Step By Step Free Walking Tour For Gay Travelers in Mexico City – Art, History, Cruising, Plazas, Food and More – Updated for 2024 to include Sexto Piso
This tour has been updated, for 2023 to include some new cruising spots on Eje Central.
In my article What is Gay Travel, I talk about gay traveler’s desire to find a local experience or non-touristy things to do. Mexico City is the perfect place to find these things. This free walking tour Mexico City Downtown takes place in Mexico City’s Central Historico, or downtown. In my opinion it is one of the least understood parts of Mexico City.
The foreigners usually choose to live in the more westernized Colonia Roma or Condessa or even Polanco or San Angel. But If you want to understand Mexico City, or feel what it is like to live here, you need to experience El Centro.
This tour begins at MUNAL, The Mexican National Art Museum and continues along either side of Eje Central, a major touroughfare of commerce in Mexico City. It is a gritty corridor filled with tacos, merchandise, porn stores, and chaos, but just on either side you will find beautiful colonial plazas that are never mentioned in the tourist magazines.
It also is home to many gay cruising establishments, the kinds that used to exist in Times Square New York before it became ‘Disneyfied.’
There is actually a renaissance of gay cruising happening on this corridor. Funny Sex Shop and Sexto Piso are brand new establishments with young owners and they are doing very creative things as far as concept and community building.
Cine Savoy is an old mainstay. They don’t do anything innovative and it’s a nice trip back in time to a day when gay cruising happened in abandoned porn theaters.
My favorite Author and expat, Edmund White writes in his memoir City Boy, about the gay cruising culture in New York City in the 50’s and 60’s. I used to read his memoirs and wish I had lived in New York City in those times. Here in Mexico City I feel I have found a place like the New York he talks about and I have a chance to go back in time.
I think you’ll have a blast on this Free Walking Tour Mexico City Downtown!
When is the Best Time for a Walking Tour in Mexico City’s Downtown
This tour is best done in the afternoon.
I recommend you arrive at Cine Savoy no earlier than 3:00. Give yourself however much time you need to enjoy the Art Museum and the few stops in between.
Morning people can add on my Zocalo walking tour to the beginning of this tour. This will result in a very long day but totally doable. The Zocalo Tour includes the iconic Metropolitan Cathedral and the Museo Templo Mayor. This combination is a fantastic introduction to the fascinating history of Mexico City.
The neighborhood will fill up substantially and come to a swell around 6:00. The cruising will take off around 2:00 or 3:00.
All the places mentioned close at 9 or 10, with the exception of Sexto Piso, the last stop, which, if you have the energy, will stay open later. If you want to include the museums, and I highly recommend that you do, keep in mind that the museums will be closed on Monday.
What to wear on your Walking Tour in Mexico City’s Downtown?
The sun will be bright. While you may be tempted to wear a Mexican style sombrero that they sell all over town, I recommend against it.
A simple baseball cap is better. and it’s a shame, because if you were just walking around downtown, a larger artisanal hat would be perfect and quite fabulous. But when you’re lurking up and down the halls of the video booths, and the isles of the cruisy theaters, you will feel quite out of place with a hat like that.
Not to mention you’ll have no place to hang it if you find yourself shedding clothes with a handsome Mexican man inside one of the cabinas. Mexico City is not a fashion capital. People dress very utilitarian.
That being said, many guys, gay and straight, find ways to express themselves with flamboyant colors inside of this utilitarian framework. You’ll see them on the metro and around town and they’ll inspire you to come up with a look of your own.
MUNAL – Mexican National Museum of Art – Art of the Nation in a Breathtaking Colonial Mansion
Experience Mexican art and the Mexican aesthetic at the Mexican National Museum of Art. This tour begins at Mexico’s Flagship Art Museum. If you are staying in Tracey Parker’s Recommended Neighborhood for Gay Travelers, you are just a short walk away. If not, take an Uber to the front door or take metro to Bellas Artes. You can start with breakfast before or lunch after at El Cardinal.
While the anthropology museum may be the most famous museum in town, its subject matter is somewhat dense and it can be overwhelming. MUNAL, on the other hand, tells the story of Mexico through its art, and it’s quite a dazzling story.
This art museum is a Spanish Colonial mansion filled with Mexican Painting and Sculpture. The Landscapes present the biodiversity of Mexico from its mountains, deserts, oceans, and more. Look at Mexico’s colonial history through its portraits.
This is a very active Museum which is constantly changing up what is displayed by launching new exhibitions of the national collection that display everything from Mexican cuisine, history, culture, and artistic heritage.
When you are finished you can walk out and admire the statue of the King of Spain sitting on a horse. This plaza is quintessential Spanish colonial. The statue used to sit in the center of the plaza in front of Zocalo by the famous Metropolitan Cathedral. It was built by Mexican Artisans not as a sign of deference to the Spanish King, but rather as a way to show off the skill of Mexican artisans and what was possible here in Mexico.
Turn left as you exit the plaza in front of the museum. You will make your first right turn onto Filomeno Mata. There, you will see three iron statues on the corner. One of Izcoatl, Nezahualcoyotl, and Totoquihuatzin, three prominent leaders of the old Aztec Empire that predates the Spanish conquest.
In Mexico there is a conscious connection to the past that does not exist in the United States. This is more the territory of the anthropology museum but I’ll just mention here that Mexico City, Tenochtitlán, was one of the biggest cities in the world, with rich culture and traditions.
That culture was wiped out and swiftly replaced by the Spanish conquest. Later came Mexican Independence, and Globalization. Since Ancient times, the people of Mexico City have waded the tides of global trends and maintained their own identity as well.
As you walk down this street you will see several other museums. The locals call these commercial museums. I don’t include them in this walking tour because I believe they are tourist traps, and also focused toward local Mexican Children.
Walk passed the following cross street. It is called Av. 5 de Mayo. On the corner you will see a cafe called La Opera. It is a nice atmosphere with very inexpensive classic Mexican steakhouse food. I say Mexican steakhouse because this style of Mexican restaurant reminds me of a traditional American steakhouse.
You’ll find cuts of beef that come with salad and French fries, as well as traditional enchiladas and traditional Mexican food. It’s a nice restaurant at a great price. For that reason there is often a line to get in.
Templo de San Francisco – Spanish Style Catholic Church with Gilded Altar and Enormous Paintings
The next cross street is called “Madero”. This is the main pedestrian walkway between Alameda central and Zocalo. It is constantly swarmed with pedestrians and street vendors.
I recommend you visit the Templo de San Fransisco, which is located on Madero. To get there you will make a right onto Madero. The entrance will be on your left. You will walk through a courtyard and then into the church.
The altar and enormous works of art are very impressive and a great example of Mexican Catholic Architecture. Admission is free.
Wikipedia has a detailed history of this church, which like most things in Mexico has had many chapters and served many purposes over the course of history. Wikipedia history of Church.
The next stop will be Cine Savoy. I recommend you use your google maps to get there. After the church, continue on the pedestrian walkway you arrived on. (Naming it is complicated because it changes names at Madero from Filomeno Mata to Gante).
The next cross street will be 16 de Septiembre. In case you haven’t noticed, Mexico City likes to name its avenues in Downtown after important dates in Mexican History. As a foreigner these dates can seem arbitrary or confusing, but to the locals these dates are icons and easy to remember. A comparison would be 4th of July.
Pasteleria La Ideal
Turn right onto 16 de Setiembre. On your way to Cine Savoy you will pass La Ideal. You’ll see a crowd outside and perhaps a line of people waiting to get in. This is the most famous bakery in Mexico.
Take a look inside if you’re inspired. Mexico has a big cult following around its baked goods. All sweets, cakes, loafs, etc. are collectively called bread, or Pan in Spanish. This includes Pan Dulce, sweet bread. To them Pan Dulce is just as Mexican as a plate of chicken fajitas.
One day I hope to make a cookbook that showcases the foods that the people of Mexico City proudly call their own. I want to showcase how different the food is in Mexico City from the “Mexican food” that we eat up North in the USA. Pan Dulce, and La Ideal will be prominently displayed as they are a major part of the food identity of this city.
Cine Savoy – Legendary Gay Cruising Cinema
After La Ideal, Cine Savoy will be on your right. You will first have to enter a corridor before you get to the theater. You can’t miss it. The theater entrance is on the right hand side of the corridor. Admission is $60MX.
If you rushed through the museums or started early you may arrive here before the peak time. Peak time starts around 3. But even if you arrive early, you’ll get an idea of what is possible there.
Personally, the first time I went was when I popped in spontaneously around 1:00 in the afternoon. It wasn’t very full but I ended up sucking off a tall young athletic chacal before he fucked me bareback without thinking twice in the seats of the dark movie theater.
He was what we would call Hetroflexible. He wore ear bud headphones the entire time and watched straight porn projected on the big screen throughout the entire encounter. We parted ways immediately after it was over. We crossed paths in the bathroom where he was washing off his cock and I was cleaning up. We exchanged a flirty glance and then went our own way.
I hope you walk out of Cine Savoy the same way I did on my first time. I must have had a smug grin on my face which totally mismatched my disbelief that I felt in my head.
What just happened? Did I really just do that with who I think I did that with? It was a fantasy that I was never creative enough to imagine. And here I was, walking down a street in Mexico City having just done it.
Leave Cine Savoy and turn right onto 16 de Septiembre. The first cross street is Eje Central. You won’t find Eje Central on any post cards, but it is what most of the principal avenues of commerce look like in Mexico City’s Downtown.
A mixture of Spanish colonial buildings and cheap modern new buildings that replaced the old ones line the street. On the ground there are markets after markets of various kinds of products, electronics, shoes, clothing, pirated computer software, you name it you can find it here in downtown.
Tacos, tacos, and more tacos line the streets alongside magazine and candy vendors. Thousands walk side by side along the two large sidewalks on either side. 5 lanes of traffic lie in the middle. One lane on either side is for bikes and a trolley bus, and the remaining three in the middle are all for cars headed in one direction. Underneath is the green line of metro. Here you find chaos, noise, and people surviving.
Turn left onto Eje Central and walk for two blocks. You will pass Calle Articulo 123, and then Calle Victoria. You will make a right hand turn onto Ayuntamiento.
The identifying item of this street is the physical bus stop in the middle of it. Ayuntamiento has a metrobus line in the middle of it with a large bus stop and people lining up. You will make a right hand turn onto this street.
Then you will look for a communications tower and walk toward it. Plaza San Juan is directly at the base of the communications tower.
Plaza San Juan
Next is plaza San Juan. If you’re lucky there will be men playing a game of basketball. If there is no basketball game going on there will certainly be shirtless men working out at the outdoor gym.
This is a beautiful, low key, urban park with a beautiful church on one side. It’s a wonderful place to relax and think about what you’ve seen so far.
Mercado San Juan
If you’re hungry you can go into Mercado San Juan, which is behind the church. It’s a specialty foods market with lots of European cheeses and meats, as well as produce and seafood and some prepared food restaurants in the back.
There are many food stalls that sell delicious Baguettes that consist of imported European meats and cheeses. They are served with wine and a dessert.
I don’t know why, but this market is always packed with tourists. This has its pluses and minuses. The pluses are that most of the vendors in the market will speak English. This is unheard of in other Mexican Markets. The negative is that they tend to be aggressive as you walk by.
Ignore your instincts to politely interact with them. You’ll learn very quickly that they don’t speak any English beyond aggressively offering you to eat at their business. Just ignore them. Glance over their English menu, ask whatever questions you have, and decide if you want to eat there.
They will try to make you feel obligated to eat there. This is Mexican culture. You have to ignore this or else leave yourself to the whim of every business owner in town, and eat wherever they tell you to eat. It’s up to you.
Next you will go to Funny Sex Shop. You will exit Plaza San Juan on the side opposite the one you entered, the side with the communications tower.
The name of the street is Ernesto Piuget, but it is marked simply as Piuget. Turn left as you are leaving the park onto this street. It will dead end very soon and you’ll turn right onto Aranda, then take your first left onto Vizcainas.
On Vizcainas you will pass a wonderful taqueria called ‘Toluca’ and they sell chorizo tacos. Toluca is a part of Mexico just outside of Mexico City and they are famous for their chorizo. The sausage tacos have nuts and berries inside them and are absolutely delicious.
You’ll also see some dilapidated Art Deco buildings on this street. They are totally vacant and deserted but the bones contain a reminder that this was once one of Mexico City’s most exciting neighborhoods architecturally.
Calle Vizcainas will take you back to Eje Central. Turn Left onto Eje central and you should see signs for Funny Sex Shop on the opposite side of the highway.
Funny Sex Shop
Funny is a sex shop is located on the 2nd floor of an office building. It is well marked and easy to find. You’ll pass a security guard at a desk and then take the elevator to Funny.
There is a sign inside the elevator that tells you what floor to go to.
Funny is a large video arcade/glory hole maze and it’s always packed. The admission is $100 and it includes 1 beer. They will give you a receipt when you pay your admission, and you’ll use that receipt to redeem your free beer at a bar inside the Maze.
The beer is a nice way to take the edge off. You can order more as you want. Great selection of men and a nice sitting room with a good view of Eje central, a chaotic vein of Mexican commerce.
Funny is new and clean and they do a lot of publicity. It has a young owner who is involved in the community. It is the other side of the spectrum as Cine Savoy, which is an older landmark that does no publicity but will probably always be famous.
Plaza de Regina
While I’ve given you a lot of leeway to change the routes up until now, this next step, in between Funny and the final cruising spot is one that I want you to follow exactly.
I will show you a beautiful plaza called Plaza de Regina that will take you past buildings that showcase the decaying elegance of Mexico City at its best.
Turn left as you exit Funny. Walk down Eje Central and turn left onto Vizcainas. The first right will be a street with a gate. Pass that street and then make your next right onto Aldaco.
Then make your first left onto Echeveste (unmarked). Once you’re on Echeveste you’re free to walk straight. It will open up into a pedestrian walking street/plaza with a beautiful decaying Catholic Church on the right side.
This is one of my favorite parts of the city. Low key and overlooked by all the commercial tours, parks like this and Plaza San Juan are very special to me and I think they represent a part of Mexico City that is overlooked and under appreciated.
Walk all the way down Calle Regina and you’ll pass some cafes and bars and the College of Sor Juana. It is an art school and the students often spend time in the plaza outside.
Plaza San Jeronimo
The next cross street will be Isabella Catholica . There will be a Farmacia San Pablo on the corner. Turn right onto Isabella Catholica.
Then turn left onto San Jeronimo.
This Plaza is noteworthy for its surrealist style statues. Very Instagramable.
Quickly walk through this plaza and enjoy the view.
Calle Izaga
After the statues turn right onto Avenida 5 de Febrero. We’ll be making a U turn of sorts, but we’ll return on another street.
You’ll quickly arrive at a larger avenue called ‘Izaga.’ Do not cross this street. Turn right on the sidewalk and walk along Izaga. We’ll be walking back to Eje Central along Izaga.
You sill see a Chapel in the middle of the road. This Chapel is at the intersection of Eje Central. We’ll follow Izaga to the chapel.
VIP Cyber Isabella Catholica
This is another gay cruising place that used to be my favorites. It has deteriorated over the years and at this point I really can’t even guarantee it will be open. In Mexico, especially in the cruising industry, many places, instead of closing immediately, enter into a purgatory phase where nobody ever knows if they will be open or not.
They can change owners during this phase and sometimes they can become renovated or get more busted, you never know. This phase can last decades. I include it because it’s on the way. You should go. They charge $40 pesos to enter for 1 hour and $70 for unlimited time.
You will pass a metro station and then look for a Grocery Store called Super Naturista. Immediately next door to the Super Naturista is a convenience store with a sign above it that says ‘Holanda.’
If you’re lucky there will be a sign outside this store with the name VIP Cyber Cafe on it. Walk through to the back of the convenience store and you will find a staircase. Go up the staircase and you will find the VIP Cyber Cafe.
Interesting Backstory of VIP Cyber
While internet access is now available all over the city, it used to be very rare even for people to have internet in their homes, and cyber cafes were very popular. Many gay men went to these cafes to view porn on the computers discretely. Other gays would often see them and use that as pretext to flirt or try to make a friend. Cyber cafes became places of gay cruising.
This cyber cafe takes this dynamic to another level. The cyber cafe in front is fake. Behind the fake cyber cafe is a cruising maze and a place to sit and socialize.
This business has kind of decayed and it’s not in the best of shape. But it’s near and dear to my heart. I have always had the best of luck with the guys I meet at this place. They’re sexy, friendly, ready to fuck, and enjoy talking afterwords.
After VIP Cyber, continue along Izaga toward the chapel in the middle of the road. The safest way to the next stop is along Izaga. However, I prefer to turn right onto Calle Bolivar, and then make a left onto an unmarked street that turns into yet another plaza.
It can look kind of sketchy, but it’s also very beautiful at the same time, in a Mexico City kind of way. The treat is that at the end of the plaza, there is an outdoor gym with shirtless men exercising.
Regardless if you take the plaza or Izaga, your destination will be Eje Central.
Sexto Piso
I’ve definitely saved the best for last on this tour. Sexto Piso is the hottest gay establishment in Mexico City right now. It is called an ‘Urban Park.’
Similar to Funny, you’ll need to take an elevator. The elevator is well marked.
It is a glory hole maze on the 6th floor of an office building. It includes a bar in front and a balcony with an amazing view of Mexico City.
The glory hole maze was designed by a set designer who works in the movie and theater industry in Mexico City.
This is a must see. It cannot be missed.
All are welcome here, and there is definitely a ‘cool kids vibe’ here. But I’ll say it again, all are welcome. I find the guys here to be irresistible and the experience is top notch.
At this point I consider this walk to be over. I assume you’re probably exhausted. I’ve never been to all these places in just one day. Hopefully this tour has given you a set of experiences that opened your eyes to this foreign gay culture.
Many of these places I discovered during my first year in Mexico. When I got to the Cabinas, after my day had ended, it was often during their final hour. Sometimes there were still lots of people and other times there were just one or two or three of us, lonely souls not quite ready to go home hanging around to connect with strangers.
I would roll a joint, smoke it alone or with the others, and then leave on my bike. I’d ride in between the two lanes of Calle Jose Maria Izagaza, on the bike lane, with the Catholic Church steeple ahead and the sunset behind, high, and freshly fucked, feeling like the entire world made sense to me for a moment.
