Xochimilco is a historic canal district in Mexico City, famous for its colorful boats (trajineras)…read morethat offer festive tours through the waterways. Xochimilco is a popular destination for tourists visiting Mexico City, even though it's a hike from the center of the city (you'll likely spend an hour getting to Xochimilco). We didn't visit on our first trip to Mexico City, but we did make a quick stop to tour the Xochimilco canals on our second visit to CDMX a few weeks ago. We visited with a tour group, which I recommend. I've heard it can be difficult to arrange things on your own. I believe it. When we visited, the market at this portion of Xochimilco had just been torn down (they are rebuilding it in time for the World Cup next summer), and it made for a confusing site. Without our guide, we definitely wouldn't have known where to go. There are lots of ways to experience and enjoy Xochimilco. For a lot of people, it's a party. You can eat, drink, and listen to mariachi music. I've heard it can be quite an experience and people can turn this into a party. You can also have a more historical- or ecological-focused experience, which is what we did (several groups focus on this kind of visit, including some that take you out at sunrise to experience it). Our tour guide taught us the history of Xochimilco (the waterways here were a main transportation venue from the pre-Hispanic period until the 20th century) and some of the ways people are trying to focus on improving the environment in the area (bringing back agriculture/chinampas and attempting to preserve habitat for the axolotl - Google it, it's amazing). If you're hoping for a particular experience, I highly recommend checking with a tour guide who can help you pick the portion of Xochimilco and ensure you get the experience you're most interested in. It's an interesting place, but given its distance from the city center, I wouldn't say it's a must visit for first time tourists to the city.

Our outstanding boat guide, born and raised here in Xochimilco, said that he thinks this magical…read morespot will be around only about five more years due to human contamination and dwindling water levels. I felt privileged to experience this place, perhaps for the last time, on a peaceful Friday afternoon. We took the 2 hour round-trip tour to Isla de la Llorona, and our guide recounted a bounty of historical and environmental information as well as some fascinating legends (spoiler alert - the original Llorona was probably not actually a remorseful perpetrator of infanticide but something else entirely). Aside from the totally unique experience of having special Mariachi, food and booze boats float by, the very best thing about this spot is the utter silence. On this day, there were no other boats on our route, so when we fell silent the only sound literally was the wind rustling through the leaves of the spindly trees on the river banks. Yet we were still right within the confines of a 20M+ inhabitant city! This is what all of Tenochtitlan used to look like before folks decided to pave paradise, save for this one last, delicate corner. As a bonus, on our way to the island, we passed by and got to photograph the exact image that is displayed (along with a giant axolotl) on the back of the new $50 MXN bill. Here's hoping that future thinking leaders of Mexico will commit to restoring this special place, before it's too late - before a simple rendering on the back of a banknote is all that we have left.

The good: My kids really enjoyed this playground. It's…read moremassive and the structures all connect to one another. There were swings that allowed two kids to swing together. They also had stone animal statues around. The park is walking distance to restaurants and markets as well. It's colorful and peaceful. There were lots of slides. The floor is rubber so it's less messy than the dirt playgrounds. The bad: It would be nice if the playground had more shade. The water sculpture area didn't have water. The interesting: They were repainting (green color) fixtures and benches when I came so everything smelled of paint.

While not as beautiful for a stroll as nearby Parque México in Condesa, Parque España is a nice…read morelittle urban park, with a playground, an exercise/workout area, and a cement lake area. My husband and I walked through the park a few weeks ago when we were in Condesa for a few hours, and it is a nice place to stretch your legs if you're out and about in Condesa!

The good: This park is centrally located in the city…read more There's a dog park and also a children's playground. The playground had many trees and was nicely shaded which made playing much easier. There were many climbing structures including a dragon. There are smaller kids' structures as well as ones for bigger kids. The bad: The bathroom was closed for cleaning when I tried to use it. The dirt gets the toddler's shoes and clothes dusty and messy. The interesting: I saw lots of Girl Scouts there. I also saw a rat in the bush. They had food carts and vendors that sold balloons and kids toys too.

I found out about this park after doing an online search, and I was quite surprised about how…read moresell-maintained it really is. It is actually the first park that I have found in the city that has a basketball court. The playground is huge, although some of the swings and slides are still the old school metal type. It also appeared that there were once bathroom facilities that have long since closed down. The dog park section seemed large as well, and it is enclosed. I didn't see any dogs when I walked thru here. This place is much more than a wonderful garden. In fact, I think it's a great fit for this neighborhood. There were more than two dozen people having fun here as I walked through.

What a great park! Inside you'll find a spacious playground with swings, rope courses, and more…read more There are basketball courts and an area where locals dance most nights and race their bikes. A dog-friendly park, giant murals of dogs decorate its buildings. of course, there's a statue to Pushkin inside the park.

This is a small but beautiful and well-maintained park. We spent a little time while we were…read morewalking around Polanco.

This park is definitely maintained better than most parks in the city. What you won't find are…read moremany of those puestos that sell food and Nick nacks. It's clean and every time that I've walked thru here there are always maintenance people cleaning and fixing things. To here are a few improvements that could be made in my opinion. For example, the concrete ben he's could use a good powerwash cleaning. Also the mand-made ponds appear like they haven't been maintained in some time, as there is a lot of algae growth going on in there. Today when I rode thru there were a lot of families, and even roller blade lessons for kids!

Can you tell I'm a parrot person? Amazon parrots especially and you can definitely get up close and…read morepersonal with these wonderful birds. Only $8 pesos open daily. Great eateries nearby too before or after your bird encounter. For bird oficianados, please check it out!

Wow Parque Mexico really is impressive. This park is located very close to our Airbnb in Condesa so…read morewe walked in the park a few times this past week. My 2 most favorite things about this park is seeing so many dogs. As a dog lover (and also of one who recently just lost her little girl dog 2 months ago), it was so nice to see so many dogs because they always bring me so much joy when I see them. Most of the locals walking their dogs walked their pups off leash. And for the most part, their dogs were all very well behaved and always stayed close to their owners. But there were also some people who also walked their dogs on leash. The other thing that I loved the most about this park was that there are so many trees that really keep this park very nice and cool because of all the shade throughout this large park. It really does encourage people to come out and walk and do some exercise, which I really love. At this park were a few different playground areas and also a very large pond with ducks. There are also vendors selling items, food, etc throughout the park. There is also a restroom if you need to use it, which cost $5 MXN or $0.29 USD (it is common to pay to use the toilet in Mexico but be aware that it is common for there to be no toilet paper, sometimes no toilet seats.... yes the actual seat, and hand soap. But usually restaurants, grocery stores and museums do not charge to use their toilet). This park is surrounded with a lot of restaurants, coffee shops and apartment buildings. For the most part, it is a pretty kid friendly and dog friendly park that felt safe to visit the days and nights we came by to walk. If I lived here, I would definitely be a regular.

The park has a great mix of open areas, walking paths, and shaded spots that makes it for a good…read morecasual stroll. It's also dog friendly, so you will see a lot of people enjoying the space with their pets.