An Afternoon In Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park

Spending a day in Mexico City’s Famous Parque Chapultepec is a must for even the shortest trips to Mexico City. How do you Maximize your time there? Well for starters keep in mind the following shortcomings to workaround.

Chapultepec Castle / Castillo Del Chapultepec

Where to Eat in Chapultepec Park

Warning: The food in Parque Chapultepec is Horrible. But with proper planning, you can not only eat well, but have a delightful culinary experience.

Beware of guides to Chapultepec that list 21 things to do and none of them are eating. Doesn’t sound like a well thought out plan to me.

If you plan to do Castillo del Chapultepec and a Museum on the same trip (and I highly suggest this), you’ll need to consider where you will eat in between. Here are my top suggestions.

Bring a Sandwich from Deli Lou

Google Maps Link

IMPORTANT: If you decide to buy your food first, as recommended below, make sure you enter Chapultepec Park from this entrance. I have tested the directions that google maps gives you to go straight from this deli to Chapultepec Castle, and unfortunately the directions bypass the most beautiful part of the park. Follow these directions for the scenic route and you won’t regret it!!

They say then open at 8:00, but in Mexico City it’s best to give the a little time to open up. I recommend you buy a sandwich at 8:30, bring it with you to eat after you see Castillo del Chapultepec.

Note: Food is not permitted inside the Castle. If you plan to bring a baguette to the Castle (to eat later) you will need to hide it in your backpack. Preferably wrap it inside of your hoodie or raincoat that you’ll Carry with you in your backpack. If you do this you will have absolutely no problem.

Personally I’d order some mini bottles of red wine from Corner Shop the night before for a delightful picnic experience. Bottled water is sold all around the Park. I recommend the brand Bonafont. This is natural mineral Spring water from the mountains of Toluca nearby Mexico City. It is delicious and it is sold absolutely everywhere.

Locals will tell you that the water and snacks in the kiosks in Chapultepec are overpriced. Yes they are, but all things considered, they are the same that you’re used to paying in the United States. Just pay it. Your time is too valuable to leave the park to buy water.

But remember to bring cash.

I highly recommend that you buy a package of Kleenex from the candy/beverage kiosks inside the park or outside. These are all over Mexico. Bathroom Entry in the park costs around $5MX pesos and there is NO TOILETPAPER inside. Don’t learn this the hard way.

The translation of Kleenex in Spanish is Kleenex 🙂

You can also go out of the park and buy your sub in between the Castillo and the museum, but I’d rather spend that time wandering around the beautiful grounds or even squeezing in another museum if you’re really fast.

Mercado El Chorrito

Google Maps Link

https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/240082752/mercado-del-chorrito/

Click this Instagram Link to check out all the delicious Mexican specialties sold here. You may want to pick out your favorite and show the picture to the employees if you cannot order in Spanish.

Mercado El Chorrito opens at 8:00 but I wouldn’t recommend arriving before 8:30. Mexico City is not a city that never sleeps. In fact you could call it ‘the city that always sleeps in’ and it may catch on.

If you take my advice and have breakfast at Mercado El Chorrito, then pick up a baguette from Deli Lou, then arrive at the Castillo, you won’t make it there by 9:00. You’ll probably arrive after 10:00. That is Fine.

Remember the plan is to Enjoy The Castle of Chapultepec, then eat a delicious lunch or picnic, Walk around the magical park until you’re inspired to enter a museum and then call it a day. There is plenty of time to do this in between 9 and 6.

People get in trouble when they sleep in, eat breakfast, take forever to decide what to do, enter from the wrong entrance, get stuck in midday traffic, arrive at 2:00 and want to see the castle, and the museum and enjoy the park.

There is just not enough time to do all of this without planning.

Plan well and you’ll have extra time for another museum or just for spending more time sitting in the park.

Bistro Chapultepec

Google Maps Link

Another option for a classy sit down lunch, beside a lake, that is also a 40 minute walk through the park is Bistro Chapultepec, in Section 2 of Chapultepec.

If you really like food, you may be able to take advantage of all 3 of the recommended places on my list. you would do this by

8:30 Breakfast at Mercado de Chorrito

9:00 Purchase Baguette Sandwich

10:00 Chapultepec Castle (enter park through the back entrance if coming from Deli Lou and/or Mercado de Chorrito)

12:00 Eat Baguette Sandwich

1:00 Museum #1

1:30 Walk to Chapultepec Bistro

2:30 Eat Lunch (this is normal Mexican Lunch Time) at Chapultepec Bistro

3:30-4:30 Walk to Museum #2

5:00 Enter Museum #2 (As of the time this post was written, Museo Tamayo is the only Museum Open until 6, so you will have to hurry if you plan to do 2 museums. It’s possible, but not for everybody. Keep this in mind when you are deciding whether or not you’ll sleep in on Chapultepec Day.)

Where to Buy Coffee in Chapultepec Park?

If you’re going the picnic route and you’re not going to walk to Bistro Chapultepec, then you’ll have more time to roam around the loop and spend time in my favorite (and soon to be your favorite) places in the park. If you decide you want a coffee, there is a Starbucks, and a local option both at the entrance of the park.

Deli Lou also sells coffee. As well as some other cafes on the way from Deli Lou to the back entrance of Chapultepec.

Zona Rosa

I’m putting this here, as the last lunch option because Zona Rosa is equidistant from the other options listed. But I think it works better as a place to go after (if you have any energy left after a castle and a museum and a lunch).

Zona Rosa Guide

You can go to the third part of zone rosa where there is a nice selection of upscale restaurants. I’ll say it again, I think this place works best for after Chapultepec than before. I am a particular fan of the pastries here at Niddo. This place would be perfect for a cafe after a long day in Chapultepec.

Walk Around Chapultepec Park

If you did my Centro Historico Tour the previous day, you may still be overstimulated by the experience of Mexico City. I find many blogs and tour companies try to pack as much in as possible. While this can have its advantages, I think it’s very important to connect with another pace of Mexico City which is not so hectic.

Chapultepec Park has taught me how to connect with the mystical side of Mexico City. One of the names that the locals use to describe this park is Bosque del Chapultepec. Forest of Chapultepec.

While the hot Mexican sun can bear down on your intensely sometimes, you can always find a cool breeze underneath the canopy of ancient trees that fill this park. Because of the altitude, the ground is never very wet. So don’t worry about not having a picnic blanket.

Take advantage of this opportunity becasue it won’t present itself every day.

I will mention some of my favorite places and some that I think you should definitely avoid. But the important thing is to relax. This is not a list of Must Sees. This is a list to inspire a relaxing walk through the park.

Bike Rental Inside of Chapultepec Park

If you’re the type of person, however, who must see absolutely, everything and not leave anything to chance, there is an option for you; A Bike

I can’t say enough good stuff about Ecobici. But there are no stations inside the park.

There is a station in the middle of the park that rents used donated bikes for really low prices.

Chapultepec Bike Rental

They will require that you leave your photo ID with them.

This way you can rent a bike, see the entire park, including section two, and maybe even cruise around Polanco or San Miguel Chapultepec. I’m not sure if they will rent you a lock as well.

If you’re a bike fanatic, you probably already have an EcoBici membership, even if you’re just here for 1 week. But EcoBici really doesn’t work in Chapultepec. This is a great option for this day.

My Favorite Places in Chapultepec (In descending order, #1 first)

If you look at Parque Chapultepec on a map, you will notice that there is sort of a loop. The Loop is a combination of the following roads (all pedestrian)

• Calzada Mahatma Gandhi
• Gran Avenida
• Avenida H. Colegio Militar

Below are some of my favorite places on the loop. This is a good place to walk and find a nice spot of green grass under the canopy of trees and breathe in the fresh-ish air.

Inner Loop

If you look even more closely, you will see there is an inner loop. This inner loop consists of Avenida Cornonel Felipe Santiago Xicotencatl.

If you are walking along the outer loop and you encounter lots of vendors and crowds, I recommend you switch to the, always nearby, inner loop.

The vendors in Chapultepec sell junk and it’s best to avoid them.

Monument Fountain of Nezahualcóyotl

Fuente Del Quijote

Fountain of Temperance

Ninos Heros and Entrance

Parts of Chapultepec to Avoid

I list these at the bottom of the article. Be sure not to waste your time at any of the tangential activities that exist here but should be avoided.

My favorite Museums in Chapultepec

So you’ve had your lunch, I’m thinking you ate at Bistro Chapultepec because, why not? How do you pick just 1 Museum out of these 4. Well it should actually be an easy decision. I’ll show you how.

Museo Del Anthropologia

Google Maps Link

I’ll start with this museum because it is notorious among the tourists. This may even be the reason you decided to come. This may surprise you but this museum is not recommended by Tracey Parker.

Pros: Just like Chapultepec park, this museum is impressive to walk through. It is beautiful. It is a visually pleasant experience.

Cons: It is too academic. It is only in Spanish. It does not say anything about Mexico City. The fascinating story of Mexico City, which is essential to know as you’re walking around as a tourist, is told at The Museum of Templo Mayor. If you have a few days in Mexico City, I recommend you see the Museum Templo Mayor first becasue this museum will give you context to understand the city you are exploring. It is also bilingual.

So if you decide to go here , you will do it against my recommendation, but I won’t hold it against you. I understand. This was the first museum I went to when I first arrived in mexico.

This Museum has a sit down restaurant that is actually very delicious. The prices are a little high, higher than Bistro Chapultepec. But the modern interpretations of traditional mexican cuisine actually complement the content of the museum splendidly.

You will probably pay around $20US for a lunch here, which is high for Mexico. But the food will be worth it. Fortunately Mexico does not gouge you at Museum gift shops, restaurants, theme parks, or movie theaters, like they do in the USA.

If you pay a lot in a museum restaurant, it’s because the food is worth it.

Warning: Service in Mexican Restaurants is bad. This is true of restaurants all over town. If you’re tying to stick to a schedule you may have to actually call and wave your hands to keep the servers attention and keep things moving quickly.

Museo Tamayo

Google Maps Link

Museo Tamayo hosts amazing exhibitions. the permanent collection is ‘meh.’ So check their instagram and website (I like their instagram better than their website) to see if their current exhibition (if there is one, and there usually is) is something that interests you. If not, this museum will be an obvious PASS.

Museo Del Arte Moderno

Google Maps Link (You will have to enter this Museum through its main entrance on Avenida de Reforma. If google Maps takes you to the back entrance (currently closed) you’ll have to go all the way around the museum to enter)

Ditto to Tamayo (above). This Museum hosts great exhibitions. The difference is that their exhibitions are internal not external. (more on this later)

the Frida Kahlo Museum is a tourist trap. It is not worth the time investment that is currently required to see it. The long lines are a sad result of the very shallow travel content that currently exists about Mexico City. My goal with this travel blog is to change this.

My advice, pay the entrance fee (less than $5US), ask them to point you in the direction of ‘Las 2 Fridas,” and have your Frida Kahlo Moment.

You can do this on your way to the Museo Del Anthropologia or Museo Tamayo, in less than 45 minutes.

You may also get to see a good exhibition. But it’s hard to check ahead to see if they have a good exhibition because this museum is horrible at social media.

For Example, currently, at the time I’m writing this article, there is a really well done Exhibition about Gender in Mexican Modern Art. But you would see nothing listed on their website about this exhibition.

Over on Substack, I write about my experience attending the inauguration of this exhibition.

Museo Jumex & Soumaya

So it is also possible that you take my word that you’re not quite ready to enjoy The Museum of Anthropology, you have already had your Frida fix somewhere else, perhaps MUNAL, and there are no exhibitions of interest to you at the Museo Tamayo.

If this is the case I recommend you enjoy the Castle, Enjoy the Park, Lunch at Bistro Chapultepec, and then take an Uber to Museo Jumex or Soumaya. These are two museums in Polanco and a quick uber ride from Chapultepec Park.

Museo Soumaya is an architectural landmark and it houses the personal art collection of Carlos Slim, a big time Philanthropist in Mexico City.

Museo Jumex is a contemporary art museum with world renowned exhibitions.

I include these Museums in case they’re on your must see list and you want to combine them with your visit to Chapultepec Castle and your wandering around Chapultepec. They complement each other well.

Later I’d like to do a Polanco walking tour that is based on these two Museums. Stay tuned for that. If you want to follow Tracey Parker and be updated as new content comes out, follow us on Substack.

Alternatives to Museums

If you prefer Art Galleries to Art Museums, you could end your visit to the Chapultepec Park at the same neighborhood where you started, San Miguel Chapultepec.

I have an entire waking tour that focuses on this neighborhood and it would fit in perfectly to the Chapultepec Tour in place of the Museums.

Things to Skip in Chapultepec

Zoo ‘Zoológico del Chapultepec

Cringe!

The animals here are treated poorly and it’s really a depressing place. The more you love animals, the more you should avoid this Zoo.

Museo Nacional de Historia

Pass!

Nobody goes here. Definitely not a counterpart to the National History Museum in Chicago, Washington DC, or New York. The Mexican counterpart to these museums is the Museo National de Anthrolologia.

Paddle Boat Ride

I’d rather not!

If this is your thing, go for it, but if you ask me it’s much more relaxing to sit under a tree next to a beautiful fountain or a quiet pond than spend at least an hour waiting in line and fumbling around in a crowded lake.

Audiorama

Unnecessary!

A novel idea for the time before smart phones and ear buds and Beats. All that happens here is people sit around and listen to the same playlist.

Baths of Montezuma

There is really nothing left of the baths of Montezuma. It would be really cool if there was, but there just isn’t. You’ll probably pass it by accident, but it’s not worth a specific trip there.

Street Vendor Area

You’ll know this when you see it. About one third of ‘the loop’ is congested with vendors of unidentifiable Mexican Snack Foods, and overpriced balloons for kids and theme park type stuff. This is the worst Part of the Park.

The other 2/3 of ‘the loop’ is a tranquil paradise.

You can avoid the conjested part by walking behind the kiosks on the side with a Mountain behind it. This will make sense when you are there.

Try your best to spend most of your walk on the tranquil 2/3 of the loop

Conclusion