10 Things to Do in Mexico City in Winter

From mid-December to approximately the beginning of March is considered the winter season in Mexico City. This period of the year offers a wide range of traditional, cultural and leisure activities to suit all tastes. You can discover little by little all that this city has for you.

Among the best things to do in Mexico City in winter you will find ice skating rinks, night tours through the historic center of the city, or a visit to the iconic Mercado La Merced. You can also warm up at the Tequila and Mezcal Museum, celebrate New Year's Eve at the local discos, among other activities.

If you are in Mexico City in January, specifically during the first days of this month, then you will have the opportunity to eat a delicious rosca de reyes. This way, you will say goodbye to the Christmas holidays like a local.

The tradition of the rosca de Reyes is usually carried out every January 6th. It consists of sharing this symbolic dessert with family or friends. You will have to cut it with a knife, take a piece and be very careful when eating it, as a plastic baby Jesus could be hidden. It is said that if you are the lucky one to find the little doll, you will become its godfather and you will have to bless it on Candlemas Day (February 2).

Among some of the places where you can taste different versions of the rosca de reyes and even incorporate them among the destinations of a gastronomic tour through downtown Mexico City, the following stand out:

• El Café Ruta de la Seda, located in the Santa Catarina neighborhood. There, the roscas are perfumed with rum, decorated with figs and some filled with chocolate cream.
• The Cardín pastry shop, in this place the preparation breaks with convention, the dough is almond marzipan, while the filling is pastry cream and a double cover (sugar and chocolate crust).
• Sanopecado restaurant offers very healthy roscas, prepared with whole wheat flour and coconut sugar. The filling is prepared with artisanal milk and the topping incorporates nuts, kiwi, bitter chocolate, etc.

Any time is the best time to go to Mexico City. However, if your trip coincides with the beginning of winter (mid-December), then you can discover a different perspective of the Mexican capital, thanks to the illumination of the Christmas season.

After sunset, you can take a walk through the historic center and see the beautiful Christmas decorations and hundreds of colored lights that decorate the facades of the old buildings of this lively area. Undoubtedly, a series of ideal scenarios for you to take lots of pictures.

This is an activity that you can do on your own, but if you wish you have the option of joining a guided night tour of Mexico City. In either case you will be able to visit the following destinations and more:

• The Metropolitan Cathedral, representative of Spanish-American architecture.
• The Post Office Palace, built in the 20th century.
• The Casa de los Azulejos, one of the oldest buildings, whose history dates back to the 18th century.
• The Zócalo, where you will find a small Christmas village with Santa Claus, Christmas trees, mechanical games, food stands and live shows.

One of the must-do things to do in Mexico City in winter is, without a doubt, to visit the Merced market and try the local gastronomy. You will find many seasonal dishes that will not only delight your taste buds, but will also help you keep your body warm.

In your tour around the Merced market you will find a wide gastronomic offer, recommended for the winter months:

• Hot soups. Such is the case of caldo tlalpeño, caldo de jitomate con nopales (tomato soup with nopales), caldo de chile pasilla (pasilla chile soup), etc.
• Stews with a lot of spice to combat the cold. For example, beans with meatballs, chiles rellenos, spicy chicken tinga, mole poblano, among others.
• Hot drinks, such as the traditional atole and chocolate with marshmallows.

This market is one of the largest and busiest, being considered a mandatory destination for those who undertake one of the best gastronomic tours in Mexico City. Also, if you decide to expand your gastronomic experience and join a Mexican cooking class, you will surely take a stroll through the market to buy some ingredients.

The low winter temperatures in Mexico City are the perfect excuse to warm up by tasting some traditional alcoholic beverages. To do so, you can visit the Tequila and Mezcal Museum, where you will learn about the history of this pair of drinks made from agave.

In this cultural precinct, you will find a series of exhibits consisting of photographs, a collection of more than 300 bottles of tequila and mezcal, among other objects. You will also have the opportunity to take part in a guided tasting, where you can try tequila blanco, reposado or cristalino and mezcal tobala or cupreata.

Also, if you wish to buy a bottle of tequila and mezcal or a souvenir of your visit, you can do so at the museum store. And, if you prefer to relax for a while, then in the restaurant area, you will find a varied menu capable of satisfying the most demanding palates.

Afterwards, you can continue with the itinerary planned for your 1 or 2 day trip in Mexico City, or even more. Perhaps, you can buy tickets for the Torre Latinoamericana viewpoint and, thus, contemplate the city from a bird's eye view.

It is possible that your visit of at least 1 to 5 days in Mexico City will coincide with Valentine's Day. If so, you can go to the Museo del Objeto del Objeto (MODO) and leave a traditional love padlock.

When you arrive at MODO, the first thing you will see is a series of colorful ribbon padlocks hanging in the planter area. All of these have been left by locals and tourists over the years as a symbol of love or friendship. You can place yours or simply take some pictures of this picturesque place.

Without a doubt, this is a very original activity that you can incorporate into your itinerary. You can also take the opportunity to explore the MODO, considered one of the best museums in Mexico City. There, you will find the usual permanent exhibitions thattell different stories through objects and a temporary exhibition dedicated to love and friendship.

At the end of this experience, you can complement your Valentine's Day with a romantic dinner, which usually takes place annually at Frida and Diego's Casa Azul. To do so, you will need to purchase tickets to the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City.

Attending Art Week is another of the things you can incorporate into your 7-day Mexico City itinerary or more during the month of February. You will have the opportunity to admire the work of emerging artists, both national and international, in one of the largest art fairs in the nation.

For about a week, you can visit the various cultural spaces set up in the city. Some of them are located in Juarez, Roma, Condesa, Polanco, San Miguel Chapultepec, among others. All of them with temporary exhibitions of amazing art (paintings, installations, photographs, sculptures, etc).

In this fair you will have a direct encounter with contemporary art, you will interact with curators, artists and academics, who will tell you the story of each of the works. And, after this experience, you can join a street art bike tour through Mexico City to learn more about the local art scene.

If your visit to Mexico City in February coincides with the second week of February (nine days before Ash Wednesday) you can be part of the colorful carnival celebration. You will enjoy parades, gastronomy and a very lively atmosphere in the different streets of the city.

You can head to the Angel de la Independencia monument on the famous Paseo de la Reforma avenue, as this is usually the starting point of the carnival parade. This parade runs through several streets of the city and ends approximately at Insurgentes Avenue.

Along this route, you will see carnival parades that run to the rhythm of music, local bands and amazing floats with different themes, which will leave you with your mouth open. You will also see people wearing typical Mexican costumes, original disguises, amazing masks, etc. In fact, you can put on a costume and join this picturesque walk.

You will also have the option of taking a tour on the Mexico City sightseeing bus to enjoy the atmosphere of celebration from a different perspective. Afterwards, you can get off at the Plaza de la Constitución (El Zócalo) or on the pedestrian street Madero. There, you'll find traditional food stalls, craft beer and cocktails, street performers, folkloric dances, live music and more.

If you are a lover of oriental culture, then during your visit to Mexico City in February (early to mid-month) you have an unmissable date in Chinatown. You can welcome the lunar new year and experience the traditions of this ancient culture up close.

Visiting Chinatown will not be a difficult task, as it is located in the historic center of the city, very close to the Palace of Fine Arts. You can visit at any time of the day and enjoy everything that one of the best neighborhoods in Mexico City has to offer.

Some of the things you can do in Chinatown during the New Year include the following:

• Take a stroll through the restaurants, to eat some traditional dishes that attract good luck on this date. For example, dumplings, rice balls, spring rolls and fish.
• Enjoy the martial artsshows, dances, rituals and traditional Chinese music.
• Surprise yourself with the parade of the Chinese dragon and lion, which annually go through the streets to scare away the spirits and allow the arrival of another year.
• Contemplate the fireworks, which illuminate the sky with its colorful.

Visiting some of the ice skating rinks is one of the best activities in Mexico City during the winter months. You will have a different and fun time in a lively atmosphere.

In the city you will find many options to go skating, which you can visit on your own. For example, some of them are the following:

• Ice Station Mexico, in the Forum Buenavista shopping mall, with a large rink suitable for about 600 people.
• Santa Fe Ice Rink, considered one of the largest in Latin America, with capacity for up to 1,500 people.
• Ice rinks provided by the city's mayor's office, generally installed from January to December in Parque El Rotario, Plaza Reina de los Ángeles, Jardín Pushkin, etc.

You may want to spend the last day of December in Mexico City and celebrate New Year's Eve like a local. If this is your plan, then you should know that the Mexican capital is full of music, events and nightclubs, where you can welcome the new year.

You can go to the Angel de la Independencia monument on Paseo de la Reforma, the outskirts of the Metropolitan Cathedral or the Plaza de la Constitución. In these places you will experience a true atmosphere of celebration: live music bands, fireworks, food stalls and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, among others.

You also have the option of going to one of the city's nightclubs. Such is the case of Mama Rumba, Foro Indie Rocks, Olimpo Roof Top Nápoles, among others. In any of them, you can dance and drink until dawn.

Winter, which runs from late December to early March, is usually quite cold in Mexico City, especially at night. During this season temperatures vary between a high of 24ºC and a low of 6ºC. You will rarely see the thermometer go below 3ºC or exceed 28ºC.

Regarding precipitation, you should know that the Mexican winter is characterized by a dry climate with approximately two to four rainy days per month. This differs from Mexico City in summer, which is the rainy season.

The winter season in Mexico City is cold, especially after sunset and in the early morning hours. Therefore, it is important that you pack warm, but not bulky clothing, as you will not encounter temperatures below 0ºC.

Basically, you will need casual and even sporty clothes, depending on your style and the places you plan to visit. For example, long dresses, a jacket for the evening, long pants, T-shirts, light sweaters and comfortable walking shoes. Also, bring an umbrella, as your visit may coincide with rainy days.