Hola, Mexico City!

10 tips for visiting this inspiring metropolis

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You’ve heard that old joke about needing a vacation from your vacation, right? That’s me after my week in Mexico City! I had such a fantastic time there, but I was also overwhelmed by the place. CDMX is a metropolis of 20 million people that’s absolutely brimming with energy. There are public art installations — murals, statues, sculpture — everywhere, and an endless parade of museums and attractions and historic sites to take in, and so many delicious places to eat.

If you love ruins, you’re in for a treat, because the ancient pre-Aztec city of Teotihuacan is northeast of the city (more about it in a future post — it definitely brought out all of the Indiana Jones wonder in my heart).

In a week, I barely scratched the surface of CDMX, but it certainly made me want to return. Before I left, a few people expressed concern about visiting Mexico right now, given the elevated safety warnings. But those US State Department notices are about Mexican states such as Guerrero and Michoacán, which are under Level 4 advisories. Mexico City itself is under a Level 2 advisory, which means “exercise increased caution,” in State Department–speak. I felt safe while I was there, but I also took steps to stay that way. Here’s how:

1. Be Prepared for an Altitude Adjustment: Mexico City is a more physically arduous place to visit than most cities I’ve been to in North America. For starters, it’s about 7,350 feet above sea level, making it one of the most elevated capital cities in the world. You might not even realize the altitude is affecting you until you’ve walked up a couple of flights of stairs, but that’s when you’ll feel it. From November to April, the air is extremely dry. Year-round, pollution is a big problem. Also, since it’s near the equator, the sun is incredibly strong, even though the temperature was mild during my entire stay. The smart play is to give yourself a day or two to adjust when you land.

2. Drink Lots of Water, Just Not from the Tap: Most CDMX residents won’t drink their tap water, and neither should you. Don’t even brush your teeth with it. Fortunately OXXO stores (along with 7-Elevens and Circle-K stores) are on every other block, so you can buy water all day long. Believe me, you will need to.

3. Limit Alcohol Consumption: It’s ironic, being in the land of mezcal and not being able to drink… well, not much. I love a good cocktail, but I stuck mostly with mocktails while I was away, because I did not want to make my ongoing dehydration issue worse.

4. Choose Your Home-Away-From Home Carefully: Base yourself in busy areas like Roma, Condesa, Polanco, Coyoacán, San Ángel, or the Centro. Many of the main attractions are in these neighborhoods — and there’s more tourist infrastructure and a stronger visible security presence. Staying central also means you get more restaurant options that are used to dietary requests.

5. Public Transit Is Great, But Know When to Call an Uber: CDMX has an incredible public-transit system that will take you anywhere you want to go. But Uber is definitely your best bet at night. It’s an inexpensive and reliable way to get around when it’s dark.

6. Bring a Latin American Celiac Card: On my last several trips, to places like Athens, Barcelona, Paris, and Rome, I haven’t used a celiac translation card once (and while I do speak French, I don’t know Greek or Italian, and my Spanish is no bueno). But in Mexico City, having a card was a necessity. I bought the Legal Nomads Latin American Spanish card for my trip and printed up multiple copies — and I was so glad I did.

7. Beware of Sauces: Salsa de soja (soy sauce) and salsa Inglesa (Worcestershire sauce) are in a shocking number of other sauces, and both contain wheat. I encountered exactly one restaurant where I could eat mole, the famously rich, traditional, intense Mexican sauce; most places thicken theirs with wheat, so it’s off-limits.

8. Cross-Contamination Is the Devil: It’s really hard to avoid in Mexico City. Everyone likes to talk about getting tacos from food carts — theoretically safe, if you get a pure corn taco with meat, veggies, and cheese and avoid any sauces — but I found the reality to be bleaker. Flour tortillas aren’t traditional, but they are popular, and they’re everywhere… and grilled with the corn tacos. There’s also a more communal approach to dining, which can inadvertently make items off limits to celiacs. For example, I never saw a single-serving packet of butter or jam when I was there. Things like that were from communal dishes, which are used mainly by people eating wheat.

9. “Low-Gluten” Is Not No Gluten: I was excited to find a couple of low-gluten treats when I arrived, only to discover that I actually couldn’t try them. It turns out that in Mexico, there are products made from sourdough or spelt that are marketed as low gluten. Those are not safe for anyone with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

10. It’s Fine to Dress Like a Tourist, Just Not a Flashy One: T-shirt? Fine. Running shoes? Sure. Ball cap? No problem. Expensive jewelry? No. If you go to nice places, you’ll definitely see locals dressed to the nines for dinner. But they are driving their cars to and from Pujol, which is one reason why CDMX traffic is perpetually snarled up. I always break out my costume jewelry when I travel, and this was definitely the perfect spot to wear it.

I’ll be writing more about this trip, of course — especially since I was lucky enough to visit both Pujol and Sud 777, two of the hottest restaurants in town. But if you’ve been to Mexico lately, I’d love to hear about your experience! Let me know in the comments.

PS Barnes & Noble is running a pre-order promotion that includes my next novel. Every Lie I Told comes out on June 16th from Blackstone Publishing, but if you pre-order it TODAY from B&N it will be 25% off! Click here for details.

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