My birthday is November 2. Día de los Muertos.

I get to celebrate being alive on the same day an entire country sets a table for the people who came before. I do not take that lightly. It is probably why Mexico has always felt a little personal to me.

My birthday, Día de los Muertos. Flowers everywhere, the way it should be.

Mexico City is huge, loud and generous. It rewards people who slow down. If you give it a long weekend, you will want a week. If you give it a week, you will start planning the next trip before you leave. Here is how I would spend your days, and where I would send you when you want to get out of the city for one.

In the city

Xochimilco

Rent a trajinera, one of the painted wooden boats, and float the canals past the chinampas, the floating gardens farmers have worked for centuries. Mariachi boats pull up alongside. Food boats too. Go with a group, bring cash, order the elote, and let the afternoon get away from you.

Book: Xochimilco, Coyoacán and Frida Kahlo with Optional Lunch

On the Carmelita in Xochimilco. Bring friends and an empty stomach.

Coyoacán

Book the Frida Kahlo Museum, La Casa Azul, ahead of time. Tickets sell out and you cannot just walk up. Pair it with Diego Rivera's Anahuacalli, then spend the rest of the day wandering the plazas and Mercado de Coyoacán. Weekends are the liveliest, with artisan stalls, street food and families everywhere.

Book: Frida Kahlo VIP Walk with Museum Tickets, Markets and Churros

Corn in hand in Coyoacán. Priorities.

Reforma on Sunday

On Sunday mornings Paseo de la Reforma closes to cars and the city takes it back on bikes and on foot. Open air photo exhibits hang along the fences near Chapultepec. Walk over to the Museo de Arte Moderno and the Museo Tamayo while you are there and make a whole day of it.

Book: Mexico City Highlights Bicycle Tour

Centro and the markets

Leave room to get lost. A limpia in the Centro Histórico, copal smoke and all. Craft stalls at the Mercado Artesanal Mexicano. Armfuls of sunflowers and chrysanthemums at the flower market for almost nothing. Some of my favorite photos from the whole trip came from the hours I did not plan.

Centro Histórico, Mercado Artesanal Mexicano and the flower market.

Day trips worth the drive

Teotihuacán

The most popular day trip from the city, and for good reason. Walk the Avenue of the Dead and climb toward the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. If you can get up before dawn, take the hot air balloon ride over the pyramids at sunrise. It is one of those mornings you will talk about for years.

Book: Teotihuacán Balloon Flight with Cave Breakfast and Mexico City Pickup

Puebla, Cholula and Tonantzintla

A full day through central Mexico. Puebla for talavera tile and mole. Cholula for the great pyramid with a church sitting right on top of it. Tonantzintla for a small church whose carved, painted interior will stop you in the doorway.

Book: Puebla, Cholula and Tonantzintla Day Trip

Taxco

A silver town stacked on a hillside, with a cable car that gives you the whole view. It works as a long day, and even better on a multi day loop with Puebla.

Book: Taxco and Cuernavaca Day Trip

Valle de Bravo

A mountain lake town about two and a half hours away, where people from the city go to breathe. Water sports, golf and hiking. I only suggest this one if you are staying a full week rather than a long weekend, because it deserves at least a night.

Book: Paragliding in Valle de Bravo

Let me plan it

Mexico City is easy to visit and easy to do badly. Where you stay changes everything, from how far you sit in traffic to how the city feels when you walk out the door at night. That is my job. As a Fora travel advisor I match you with the right neighborhood and hotel, often with extras like breakfast, hotel credits and upgrades when available, and I build the day trips around how you actually like to travel.

I put my name on Fora's insider guide to Mexico City and the getaways around it. Read it, then come talk to me.

Read my full Mexico City guide

Ready to go? Fill out the form at the bottom of my guide and write one word: Xochimilco.