On a tour of Palacio Nacional, visitors can enjoy the mural of famed Mexican artist Diego Rivera.JOSE LUIS MAGANA/The Associated Press
Mexico City-based John Hecht – co-author of the brand new Lonely Planet Mexico guidebook – has three jalapeno-hot hotel recommendations: Red Tree House (theredtreehouse.com), Chillout Flat and Chalet del Carmen (chaletdelcarmen.com).
"When choosing places to stay, consider hotels or hostels in the Centro Historico, Roma, Condesa or Coyoacan areas," he says. "They have the highest concentrations of restaurants and museums plus vibrant nightlife scenes."
But once you're on the ground and ready to explore, where do you start?
"Don't bother renting a car unless you're also visiting surrounding areas – even then, most places are reachable by bus. There's an excellent metro system and taxis are cheap – but make sure you hire a stationed or radio taxi and avoid hailing cabs on the street."
For Hecht, the city's best attractions include the National Museum of Anthropology, Palacio Nacional's Diego Rivera murals and the celebrated Frida Kahlo Museum (a.k.a. La Casa Azul) – plus the Aztec ruins of Templo Mayor and the nearby Teotihuacan pyramids.
"Personally, I also really like the small town feel of Tlalpan, a southern Mexico City neighborhood – as well as cantina-hopping in the Centro Historico," he says, adding cycling tours with Bicitekas (bicitekas.org) and foodie crawls with Eat Mexico (eatmexico.com) for those craving company.
It's this "vast and amazing" culinary smorgasbord that visitors should fully explore, says Nicholas Gilman, resident author of the Good Food in Mexico City guide (goodfoodmexicocity.com).
"There are around 36,000 eating establishments here, excluding unregistered street stalls. In recent years, an exciting high-end restaurant scene has also sprung up," says Gilman, whose fave eateries include Maximo Bistrot and El Hidalguense – where he recommends barbacoa (lamb roasted in maguey leaves).
If you enjoy wandering around markets: "The Merced is vast and incredible, but I like the more traditional Mercado Jamaica better. La Condesa's Tuesday market is also beautiful – that's where I shop," he says.
But the city's street-food scene is arguably its main dish. "Stands and carts cluster around markets, metro stops and what we call tianguis: the open-air markets in every neighbourhood. And while there's sometimes unwarranted fear of street food, it's really safe if you hit the right places – the Centro's Calle Lopez street is like a gastronomic tour of Mexico."
The bottom line, says Gilman, is to be adventurous – an approach echoed by Vancouver-based Glenn Drexhage and wife Nikk on their first visit in December, 2012.
"We were intrigued by its size, edginess and cosmopolitan flavour – along with the mezcal and drool-worthy food," Drexhage says. They also discovered much more than the "teeming mass of humanity" they had expected.
"We stayed in Roma Norte, a sweet, artsy, quaint and quiet neighbourhood in the city centre," he recalls, adding that they chose Airbnb for accommodation. "We wanted a home base that wasn't a hotel room and we wanted to stay in a community with the locals. Nikk pinpointed some great neighbourhoods and we found a place that was simple but ample."
From their comfortable base, they explored lucha libre wrestling at the Mexico City Forum and the striking Museo Soumaya art museum. And they loved the El Chopo music flea market, which Drexhage describes as "an amazing weekly event for those into everything from anarcho-punk to black metal to free jazz."
In the end, the occasional language barriers – "we improvised and got by," Drexhage says – proved more pressing than the safety issues they had been warned about back home.
Street smarts, Hecht says, are still useful: "Mexico City is generally safer than one might think but it's always good to take precautions. Avoid carrying ATM cards unless you're withdrawing money – and only do so during the day.
"And be careful crossing streets: Many motorists don't give right of way to pedestrians."
Send your travel questions to concierge@globeandmail.com.
Follow me on Twitter: