It's the city with the second-highest number of museums in the world (Paris is in the top spot), and many of them are free. It's the city with the oldest forest in the Americas (Bosque Chapultepec, an urban park that's double the size of New York City's Central Park). It has more than 40,000 restaurants, and even its top tables offer exceptional tasting menus that are far more affordable than comparable restaurants around the world. And despite all that traffic, there are so many ways to get around—all of them affordable—that it's possible to explore the most far-flung reaches of Mexico City, such as the canals of Xochimilco, or the campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM, in Spanish). Yes, it can be overwhelming, especially for a first-time visitor, but it's also enchanting. In part, that's because too many visitors simply don't expect Mexico City to be so amazing. With a population of more than 20 million, the Mexican capital is an ever-changing metropolis, whose sheer size can be intimidating to even the most experienced travelers. Mexico City travel is like taking a trip through time: you can climb pre-Hispanic pyramids, snap photos of colonial buildings, and dine at an avant-garde restaurant—all in one day.

Mexico City

San Miguel de Allende