Safer, as generally taxi drivers are a bit dodgy, and means that you aren't carrying cash around. They are also more likely to speak English and actually take you where you want to go.

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Very pleasant cafe, bookshop, and CD store in the heart of Condesa. I spotted Carlos Monsivais sipping coffee on a table opposite and felt very much the intellectual about town. Good selection of fiction, history, art books (in Spanish).

Nuevo León 115, in Condesa.

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This hotel has a good restaurant and bar and is centrally located. The hotel is spotless and the service excellent. We used to stay at Hotel Catedral, but it was often booked up. This is a better alternative, same price, better deal and better situated.

It is a couple of blocks from Parque Alameda, Bellas Artes, Paseo Reforma and all that area contains in Centro Historico. $40 to $60 for a suite! Recommended. Free internet.

Guerrero No. 12, and Puente Alvarado, opposite a small park. Tel. 55668333
www.hotel-monaco.com.mx

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"El Ministerio de Educacion Publica" houses an incredible collection of Diego Rivera murals.

These are his early murals (the 20s) and are on three floors surrounding an open courtyard with jacaranda trees.

Calle Argentina No. 28, Centro Historico, near Donceles. Free admission.

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On its 8th edition, this latin rock festival, the most important of its kind, will see the performance of 67 bands from 10 different countries. Cafe Tacuba, El Tri and Gustavo Cerati will be the headliners, and the British Steel Pulse and The Magic Numbers, the special guests.

Foro Sol, Mexico City
www.vivelatino.com.mx

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On the main square in the beautiful district of Coyoacan. It's a tiny little place with very eccentric staff who shout at you quite a lot, but being shouted at is part and parcel of life in Mexico City. It was the only place I found that did draught beer after two years living there and they serve beer in pitchers. The upstairs balcony is particularly comfortable. Bar snacks are available.

Plaza Coyoacan. Best to used Peseros (little buses) to get there as Coyocan metro is a bit of a hike.

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Besides providing a reason to go to the elegant cobblestoned San Angel neighborhood, the Saturday market in San Angel offers high quality handicrafts that make excellent gifts or souvenirs. If all that shopping makes you hungry, you can grab a bite to eat in the central courtyard or at one of the nearby restaurants.

The Bazaar Sabado, Plaza San Jacinto, San Angel.

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This restaurant is near the Zona Rosa and has very good Mexican food, including traditional quesadillas with squash blossoms (delicious), and a wonderfully unique cocktail called a torito. The torito with mamey (a tropical fruit) is unforgettable. Unless you have too many.

Bahía de las Palmas 37.

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A very cool rooftop bar with open-air pool at this design hotel, great views of the city skyline. Good DJs (look out for resident DJ Sacha) and great drinks. They even project stylish films onto a neighbouring tower block. Go after dark, and enjoy.

Habita, Avenida Presidente Masaryk 201 Colonia Polanco 11560 México, DF; tel: +52 (55) 5282-3100

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Coyoacan is a lovely leafy suburb of Mexico City. The area inspired artist Frida Kahlo and you can visit her beautiful blue house here. It is famous for its markets, on a Saturday and Sunday, for its great second hand bookshops and also its ice-cream (you should try mil flores flavour - a thousand flowers).

A great place to escape the hectic city centre, it is easily reached on the metro or by bus.

Coyoacan, Mexico D.F.
lots of buses from the centre, Frida Kahlo's house is on Calle Londres

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Mexico City is a dangerous city. Do not wear jewellery. No gold earrings or gold chains. Wear a black, plastic watch only.

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It's a small hotel in Condesa, near the park and museums. Very friendly and a good alternative to all the big hotels.

On Durango and Cozumel, Mexico City

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Trotsky as surely many people must still remember from their history books was one of the leaders of the Russian Revolution and was murdered by one of Stalin's agents in the house.

Viena 45
52 5658 8732

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Forget the Nou Camp or even the Maracaná, the 114,000-capacity Aztec is perhaps the greatest football stadium in the world, and the only one to host two World Cup finals. The steep terracing ensures an intense atmosphere and good views from anywhere in the ground. Try to go when América, the city’s largest club, are playing.

Games (sometimes two) every Sunday, check local papers for details, metro Chilpancingo.

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This is the house in the southern part of Mexico City where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived. The table is set in the kitchen, and you almost expect them to walk in at any time.
Along the stairway, the wall is covered with retablas, religious cards that they collected. Upstairs in her bedroom is the painting that Kahlo was working on when she died - a portrait of Stalin.
 

Londres 247
011 525 658 5778

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A Quaker hostel just off Plaza de la Revolucion. Originally the home of muralist Jose Clemente Orozco, it was donated to the mission after his death.
Rooms are dormitory style although there are a couple of private double rooms with their own bathrooms. You can cook your own food in one of the two kitchens or have breakfast for 15 pesos. Lots of interesting people work at or stay at the hostel and it is a great place to base yourself while in Mex City. We stayed in one of the doubles for about £7 a night.

Ignacio Mariscal 132,Col. nearest Metro Plaza de la Revolucion

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Located on Insurgentes Sur in the Condesa neighborhood, this hotel is conveniently near the fun in the Zona Rosa.

I shared a double room. It was clean, quiet, and had a large bathroom with a giant shower, TV, breakfast and coffee. This hotel is comparable to any moderately priced business hotel in the US. At the equivalent of $40 US per night it's a bargain. The staff were professional and attentive.

Hotel Roosevelt
Insurgentes Sur 287, Col Hipodromo, Condesa, CP 06100
tel. 5208-3606
Access to Metrobus. Located south of the Glorieta Insurgentes.

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I've lived here for four years as a foreigner and never even seen a robbery or any kind of unpleasantness on the metro. For 2 pesos (not 10) i.e. about 12 pence to get anywhere, often faster than by road, it's unbeatable: safe and clean, (even if a bit old and ropey). Also one of the best places to watch and learn about life here.

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Here's a useful tip for those hoping to cut transport costs: avoid Mexico City's metro like the plague - unless you hide your money etc somewhere in your shoes. It's just not worth it. The metro is often overcrowded and overrun by well-organised gangs of
pickpockets, especially places like San Lázaro early in the morning. I was jostled violently and robbed last July, and so was my brother-in-law (a Mexican) a couple of days later - in exactly the same place (he
didn't know of my experience). We should have known better. Never again.

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With 250,000 students, 50% of all scientific research in Mexico, five internal bus lines, a cultural centre, an olympic stadium and a nature reserve (among other things), University City is an often overlooked but most fascinating spot in Mexico City.

Southern Mexico City. On Insurgentes, or at the Universidad Metro Station.
www.unam.mx

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