la Reforma to the National Museum of Anthropology. Rather than attempting all twenty-two halls in a single visit, focus on the central Mexica (Aztec) Hall housing the Piedra del Sol and Coatlicue statue, plus the Teotihuacan, Maya, and Oaxaca galleries, with a detour north into Polanco and Museo Soumaya if contemporary architecture appeals.
• Late Afternoon in Condesa and Roma Norte: Walk south into Condesa and Roma Norte along the oval tree tunnel of Avenida Ámsterdam and Parque México, finishing on Avenida Álvaro Obregón and Plaza Río de Janeiro for dinner.

Day 3: Coyoacán, UNAM Mural Campus and Xochimilco Canals

• Morning in Coyoacán: Use your pre-booked timed ticket for the Frida Kahlo Museum (La Casa Azul) on Calle Londres, then walk to the Leon Trotsky House Museum, the Coyote Fountain in Jardín Centenario, and Mercado de Coyoacán for tostadas and quesadillas.
• Midday at Ciudad Universitaria (UNAM): Take a short ride south to the UNESCO-listed Central University City Campus of UNAM to photograph Juan O'Gorman's four-sided stone mosaic facade on the Central Library and Diego Rivera's volcanic-stone relief above the Olympic University Stadium.
• Afternoon on the Xochimilco Canals: Continue south on the Tren Ligero light rail or by car to Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas or Embarcadero Cuemanco to hire an official fixed-rate trajinera through the Xochimilco floating gardens.