Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico – all of these names are used to describe the largest city in the Americas. It is the capital of Mexico and the country’s cultural heart, home to museums, art, ruins, temples, and world-class gastronomy. Despite its size and reputation as an urban sprawl, the city is surprisingly green, with parks, tree-lined boulevards, and even working farmland tucked within its borders.
For visitors, there is no shortage of ways to explore the city. Walking tours abound, whether your interest is food, drink, art, history, or even lucha libre. But the tours outlined below focus on something more unusual: the connection between Mexico City and the ingredients that have shaped it.
When people think of Mexico City, agriculture may not be the first thing that comes to mind. Yet beyond the busy avenues, there are neighborhoods where farming remains part of daily life—places like Tlalpan and Xochimilco, where heirloom corn and chinampas still anchor community and culture.
These tours are for those who want to go beyond surface-level sightseeing. They are immersive, grounded experiences that take you into kitchens, fields, workshops, and markets—into the living culture of food and farming that sustains Mexico City and its surroundings.
Tour Information
There are so many reasons to visit Mexico City which the rest of the world has now recognized. It has landed on the top of many travel lists due to the incredible museums, food, nightlife, culture to name just a few things! There are plenty of resources to help you plan time in the city centro which is why we are concentrating on these highly specialized and unique tour options.
Manos de Maiz, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about Mexico’s incredible culinary history, has created a series of neighborhood and seasonal tours to get you up close and personal with some of Mexico’s most iconic contributions to world gastronomy. Designed for those seeking a deeper connection to food, culture, and place, these immersive day trips take you just beyond the bustle of Mexico City and into the soul of its countryside.
Mexico City Neighborhood Tours
Portales & Coyoacán: Everyday Flavors & Cinema Nights
Start in Portales, a neighborhood alive with markets, fondas, and working-class rhythms. Taste traditional pan dulce and enjitomatadas at Tierra Adentro Cocina, a project dedicated to regional family recipes. In Coyoacán, stroll shaded streets, visit Museo Anahuacalli or the Museo de Culturas Populares, and pause for coffee at Café Avellaneda. Dinner is a hearty pozole at Pozole San Sebastián, followed by a film at Cineteca Nacional and, if you wish, a mezcal nightcap at Casa Murciélago, a bar with over 200 artisanal distillates.
Xochimilco & Pedregal: Roots & Architecture
Begin at dawn with a trajinera ride through the canals of Xochimilco, discovering the ancient chinampa system, an agroecological practice still alive today. Continue to Casa Pedregal, a modernist gem by architect Luis Barragán built into volcanic stone, and relax at Tetetlán, its cultural café neighbor. Lunch is tacos de trompo at El Remolkito del Sirloin, and your evening winds down at Plonk, a natural wine bar in Condesa.
Chapultepec, Santa María la Ribera y San Rafael: Contrasts of the Capital
Spend the morning in Chapultepec Park, starting with fresh juices at Jugos Paco, then exploring contemporary art at Lago/Algo and pastries from Odette bakery. Move into Santa María la Ribera for art and architecture, from the iconic Kiosco Morisco to the creative hub Caleta. In San Rafael, savor gorditas at La Tonina and explore Casa Wabi, a minimalist gallery. End the day with northern-style carne asada tacos at Tacos Los Alexis, a cult favorite.
Textiles & Spirits
Discover San Ángel, a neighborhood of cobblestone streets and colonial charm. Visit Canto Artesano, a sustainable textile workshop led by Oscar Hegermann, where artisans craft with natural fibers and pigments from local producers. Continue to a guided tasting of artisanal spirits and liquors made with local herbs and flowers, paired with light snacks. Learn about their innovative production process and enjoy the intimate setting of their distillery.
Seasonal Farmland Tours
“We believe that the best way to understand Mexico is through its fields. Our seasonal tours invite you to experience the rituals, flavors, and rhythms of the land alongside the communities who have cultivated it for generations.” Manos de Maiz
Explore the vibrant agricultural traditions of San Miguel Xicalco in Tlalpan, one of Mexico City’s last bastions of heirloom corn cultivation. This seasonal experience immerses guests in two distinct harvest periods—Elotada in the late summer and La Pixca in the cooler months—each offering a unique lens into the milpa system, agroecological farming, and the joy of eating corn fresh from the field.
Located on the southern edge of CDMX, San Miguel Xicalco is home to the Contreras family, one of the few local families continuing to farm native corn using sustainable methods passed down through generations. The region is also part of the Red Centli, a network promoting agroecological maize production and defending seed sovereignty. In 2023, the community played a leading role in the decree that officially declared Mexico City a GMO-free maize zone, protecting native varieties from transgenic contamination.
This tour invites you to connect with the land, the seasons, and the people who safeguard the future of Mexico’s most important crop.
Elotada: The Summer Corn Harvest (August – September)
Come celebrate the abundance of corn at its sweetest and most tender moment—elote season. Your day begins with roundtrip transportation from central Mexico City to the Contreras family farm in Tlalpan. There, you’ll walk the milpa fields with local farmers and learn about the traditional polyculture system that sustains this rich agricultural heritage.
Pick your own elotes fresh from the field, then enjoy a rustic lunch with café de olla, and freshly made barbacoa, overlooking panoramic views of the city. Dishes may include chileatoles, esquites, tamales, all made with heirloom corn. The experience is both educational and festive—a grounding celebration of seasonal abundance.
La Pixca: The Winter Maize Harvest (November – December)
As the seasons shift, so do the stories told through corn. During La Pixca, the focus turns to harvesting the mature, dry cobs that will become masa and tortillas. You’ll participate in hands-on harvesting, learn to shell corn, and take part in the nixtamalization process that transforms grain into dough.
Gather around the fire with hot atoles and warm tortillas as you explore the deeper cultural significance of winter rituals and seed saving practices. This experience highlights the resilience of small-scale farmers and the importance of food sovereignty in one of the largest cities in the world.
Important things to note
San Miguel Xicalco is not only a vital agricultural zone within Mexico City—it is also a frontline in the defense of native corn. By visiting, you directly support smallholder farmers practicing agroecology and participating in the movement to protect Mexico’s maize biodiversity. Whether you come for the summer sweetness of elotes or the deep traditions of winter maize, you’ll leave with a richer understanding of the land and the people who nourish it.
- All tours are 100% seasons and are subject to availability based on the farming calendar.
- A minimum of 10 people is required.
- Includes: Food and non alcoholic beverages, tortilla making demo, roundtrip transportation from Condesa to Tlalpan, returning to Condesa
- Duration: 4 hours approximately
Weather
Weather in Mexico City is fairly temperate. The hottest, and driest time of year is March/April/May. The rainy season generally runs from June-October and October-February is fairly mild with temperatures ranging from the low 50s to the mid to upper 70s. Cold fronts are known to come in during December and January and temperatures can get quite chilly. Note that most places are not insulated and that heat, and air conditioning, are not readily found. And it is always important to remember that you are at a high elevation – more than 7,000 feet in most areas.
Meet Your Tour Guides
Joahna Hernandez, Manos de Maiz
Joahna’s name may be familiar to many of you through her byline with Mezcalistas. In addition to being a great writer, she is also the founder of Manos de Maiz. When she is not writing for Mezcalistas or leading tours for Manos de Maiz, Joahna works with Arca Tierra Collective, a group of young chefs and emerging talents transforming the freshly harvested ingredients from the chinampas in Xochimilco into delicious meals. To be the first to know when tour bookings open, follow us or DM us your interest at @manosdemaizmx on Instagram.
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