Mexico City:

¡Bienvenidos a CDMX! Greet our driver at the airport and settle in at our beautiful, art-filled boutique hotel in Polanco neighborhood. As the sun sets, we’ll meet in the library for introductions and a little tequila before heading out to dinner. Our destination tonight is one of the most iconic restaurants in the city, housed in an elegant mansion in Roma neighborhood. The chef, who was recently named “the best female chef in the world,” uses seasonal Mexican ingredients for a delicate marriage between Mexican and Italian traditions. Here, we’ll toast to our first of many unforgettable meals together.

Stay: Pug Seal Boutique Hotel  

Meals: Dinner

Drinks: Welcome tequila 

Today we’ll be venturing into the beating heart of the city: its historic downtown. But first it’s breakfast at a longstanding restaurant that’s been feeding locals for over five decades, serving tableside hot chocolate, freshly baked pan dulce, and classics like enchiladas. Then, our expert historian will guide us through the landmarks, including the Zócalo, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Templo Mayor (the ruins of the city of Tenochtitlán), and some of Diego Rivera’s murals at Bellas Artes Museum. After all the walking, a well-deserved seafood lunch back in Polanco starting with ceviche and aguachile and ending with a strawberry meringue. Enjoy the afternoon to rest or explore the city at your own pace. We’ll reconvene this evening for the quintessential Mexico City street food, tacos al pastor, at a lively stand that doubles as an auto shop by day. 

Stay: Pug Seal Boutique Hotel  

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Drinks: Beers with dinner

Our day will begin with some of the best chilaquiles and pastries in town at a trendy café in Roma neighborhood. We’ll then explore the National Museum of Anthropology, which houses the largest collection of pre-Columbian art and artifacts in Mexico, guided by our expert historian, where we’ll learn about the city’s history, tracing it all the way back to the Mexica (Aztec) empire. We’ll return to the hotel to freshen up and change for our multi-course tasting lunch at a two Michelin starred restaurant known for spearheading contemporary Mexican cuisine. As this is usually a three to four-hour affair, the evening is all yours to relax, shop, or explore Mexico City.

Stay: Pug Seal Boutique Hotel  

Meals: Breakfast & long lunch

Drinks: None

One of our trip’s most anticipated days, today will be all about Mexican ingredients, getting to know local produce, herbs, spices, chiles, and how to work with them in your own kitchen. Our morning will begin with breakfast at a weekend only restaurant for the best barbacoa in the city, brought in directly from the state of Hidalgo early in the morning. Then we’ll get our ingredients from the market, which will be an opportunity to do some shopping. The setting for our cooking session with James Beard Award winning chef Iliana de la Vega is the beautiful and historic building of Azulísimo, one of acclaimed Chef Ricardo Muñoz’s restaurants. While our lunch is cooking, we’ll get to see the process of making both regular and ceremonial tortillas and perhaps make a few of your own. Take the afternoon to relax before we reconvene in the evening for a Mexican wine tasting and class with a sommelier. The wine will open our appetite for dinner at one of the best new restaurants in the city, headed by a young chef who’s serving fun, creative, and delicious takes on traditional Mexican classics. 

Stay: Pug Seal Boutique Hotel  

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Drinks: Wine tasting 

This morning’s breakfast will be at a casual eatery where locals line-up to sit at communal tables and enjoy churros, café de olla, and a no-fuss plate of eggs scrambled with black beans. Our journey south will continue towards San Ángel neighborhood, a colonial gem, where you’ll enjoy some time to browse for curated arts and crafts at a Saturday only bazaar. Then we’re off to Coyoacán, a cobblestoned neighborhood that artists and intellectuals such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Leon Trotsky called home. Our expert guide will then walk you through the Frida Kahlo museum, detailing the painters’ life and art. Lunch will be at the market nearby, where we’ll grab a spot at a stand and try some tostadas and aguas frescas. Back at the hotel, take some time to rest before dinner at one of the most beautiful restaurants in the city, located downtown, for perfectly executed traditional Mexican food. 

Stay: Pug Seal Boutique Hotel  

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Drinks: None 

Sleep in this morning and grab some coffee and light breakfast at the hotel before we kick off our last day with a boat ride through the canals of Xochimilco. We’ll make our way to a very special chinampa, where we’ll learn about this pre-Hispanic agricultural technique and the area’s vital role in the city. We’ll explore their gardens and then sit down for a farm-to-table brunch at this natural oasis in Mexico City. The afternoon is yours to rest, pack, or explore. For our final dinner, we’ll head back to Roma neighborhood for a family style tasting menu from a female chef mixing French and Mexican cuisines at a beautiful French-style mansion.  

Stay: Pug Seal Boutique Hotel  

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Drinks: None

After a week of exploring and eating your way through Mexico City, it’s time to head back home with some new memories and perhaps a couple of Mexican wine bottles. There are no scheduled activities today, so you may depart early in the morning or enjoy breakfast at the hotel before our driver takes you to the airport. 

Meals: Breakfast