I have a 9 hour stopover in Mexico City airport, is there anywhere close to MEX airport worth seeing?

Question

I would like to leave the airport, I realise that I may not have time to go very far but any ideas welcome. Also, is there anywhere inside the airport I can while away the hours?

Answer 1

A lot depends on what you like. Within minutes from the airport you can be in the city centre, immediately adjacent to El Zocalo is the jewelery district , the national palace the main cathedral as well as remains of pyramids, all within a bus and subway ride. I'm told that there are gipsy cab drivers  who could get you into trouble but public transit is good and you have plenty of time that you can learn to navigate you way around. Mexico has exquisite contrast between the modern and the ancient.Enjoy

Answer 2

The last time the family and I had a layover at the Mexico City airport, we had a four hour layover.  We went outside, saw the sign for the Metro (M) and to it to the zocalo.  We saw the cathedral.  To the left of the cathedral is the national pawn shop, filled with lots of interesting things.  To the right of the cathedral is the remains of the Templo Mayor (the Aztec temple).  After we saw those things, we went to a department store, browsed around and had lunch in their restaurant.  After that, we got back on the Metro, and were back in the airport in plenty of time for the flight.

Avoid riding the Metro at rush hour (7am-9am) and (4pm-6pm) too crowded and too many pickpockets.

Answer 3

I really hope you are arriving and leaving from Terminal 2 (T2), which has a new, elevated road almost exclusivelly for that terminal. That saves a lot of time coming and going.

Anyway, you can take an airport taxi (expensive, but safe. Don't hail a cab outside the terminals) and ask the driver to go to Coyoacan (ask to go to El Centro de Coyoacan, the main plaza). It is a traditional, colonial neighborhood, with cafes, small museums, a nice old church, etc. Currently the plaza at the center of the neighborhood is under repairs, but the nearby streets are nice and you can have a taste of old Mexico City.

If you need to go to the bathroom while strolling around, go to the Sanborns store in the main plaza. Sanborns stores are a treasure: you can find a decent restaurant, clean toilets, magazines, papers and candy store, drugstore, gift shop... all in one store.

When you go back to the airport, ask for a Sitio de Taxis (taxi stand). Don't take the green VW ones, they are old and might be unsafe. Ask for a 4 door, white with light red letters, and the number plates must have an orange band in the bottom (those are legal taxis, there lots of gypsy taxis in Mexico city).

Please be aware that traffic in Mexico city is awful, allow plenty of time to go back to the airport.

Have a safe and happy stopover in my beloved city!

Answer 4

Your post sounds similar to a question I just answered. I'm lazy so I'll just post the link:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Yeah, get the h**l out of the airport if you can, it's hideously boring, 9 hours is a lot of time to explore downtown Mexico City (you can't miss this opportunity). Either use the airport taxis (albeit they are indeed expensive.. 18 dollars from a cab as a flat fee is a ripoff but they are safe). If you're more daring, there is a subway station nearby, just ask for the metro.

Travelling in the Mexico City metro is stupidly simple, it has a flat fee for any distance you travel (less than a quarter), you could end up getting on and off the metro a dozen times and you'll save a lot of money on cabs. Plus the subway is safe at daytime (but BEWARE of pickpockets!!!!!!).

The airport is near a subway station named Pantitlan. If you go on the brown line and go to Chabacano, you'll get to the Zocalo area. When travelling by subway, guide yourself by line colors. It's very easy once you get a hang of it.

You'll get to the Zocalo from the airport in about 30 minutes by subway. You should have enough time to visit the touristy spots of downtown Mexico City. If you wish to go by Turibus (highly reccomended given your time), just travel on the brown line the whole trip to Tacubaya, then switch to the orange line to get off in AUDITORIO. You'll save a lot of time believe it or not.

Go on the Turibus, only costs 20 dollars for a 2 hour ride that will quickly show you the big tourist spots. You'll save a lot of time this way by not walking (if you've ever been to Washington DC you can imagine how long Paseo de la Reforma avenue is).

My other answer answers some other places you might like to visit which are all in the area. Mexico City has been sunny during the day right now, wear sunblock. Have a pleasant trip. ;)

Answer 5

Look, you only have 9 hours, so be fast, take a taxi right there at the airport and ask him to take you to the Zocalo  (Second largest square in the world). You can have a fast visit to the Cathedral, President Palace and the musem and Aztec ruins next to the Cathedral,  then just walk by Madero Street all the way to the Palace of Bellas Artes.  You will enjoy looking at every historic palace and colonial building by the Madero Street.  At the end of Madero Street just have a soda at the Sanborns Restaurant (Casa de los Azulejos), one of the most spectacular palaces on Madero street.

Answer 6

u can take the turibus

www.turibus.com.mx

Answer 7

MEX Airport isnt very good for spending much time at. It's boring and expensive.

It's worth heading to the Centro Historico if you have time. This is the historic downtown area of Mexico City and home to the Zocalo, Bellas Artes centre and a heap of museums.

Taxis can take you right there if you want to go that way. Just look for signs to the "Taxi Authorizados" booth in the arrivals hall. At the desk, tell them that you want to go to the Zocalo. You pay your fare here and get a ticket, which you give to the driver when you get outside. (Do NOT hand this ticket to anyone except the driver of the authorised taxi).

Tell the driver you want to go to "Intersection. Zocalo y Cinco de Mayo." This is a big intersection right next to the Zocalo and is the best place to start exploring.

I have no idea how long the trip takes by taxi. It would depend on what the traffic is like, and during rush hour, traffic can get pretty bad in Mexico City.

The other option is to take the Metro. This is much cheaper and quicker if the traffic is heavy. It can be a little complicated if you havent used it before because you need to change lines a couple of times, but it's not too difficult. There are a few ways to get to the Centro, so it's best to get a map of the Metro System and plan your trip before you set off. You can get a metro map at the airport.

To transfer lines, simply follow the "Correspondencia" signs inside the metro stations when you get off the train. You do not need to buy a new ticket to transfer.

The best stations for the Centro are Zocalo. Allende and Bellas Artes, all on the blue line.

The trip to these stations usually takes about 45 minutes and costs $2 (pesos). About US$0.20.

The metro is quite easy to use, and pretty reliable, however, be aware of pickpockets and be prepared for it to be quite crowded during peak times.

Answer 8

I think the most effective way to get a good glimpse of one of the biggest cities in the world is to take a ride in the "turibus" that means a ride through the most important places around the city.

From the historical downtown, the hip Condesa,  the relaxed Coyoacan and the fancy Polanco, etc.

You can stay in any stop as long as you want to and catch the next bus, Mexico City it is a wonderful place to visit, next time try to book 3 or 4 days here.

For more information regarding turibus service visit:

http://web.turibus.com.mx/turibus/

Answer 9

you could take a cab from the airport to say polanco,a nice area.they have very nice hotels there.you could have something to eat at the branches of:the palm- of new york,the au pied de cochon -paris or the alfredo di roma.the food in all is excellent being the original branches of the restaurants.all 3 are in the intercontinental hotel.the prices are however  at the palm are the most expensive-but portions are huge!also any sea food at the au pied du cochon is also very expensive-but you find other thing too.the service at least in the au pied.. is 24 hrs.just like the one in paris.the cab to the hotel will be around 25 dollars.there are nice but expensive shops at the hotel.depending on the hour you make 30 minutes from airport to polanco.when you finish eating you can go to mazarik where we have all the shops and walk a bit.the cab from the hotel to this area,though it is only a 7 minute ride will be around 10 dlls.but please just to be safe- tell the sdriver to meet you at the place he drops you in say 2 hours.if you need more info write to me.the airport has all the tipical shops and overy priced restaurants with horrible food.i doubt you want to sit and drink tequila for 9 hours...