Gyde & Seek Opens for Tours in Mexico City

Mexico City is having a moment. With a drop-the-mic food scene, museums to rival London's, and a backyard full of archaeological wonders, the D.F. packs a powerful cultural punch. And the rest of the world is catching on.

Born from a brutal encounter of civilizations, the modern Mexican capital is a dazzling, contradictory, improbable place: a city that has defied volcanoes, fault lines, and logic—a dreamscape of sinking palacios, swaying cathedrals, and Aztec deities disguised as Catholic saints. A megalopolis of small-town "colonias" that will dizzy you with its hustle and disarm you with its warmth, it's a city whose complicated story is a thrill to unravel, especially when you seek out a captivating local narrator.

Our CDMX gyde corps is standing by to inform your adventures in pre-Columbian cosmology and Porfirian-era politics; take you to meet the muralists and their spray can wielding successors; show you how to eat street tacos, prepare mole, and sip mythological heritage spirits made from fermented maguey.

You might spend an evening at Andrea's table, talking (and tasting) small-batch mezcals from her native Guerrero—or an afternoon in Emilio's workshop, creating from-scratch confections with the purest Mexican cacao. Looking for over-the-top baroque facades? Vanessa has you covered. Behind-the-scenes lucha libre? Paco will hook you up. There's nothing like exploring Teotihuacan on the arm of an anthropologist. Or seeing Mercado La Merced through the lens of a Chilango food writer.

But before you take on pre-Hispanic pyramids (or even pyramids of dried chilies), head to the Zócalo to pay your respects to Cuauhtémoc and Cortés—and take in the drama of a colonial capital built in the rubble of a vanquished empire. With an orientation by the likes of Daniel or Lissette (and some handy visuals courtesy of Diego Rivera), you'll be on a first-name basis with the emperors, conquistadors, and revolutionaries by your 3:00pm lunch reservation at Contramar.

Speaking of which, may we suggest the "pescado a la talla"? Grilled, butterflied, and highly grammable, the iconic entrée comes patriotically slathered in both red and green salsas. On your first day in Mexico City, you shouldn't have to choose between verde and roja.