Mexico City Overwhelms, But Roma Delivers

By Max Hartshorne
GoNOMAD Editor

I spent most of last week in the Colonia (neighborhood) of Roma, a small area in Mexico City’s vastness. The city’s size is hard to fathom compared to our lightly populated part of Western Mass. Greater Mexico City’s population has surged to 22.75 million in 2025, but the rate of increase is lower than ever in history. 

There are all kinds of scary problems in CDMX, as it’s known – Ciudad de México – yet when most people visit, all they remember are the leafy neighborhoods like Roma and Polanco, the swanky cocktail bars, and the stunning museums.

Despite seeing the “poor air quality” indicators, it was only when I was entering and leaving CDMX that the haze of pollution became really noticeable on the horizon. The smog did not affect me even during an early-morning pickleball game in a park. 

Pickleball was a highlight. I met up with a group of locals called “PBMX” who set up six pickleball nets in a park in Roma. Anyone can join for two hours for 200 pesos – about $12. They provide lessons and games, which American expats have made popular here. 

I had three nights in the city and a wide-open schedule. I used Uber to get around, and it was pleasantly about half the cost of rides in New York City. 

After a few attempts to find a proper food tour, not a “tacos on bikes” tour, I settled for one of the oldest tourist attractions in the city: the floating Xochilmco gardens, where tequila and guacamole, and a canal boat ride with other visitors from the US and Europe was on tap. 

Xochimilco’s Boatmen

There are more than 3,000 of these colorful boats, which each hold about 12 people and are pushed up and down the Xochimilco canal by men with long wooden poles. While you sit at the big table enjoying chips and guac, the guide shares the interesting story of a big canal full of punters on a Tuesday morning. 

Seafaring vendors play a key role, sliding up in their own boats to proffer Mariachi band songs, hot corn on the cob, and jewelry – here, let me bring it right on board to show you better! The friendly vendors add to the convivial atmosphere of this place, which goes back to the pre-Columbian era. 

CDMX attracts many US travelers. Two of the couples on the boat were from Los Angeles and were spending the whole week in the city.

Burgers and Bikes in CDMX

On this trip, I did not need a kitchen, so I opted for a hotel instead of my typical choice of an AirBNB. I enjoyed my stay at Hotel Stanza. They have doormen and good-sized rooms and are conveniently located in the middle of Roma. 

Dining in Mexico City turned out to be an unsuccessful chase for me. Many travelers are happy with the variety of tacos, enchiladas, and mole that Mexico offers – familiar foods that satisfy. They will find endless opportunities on the street to buy tacos, hot dogs, and tortas popular with the locals.

I couldn’t resist a hamburguesa, at a stand jammed with people waiting for theirs hot off the grill. But generally I didn’t have any meals I loved, even when I hit up a swanky cocktail bar called Rayo’s. For me, food highlights just weren’t there. 

Ignore the Stairs

When you enter at Rayo’s, you ignore a giant iron spiral staircase and are taken instead to an ornate elevator. Then a barman enters and offers you the elevator cocktail, a diminutive, tasty sip to take you up to the third-floor suitably prepared. A four-story wall of glass and an open-air rooftop await, plus those huge pieces of ice that make any drink cooler. 

One of CDMX’s traditions is that every Sunday, the biggest avenue in the city, the Reforma, is closed to cars, trucks, and taxis from 7 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. This attracts thousands of bikers, bladers, and stroller-rollers of all ages.

Volunteers man large banners to keep the bikers out of traffic when the boulevard crosses certain streets. It’s a wonderful, communal way to see the parks and enjoy the spectacle of no cars. 

The bike rentals using the city’s ECOBICI rental system were cheap, less than $10 for a 24-hour pass. Sadly, the bikes themselves are mostly pretty much beaten down to single-speeds from 5-speeds, but they work and get you around.

Getting Out of Town

After my three-night stay in CDMX, I wanted to discover a different state in Mexico. I took an Uber to the northern bus station to meet my luxury ride to Guanajuato, capital of the state of the same name. 

Discussion of our friendly southern neighbor often brings up the red herring of the vast drug cartels that have brought murder rates to all-time highs in some of the scary mountain villages where gangs are battling for turf rights.

The Cartels are…Here?

As a frequent traveler, I always assumed the cartels were in other states. I came to find out that this friendly, historic state of Guanajuato is now listed as one of the states with a high murder rate, along with Baja California, Michoacán, and Zacatecas.

I asked friends of mine who have been living there for 20 years, who said they have never had any experiences of this violence or crime.

My trip from the CDMX Terminal Norte bus station to Guanajuato was four hours spent inside a Volvo luxury bus. First off, the seats were the kind of padded armchair you’d see in a mall where they give foot rubs. Nice support for the calves comes up from the floor, and two clean bathrooms are accessible by a stairway inside the bus. (Tip: Bring your toilet paper.)

The four-hour trip delivered me to the city where the Mexican Revolution began, fighting off Spain’s authority in 1810, and creating the modern Mexican Republic in 1820. In this spirit, two different bands of costumed singers parade around downtown in the evenings, drumming up participants for their singing, parading, and storytelling about Guanajuato’s history and the revolutionaries who lived here. 

One of the things about any visit to this region is that the time of year matters. This was late April, the start of the hottest part of the year, April and  May, and the rainy season in June.  Many locals choose to leave during the hottest season. 

Like a similar city break trip I took last year to exciting Chicago, CDMX has a lot to keep any traveler engaged and entertained, including pickleball and excellent museums. Busy, with lots to do.

More on CDMX

Hotel Stanza in Roma
www.stanzahotel.com

Pickleball PBMX
www.pbmx.mx