I stayed in this AWESOME Hotel near the Zocalo. Hotel isabel:

address: Isabel la Catolica 63

phone: 5518 12 13 or 5518 12 14

It got a “thumbs up” from Let’s Go, so we tried it and were not disappointed at all! The even had a guy who drove us to the airport complete with a mini tour of the city.

After you check in, go for a late taco/queso fundido. There are some great quality trendy late night open air eateries around Polanco and La Zona Rosa. Lots of beautiful people around eating great inexpensive food.

i liked Zocalo square. it’s just this huge square, lots of people, lots of street vendors. lots of colorful green bugs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinou/sets/72057594078593712/

around that area there are shops, restaurants.

you can also venture near the national museum area. there are nice parks around the museum area.

I would suggest you take public transportation, since people dont really know how to drive over there, also you will have a hard time finding parking.

For a taste of the night life you can go to any of the bars and restaurants over Insurgentes avenue. For a more bohemian, hippy-like experience you would want to go to Coyoacan. Touring over Paseo de la Reforma is nice if watching statues and skyscrappers is your thing. Your best option probably is Zocalo and its sorroundings. If you choose this, make sure you get to see main square, the cathedral, Santo Domingo plaza and the fine arts/Alameda site. You can also go to Garibaldi to get drunk while mariachis play on the plaza. The wrestling arena is another option (show begins at 20:00 and the arena is near Zocalo). Xochimilco is also an option if you want to spend a romantic night with a significant other or party with friends.

Just a warning: The traffic on friday afternoon/night will be at its worst since it will be payday. So i would suggest deciding what will you do first and then pick a hotel near that location. There are many hotel options near Zocalo for all budgets. The large Hotels are over Reforma and as you can imagine, they are VERY expensive. Cheaper, but still fancy options can be found around Zona Rosa, colonia Juárez and Polanco.

If you’re coming in during a non-rush-hour time frame with very little luggage AND feel adventurous, you can take the Metro. It stops at the airport; it was 2 pesos back in Fall of 2004, and it’s a little slice of el D.F.

You might catch a song or two being sung. There’s a good probability that someone will be hawking something for “di-eeeeeez pesos!”. And then there’s always the fun of figuring out why they picked certain graphics to represent certain stops. For some reason, my friends thought it was hilarious when I imagined someone saying “I get off at the butterfly”.

Zocalo’s fun. There’s also that place where people shock each other with batteries/jumper cables to show their machismo…Plaza Garibaldi/Café Tenampa.

Remember, you’re only allowed to bring back ONE counterfeit item. And Lord knows there will be a ton of ’em for the buying, so choose wisely.

ok Zocalo is a must! and Bellas Artes is prob the most beautiful building u’ll ever see haha about hotels well…it depends on how much ur willing to pay but there are some nice near Zócalo or Polanco is also a really nice zone. Eat tacos and quesadillas of course but not like in every street-stand u see cause if ur not used to our type of food u might end up having a stomachache. try tamales too!

yeah, renting a car wouldnt be a cool idea, in case u were thinking about it, the traffic is always crazy, use public transportation, some places are full all the time and some others are quite, its just matter of times. subway is a good option but be careful.

good lucks!