Mexico
City overview
Mexico City is one of the great capitals of the Americas — a high-altitude metropolis where Aztec ruins sit under colonial palaces, world-class museums line a forest twice the size of Central Park, and the food runs from street tacos to tasting menus that draw travellers across a continent. It is also home to one of the largest and most organised Jewish communities in Latin America, roughly 40,000 people spread across Ashkenazi, Maguén David, Monte Sinaí and Sephardi kehilot. The community is concentrated in a ribbon of neighbourhoods running west from Polanco through Lomas de Chapultepec, Tecamachalco and Bosques de las Lomas out to Interlomas — which is where the synagogues, the kosher restaurants and the kosher supermarkets are. Polanco is where visitors stay, and it puts you within walking distance of a Chabad House, several batei knesset and a dense cluster of certified kosher dining. Few cities in the world combine this much to see with this much kosher infrastructure.
Mexico City
Rabbi
Rabbi Mendel and Devorah Leah Mayzlesh
Phone
+52 55 5545 6770Mexico City's Chabad House, in the heart of Polanco behind a black gate between Avenida Ejército Nacional and Avenida Homero, running daily minyanim, Shabbat services and meals, a women's mikvah and a kosher information service for visitors.
Getting Around
Public transit
The Metro is the fastest way across the city and one of the cheapest in the world at 5 pesos a trip, a fare the city government has held for 2026.
You pay with a Tarjeta de Movilidad Integrada, the contactless card that also works on the Metrobús, Trolebús and Cablebús. The Metrobús runs in dedicated lanes along the major avenues and its Line 4 is the airport route. Neither system reaches the Tecamachalco, Bosques or Interlomas kosher cluster, which is served by road only.
Rideshare
Uber, DiDi and Cabify all operate legally across Mexico City and are the usual way visitors move around, particularly out to the western suburbs.
Unlike Cancún and Los Cabos, they are permitted to pick up at the airport, though pickups happen on the exterior roadways rather than at the terminal doors. The community also runs its own service, UMD — Uber Maguen David — an app with Jewish drivers.
Car rental
All the major international agencies operate at both airports and in Polanco.
A car is genuinely useful for the day trips to Teotihuacán, Puebla or Cuernavaca and for moving between the Polanco and Interlomas kosher clusters, but it is a liability inside the city centre, where traffic is heavy, parking is scarce and the Hoy No Circula programme bars some vehicles from the road on a given weekday according to their plate.
Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez (AICM) is the main gateway, at Av. Capitán Carlos León S/N, Peñón de los Baños, about 12 kilometres east of Polanco — anywhere from 30 minutes to well over an hour depending on traffic. It has two terminals linked by the Aerotrén monorail, a five-minute ride running 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM for which you need a boarding pass. Metrobús Line 4 serves the airport directly. A second airport, Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Ángeles (AIFA), sits about 45 kilometres north in Zumpango, State of Mexico, and carries a growing share of domestic and some international traffic; it is considerably further from the Jewish neighbourhoods, so check which airport your ticket uses before booking a transfer.
Good to know
March through May brings the warmest, driest weather, before the afternoon rains that fall almost daily from June to September.
Mexico City sits at about 2,240 metres — roughly 7,350 feet — and the altitude is real: take the first day slowly, drink more water than you think you need, and go easy on alcohol until you have adjusted. Drink bottled or filtered water rather than from the tap. Synagogues here operate tight security and most are not set up for walk-in visitors, so arrange your visit in advance through the community or the Chabad House rather than arriving unannounced, and carry photo identification. Tipping runs about 10 to 15 per cent in restaurants. Spanish is the working language and English is common in Polanco hotels but much less so elsewhere. If you need a hot plate for Shabbat, the Jerusalem Judaica store on Avenida Homero sells them. There is no luggage storage at the Chabad House, but services such as Stasher, Bounce and WeKeep operate in the city.
Mexico City rewards the same city sense you would use in any large capital: stay alert on the Metro at rush hour, use registered taxis or a ride-hailing app rather than hailing on the street, and keep phones out of sight in crowds. Polanco, Lomas de Chapultepec, Bosques and Interlomas — where most kosher travellers stay — are among the city's most secure districts, with private security on most blocks. The national emergency number is 911, answered 24 hours a day and free from any phone. Locatel, Mexico City's own assistance line, is 55 5658 1111 and handles hospital enquiries, missing persons and general orientation. Ángeles Verdes, the roadside assistance and tourist-help service, is 078. The federal tourism assistance line is 800 008 9090. The United States embassy in Mexico City can be reached on +52 55 5080 2000.
Local time
4:07 AM
+4 hrs from NYC
Plug
Type A/B
127V
Currency
Mexican Peso
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