Skip to content
Paseo de la Reforma seen from the air above Chapultepec park, with a semicircle of white columns among the trees, glass office towers on both sides of the avenue and the city stretching to the hills

Where to stay in Mexico City

Photo: ProtoplasmaKid, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Mexico City

Add your dates above to compare prices for your stay.

About Mexico City

Benito Juárez airport is about 8 km by road from the Zócalo. The areas in this guide run west from the historic centre through Juárez, Roma and Condesa to Polanco, with Coyoacán about 12 km to the south, and the city's parking meters cover Roma Norte, part of Condesa and Polanco.

Mexico. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airport
Benito Juárez (MEX), about 8 km by road from the Zócalo; its car parks charge MXN 60 an hour, up to MXN 391 per 24 hours. Felipe Ángeles (NLU) is about 48 km north by road. Source
Lodging tax
3.5% of the total in hotels, hostels, motels and timeshare, 5% in flats and houses let whole or in part, on everything paid for the stay, deposits and advances included, and passed on to the guest. When a platform collects the payment, it pays the tax to the city. Source
VAT
Lodging carries 16% VAT (IVA) on top of the lodging tax. A platform selling stays for hosts must show the IVA separately or mark prices "IVA incluido". Source
Short-term rental rules
Since the April 2024 reform of the city tourism law, each flat or house let to tourists needs a folio from the Padrón de Anfitriones. Platforms must show it on every listing, and the host must display it in the property with the emergency numbers and a contact. Source
ID on arrival
Hotels and hosts must ask for an official ID proving the guest is an adult, and admit minors only with a person who can prove kinship or custody. Source
Entry
No visa for tourists from the EU, the UK and the US. The immigration officer stamps the passport with the days granted, up to 180, and the migration form (FMM) is digital for air arrivals. Source
Visitor fee
Visitors arriving by air pay a non-resident fee (DNR) of MXN 983 in 2026, which the airline collects. Source
Parking meters
MXN 3.40 per 15 minutes in 2026. Removing a wheel clamp costs MXN 340, a tow MXN 1,001 and the pound MXN 104 a day. Source
Meter zones
The city system covers Roma Norte, Hipódromo in Condesa, Polanco, Anzures, Lomas de Chapultepec and Nápoles, among others: 08:00 to 20:00 on weekdays, and to 01:00 late in the week in Roma, Hipódromo and part of Polanco (list of June 2025). Juárez has its own operator. Source
Hoy No Circula
Cars with a 1 or 2 hologram rest one weekday and some or all Saturdays, from 05:00 to 22:00, by plate ending; 00 and 0 drive every day outside pollution alerts. A company-owned rental cannot get the free tourist pass, so ask the desk (via GetCar). Source
Leases
A residential lease under the Civil Code must be written, runs at least one year unless the parties agree otherwise, allows at most one month's rent as a deposit, and the landlord must register it with the city. Source
Emergency numbers
911 for police, ambulance and fire; tourist police 55 5207 4155 Source

Areas of Mexico City

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City from the corner of the Zócalo, with its stone bell towers and dome above a planted strip and people walking along the railings under a cloudy sky
Photographed in 2015. Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Centro Histórico

The historic centre around the Zócalo, the largest plaza in Latin America, with most of the city's historic sites, many museums and 1,550 buildings of historical importance, listed as a World Heritage Site. It suits a first visit spent on foot among the sights.

Mexico City airport
about 8 km
The Zócalo
under 1 km

Car and parking

The Centro is not in the city meter system's list of zones, and no official parking rule for visitors was found as of September 2026, so ask the hotel how parking works. Hoy No Circula applies here as across the city (via GetCar).

Plaza Río de Janeiro in Colonia Roma, a paved square shaded by tall trees, with a copy of Michelangelo's David on a plinth, a round metal sculpture and people walking in the square
Photographed in 2015. Photo: Haakon S. Krohn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Roma Norte

The northern part of Colonia Roma, just west of the historic centre, whose streets are lined with restaurants, bars, galleries and shops, many in Art Nouveau and Neo-Classical buildings of the early twentieth century. It suits food, nightlife and a base for a week or a month.

Mexico City airport
about 12 km
The Zócalo
about 5 km

Car and parking

Roma Norte is in the city's Roma-Condesa meter zone: MXN 3.40 per 15 minutes in 2026, Monday to Wednesday 08:00 to 20:00 and Thursday to Saturday 08:00 to 01:00, paid with coins, the Mueve Ciudad card or an app, by plate number.

Parque México from the air, a dense canopy of trees around an open-air stage with a pergola, surrounded by the apartment buildings of the Condesa area
Photo: ProtoplasmaKid, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Condesa

The area immediately west of Roma, made up of Colonia Condesa, Hipódromo and Hipódromo Condesa, with many international restaurants, bars and nightclubs and the tree-covered Parque México. It suits a stay among restaurants, with Parque México and Roma next door.

Mexico City airport
about 14 km
The Zócalo
about 6 km

Car and parking

Hipódromo is in the Roma-Condesa meter zone, with the same hours as Roma Norte and MXN 3.40 per 15 minutes in 2026; Colonia Condesa itself is not named in the zone list read (June 2025).

A white three-storey building with arched windows, iron balconies and potted plants on Calle Havre in Colonia Juárez, with a glass office tower behind it under a blue sky
Photographed in 2011. Photo: Carlos Perez Chavez, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Juárez and Reforma

Colonia Juárez, between Paseo de la Reforma, Avenida Chapultepec and Bucareli, holds the Zona Rosa, known for shopping, nightlife, the city's gay community and Little Seoul; Reforma, one of Mexico's main commercial districts, has many of its tallest buildings. It suits a central base between the Centro and Chapultepec.

Mexico City airport
about 11 km
The Zócalo
about 4 km

Car and parking

Street parking in Juárez is outside the city meter system and run by SERVIMET through its operator OPEVSA, with a different app; its hours and rates were not verified as of September 2026, so ask the hotel or host.

The pond in Lincoln Park in Polanco, with model boats on the water, trees along the edge and white apartment buildings behind under a blue sky
Photographed in 2013. Photo: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Polanco

A neighbourhood of the Miguel Hidalgo borough known for luxury shopping on Presidente Masaryk, upscale restaurants and hotels, embassies and cultural institutions, with the National Museum of Anthropology about 2 km away by road. It suits a hotel stay and business trips.

Mexico City airport
about 18 km
The Zócalo
about 9 km
The National Museum of Anthropology
about 2 km

Car and parking

Polanco is a meter zone: MXN 3.40 per 15 minutes in 2026, in the usual weekday hours, and Wednesday to Saturday until 01:00 in the blocks between Arquímedes, Horacio, Molière and Reforma.

Jardín Centenario in Coyoacán, a paved walk under tall trees with people on benches, a fountain with a coyote statue and the church of San Juan Bautista at the end
Photographed in 2010. Photo: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Coyoacán

A borough in the south where many former villages kept their plazas, narrow streets and buildings from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century; its historic centre draws visitors at weekends, and the Frida Kahlo Museum is under 1 km from it. It suits a stay away from the central districts.

Mexico City airport
about 17 km
The Zócalo
about 12 km
The Frida Kahlo Museum
under 1 km

Car and parking

Coyoacán is not in the city meter system's list of zones, and no official parking rule for visitors was found as of September 2026; ask the host whether a space comes with the booking.

Guides

Questions

Which area of Mexico City is best for a first visit?

The Centro Histórico, around the Zócalo, for the historic sites and museums, or Roma Norte and Condesa, west of it, for restaurants, bars and Parque México. Juárez sits between the Centro and Chapultepec, beside Paseo de la Reforma.

What taxes are added to a stay in Mexico City?

The city lodging tax, 3.5% of the total in hotels, hostels and motels and 5% in flats and houses, plus 16% VAT (IVA). When a platform collects the payment for a flat or house, it pays the 5% to the city.

Do holiday rentals in Mexico City need a registration number?

Yes. Since the April 2024 reform of the city's tourism law, each flat or house let to tourists needs a folio from the Padrón de Anfitriones, the host registry of the city's tourism secretariat. Platforms must show it on every listing and the host must display it in the property.

Is street parking paid in Mexico City?

In the meter zones, yes: MXN 3.40 per 15 minutes in 2026. They include Roma Norte, the Hipódromo part of Condesa and Polanco, where meters run to 01:00 on some nights. In Juárez a separate operator runs street parking.