Pre-paid taxi vouchers can be purchased from the booth located in the baggage reclaim department. Authorised cabs can be identified by their white-and-yellow colour scheme, and any other cars should not be considered. Outside of rush hour the metro is a cheap and relatively quick alternative, but reaching the city centre does involves a change of line and may not appeal to those with heavier luggage.

www.aeropuertosmexico.com/Ingles/

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The latest flashy hotel to open in Mexico City has received rave reviews for its design perfection, although the service is reputedly a little wanting. Double room: $165-395 plus 15% tax.

Avenida Veracruz No 102; www.condesadf.com/

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This is my favourite place to take visitors for a taste of nouvelle Mexican cuisine. The dishes are sometimes rather odd, but usually interesting and fun.

Durango 186, Colonia Roma; Tel: 5525 4920; Mon-Sat lunch and dinner, Sun lunch only; Approx 250 pesos per person with no alcohol.

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Somewhere to escape the crowds? I'm not sure such a place exists in Mexico City.

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Filled with activities for younger children at the weekends from painting to renting tricycles, the Parque Mexico in La Condesa is also pleasant for adults and near lots of restaurants and cafes. The duck pond is often rather smelly though.

Nearest metro Chilpancingo (not very near)

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A pleasantly organized children’s museum in Chapultepec Park.

Segunda Seccion del bosque de Chapultepec; Mon-Sun 10am-9pm; admission 65 pesos; nearest metro Constituyentes (not very near); www.papalote.org.mx/

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A thick dark sauce made with dried chiles, nuts, seeds, spices, chocolate and many other ingredients, usually served as a sauce for chicken or turkey. I don’t particularly like it, but it should be tried.

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The Aztecs fed their great floating city from artificial islands built on the edge of the lake. The last vestiges of this system are at Xochimilco in the far south of the city. You can take boats called trajineras around the islands, either following a peaceful and green route or join the crowds and the cacophony up and down the main drag.

Light railway from metro Tasquena to Xochimilco, then taxi.

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Never buy a brand of tequila that does not say “100% agave” on the label. These are only partially made from the blue agave plant, do not taste as nice and carry with them particularly vicious hangovers.

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At its peak around AD300, more than 1,000 years before the Aztecs arrived in the vicinity, the city of Teotihuacan covered eight square miles and housed some 150,000 people. Three hundred years later the civilisation disappeared, although nobody really knows why. The highlight of the ruins are two great pyramids and an avenue lined with temples.

Teotihuacan is 30 miles north of the city - you can get a bus from the northern terminal every 15 minutes, or arrange a price with a taxi; Mon-Sun 8am-5pm; admission 35 pesos

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The observatory at the top of Mexico City’s tallest building provides a sense of just how huge this city is, and on relatively smog-free days of just how beautiful the mountains that ring it are too.

Paseo de la Reforma No 505; Mon-Sun 9 am to 11pm; admission 40 pesos.

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Tiempo Libre magazine is available at all newspaper kiosks. www.mexicocity.gob.mx.com/ has some information in English about events in the capital.

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A favourite with NGO types, this pleasant hotel is good value and centrally located but in a bit of a boring part of town.

Rio Lerma No 31, Colonia Cuauhtemoc; Tel: 5703 1212 or 5566 9688

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Simple but clean rooms in a large old building in the heart of the historic centre which is an advantage although there is less to do here at night than in other parts of town.

Isabel la Catolica No 63, Colonia Centro; Tel: 5518 1213; Double room: 270 pesos; www.hotel-isabel.com.mx/

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A place to go for exquisite versions of traditional Mexican recipes in a lush renovated hacienda with golden chandeliers and flowery service.

Vasquez de Mella No 525, Colonia Polanco; Tel: 5096 3028; Mon-Sun lunch and dinner; Approx 400 pesos per person with no alcohol.

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Simple, straightforward and very Mexican. A place for the classic dishes without pretentions and tacky decor. Approx 130 pesos per person with no alcohol.

Av Cuitlahuac No 2709, Col. Axcapotzalco; Tel: 5234 3763; Mon-Sat; Nearest metro: Cuitlahuac (not very near)

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Novels about the Mexican capital are few and far between, but the introspective and cynical private eye in these books, Hector Belascoaran Shayne, wanders its streets with a certain charm.

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The complexity of the plot in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s movie gives you a sense of just how multi-layered the city is.

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Luis Bunuel’s classic film about slum children is not as out of date as it should be and provides a beautiful antidote to the nostalgia many hold for those years.

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Unless you object to taking a red double-decker bus so far away from home, the Turibus is a good option for a ride around the centre of the city. It is a good idea to get off before it heads off for a rather tedious trek through Chapultepec park.

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