Mexico City Nightlife: Places and Districts to Go Out in Mexico City

  The Cathedral by Night

Nightlife in Mexico City starts late and ends with breakfast, making it quite a struggle to get up for the next day's sightseeing... But if you have stayed the course, you’ll feel quite entitled to a good lie-in; evenings in Mexico City can be a wildly hedonistic affair!

It’s important to take account of the altitude (the city is more than 2000m above sea-level), which has caught out even the most sensible of drinkers. As such, and given that clubs don’t get going until well after midnight, it’s a good idea to start as the locals do: slowly.

Another important thing to remember if don’t want to get treated like a gringo (and pay gringo prices!), is to insist on ‘bebidas nacionales’. Literally, ‘national drinks’ - they will save you a fortune over the course of your stay In Mexico.

Bars and clubs are mostly concentrated to the south of the city. At the unashamedly cheesy end, cavernous super clubs playing Mexican dance music vie for customers with cheap, sleazy little neighborhood ‘antros’ (discotheques).

If you’re on a strict budget, the Zona Rosa (where many of the classiest – and priciest – places can be found) is probably best avoided. Having said that, the area is also home to the city’s pulsating gay scene, although there’s an alternative burgeoning scene in Colonia Roma.

To the east, the suburbs of San Angel (around Plaza San Jacinto) and Coyoacan (between Plaza Central and Plaza la Conchita) have plenty to offer. On weekends, the latter is a noisy hub of activity with a range of open-air street performances.

The Plaza Garibaldi, on the corner of Republica de Peru, fills up in the early evening with mariachis (complete with giant sombreros) and ranchero bands. A number of older locals dance while bemused tourists look on at the whole pleasant, but faintly bizarre, spectacle.

A night out in Mexico City can be thoroughly seductive. As dawn approaches at the end of a long, punishing night, you may find yourself speculating ruefully on its wilder side and wondering whether or not you really should have had those last few tequilas…

Search Guides