Mexico City Market Secrets, Street Food & Salsa-making Lesson

This was a fabulous tour of two of the Mexico City mercados, but so much more than that! Our fantastic guide, Alex, provided a wealth of information on the ancient history of the City and its people, including its rich culture, traditions, food and history. As we traveled through the city and explored the markets, we discussed Mexico’s past history and current state and got to experience the vibrancy of these markets. We enjoyed sampling local food and drinks, and of course the highlight of meeting the lovely Esther and her family to make salsa together that we ate with her delicious huaraches. If you’re looking for a fun and enlightening tour in downtown CDMX, you’ll want to go on this one.

We had the most amazing day with Axel learning about this history and Mexico City, visiting the markets, eating delicious food at family owned restaurants, learning to navigate around the area including taking the metro and making salsa with Estelle and her family. Axel is a wealth of knowledge and it shares it like the best history professor you could imagine. He is so passionate about his country and dives deep which we all loved. He truly went above and beyond for our group. We got way more than we expected and I’m sure it will go down as a highlight in our travels.

We had the pleasure having Axel as our tour guide. He showed us around El Centro and knew so much about the history, ecology and public art of Mexico City. Then he took us to 2 of the public markets and sampled coffee, tamales, tacos, mole paste and more! He showed us how to use the Metro, and brought us to a lovely family restaurant to make salsa to eat with our fresh tlacoyos made by his honorary “grandmother”. He made us feel like welcome visitors to Mexico City!

Wonderful day exploring the city and tasting local food. Andrea was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. We learned how to ride subway as well as walked over 13,000 steps. Salsa making and tasting was fun and tasty. Restaurant owner was very genuine. You could tell she loved teaching her craft of salsa making and sharing her heritage.

It was an absolutely incredible, professional and at the same time very welcoming experience. Axel knows so much about the history, languages and art of all the visited places. He was always ready to dive deeper and answer questions. He made us feel very safe and watched out for us at every little turn of the streets. It was a very wholesome experience, it actually felt like a city tour with a friend (maybe because he and I are foodies and love music?). The cooking course at Ramoncita's in the end felt like coming home. She and her family are an institution at the market. We were overwhelmed at how welcoming everyone was and how much everyone took care of us clumsy Europeans. Thank you so much for this experience. We will never forget it. This tour is absolutely recommended, the money is worth it. Axel's communication skills, cultural awereness and hospitality are impressive.

Andrea was an exceptional guide. By the end of the tour, it genuinely felt like I was exploring Mexico City with a friend. She was knowledgeable, warm, and made the experience feel personal. I couldn’t have asked for a better guide!

This tour with amazing guide Axel was fantastic. He was extremely kind, knowledgeable and made the whole day fun. Every stop was interesting and delicious. There is no way we would have found these places on our own. The subway trip was really helpful as well, especially on our first full day in the city. Loved making our own salsa too. Take this tour!

We enjoyed the tour so much. Our tour guide, Axel, was very knowledgeable about history spanning many different time periods. He was very attentive Cannot recommend Axel enough!

I loved this tour. It was informative and culturally enriching… selecting our own salsa ingredients for the salsa making class was memorable and tasting the moles and different kinds of tacos, very fun. I love a good hands-on experience and this was just that

Axel is an elite guide. He is prepared, professional, and enthusiastic. His passion and pride for Mexico radiates from him the moment you meet. He deviated from the planned salsa making portion due to changes in the family's availability. He replaced with food tastings which were delicious. Recommend doing this tour at the beginning of your trio as it gives you context and tools/tips to use for the rest of your time in Mexico City!

A lovely tour which combined an eclectic mix of history, art, local food and local culture in locations well off the normal beaten track for tourists. Andrea, our guide, is a lovely young woman who added a great deal to the experience. Her English is perfect, she has a passion for México and she is engaging, interesting and enthusiastic. As you’ll have gathered, we loved it and would thoroughly recommend it.

We were fortunate to have Edgar as our guide and extra lucky that it was just the two of us…a private tour. We loved his attention to art (focus on murals), architecture (focus on time of construction and influences), and culture (tradition and trends)…all in addition to food and drink. Really well done.

A great experience where Axel gave us the history and background of Mexico City, took us to two food markets, tasted some delicious family food and ended with making some local homemade salsa for the full authentic experience. Shoutout to Axel who was an amazing host and took great care of us, he has great knowledge and his genuine connection with the community was unmatched! 10/10 guide and would highly recommend him

We had a wonderful day with Axel and had a lot of experiences that we would never have been able to have without Axel’s guidance. I can’t speak highly enough of Axel and it really felt like a day with a great friend. It was the perfect way to acclimatise and immerse in life in Mexico City as we just arrived

My daughter and I did this tour today with the fabulous Axel Garcia. He was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and tailored the tour to our interests. He answered all our questions, and took an interest in our lives and culture as well. The flower market was amazing, and the lady that taught us to make salsa was so sweet.

Viri was an outstanding guide—she’s a true CDMX local who clearly loves her city and Mexico. Her knowledge of Mexican culture, history, and food added so much to the experience. As we walked through the Centro Histórico and along the tour route, she shared intersting historical context not only about the area itself but also about many of the buildings we passed along the way. The food tastings were a highlight. We sampled a delicious variety of foods and drinks, including tamales, atole, cafe de olla, and tacos at multiple spots (the green chorizo was incredible!), as well as fresh fruits from a one of the mercado vendors. Visiting the Mercados was unforgettable—they were full of history, vibrant colors, and energy, including murals painted by students of Diego Rivera nearly 100 years ago. We also rode the subway with Viri, which will be helpful for future trips now that we feel more confident navigating it. I 100% recommend this tour—it was informative, fun, and a fantastic way to experience the heart of CDMX.

Here’s the review: Adriana is star! She worked tirelessly to personalize our tour and handled our special requests with ease. She was genuinely excited to share Mexico City’s history and culture. Whether she was guiding me through a market, art center or Metro station, her excitement was transformative. Don’t pass up this special experience!!

Such a fun experience! Even better than we anticipated. JJ was an amazing tour guide and really made the tour! He made sure we experienced a variety of delicious, local eats but also provided us with fascinating, mini history lessons along the way. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for something fun to do alone or with a group!

Me and another couple waited for more than half an hour and the tour guide never showed up. We called them and eventually asked him to cancel the trip

I do not recommend. All participants arrived 15 minutes before the start of the tour, so we know we went to right meeting place. But the guide never came. We called the tour operator twice - no answer. Messaged several times via the app - no answer. After 30 minutes on the phone to Viator, were told that the guide can't be found. A complete lack of communication from the operator made for a particularly bad experience; very unprofessional. I've done a lot of tours through Viator and never had my time wasted like this. Save yourself the hassle and book a different tour, friends!

Poncho was our tour guide and he is a well-informed and warm Mexico City native. The tour was very well curated, hyper-local and top quality. We took several tours while in Mexico City and this was by far our favorite. The markets, food, art, and salsa-making were ifun for the whole family. He went above and beyond, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

We were a group of 7 friends that did the tour together. Our guide Alfonso made the day very special and unique for us! We discovered parts of Mexico City that we didn't know existed, and was seamlessly guided through the city both on foot and on the metro. The food tasting was fantastic too. Most importantly, Alfonso was a fantastic guide and we loved his energy, information and the care he took to make sure we fell in love with his city.

This was my first time booking through TripAdvisor and with Intrepid Urban Adventures. I was sorely disappointed when I received the message at 8 pm the night before the scheduled 8:30 am market tour that it was cancelled due to tour guide emergency. Alternative tour dates were offered but these dates were after our departure from Mexico City. I expected an alternative tour offered for the same time by the tour operator or another tour even if it had to be conducted by another tour operator. I had made the booking months in advance and it was going to be the first item on our itinerary. Had I a few days notice of the cancellation, I could have booked another tour. I get that family and other emergencies do happen but I find it concerning that there appears to be just 1 person who can conduct this tour who became unavailable. Had I known that, I never would have booked with this operator. When I inquired about alternative tours, I got a list of 5 top tourist attractions—so not helpful! I am promised a full refund but this hardly accounts for the inconvenience and the disappointment that marked our first full day in Mexico City. For visitors, I strongly recommend doing what you can to confirm tours so you can avoid this type of situation!

Best tour I took in Mexico City! Andrea taught us how to ride the subway, we explored two markets and purchased ingredients to make our own salsa. It was fantastic and our guide was so engaging and knowledgeable.

This is a small group cultural event and I was happy to be the only one on the tour. My guide , Alfonso, from intrepid urban adventure, is friendly and knowledgeable. I learned a lot of classic Mexican breakfast, lunch, real tacos, and what is available in the market for average Mexicans. It’s a tour off beaten path, down to earth. One sees a lot of good stuff, no tourist traps. Highly recommended!

This market tour was a great experience! Vidi was an excellent guide and you can really tell she loves her city. Food wise, we were able to eat some great food including tamales, cafe de olla, and a green chorizo taco. We were able to visit two markets and they were both great in different ways. One was very food focused, and the other was art-focused. The salsa making was AMAZING. It was a very down-to-earth experience and we were able to do it in the middle of the market. Overall, would highly recommend this tour! :D

Our guide Pancho was amazing! We had such a great tour. We saw so many things we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Food was great also and the cute lady who helped us make our salsa was the best!!

A truly immersive experience in the Mexican culture. I loved seeing both of the markets from an authentic perspective and tasting various food options. Making this salsa was the highlight of the trip. I didn’t realize how intensive it was.

Alfonso was a fantastic guide. My husband and I learned a lot about Mexico city! Our favorite part was taking the metro.

Alejandra was a wonderful guide, she gave lots of information about the buildings, people and history as we went through the city. It was overall such a happy experience, a lot of tasty food to try that was new for me & the cooking class was really fun, I will try this again at home. :)

Excellent food and market tour -family of 5 (ages 8 - 56) and another couple made the group. We had such a lovely time. Visited markets, tasted different foods and learned a lot. Walked a fair amount but it was not strenuous. Also rode the metro which is great for navigating the city once you have a little tutorial. We would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting CDMX!!

This was a wonderful experience overall and I highly recommend! Especially for a solo traveler! My guide, Viri was really knowledgable, friendly, and was a great friend to so many vendors and tourists alike. It was special to see Mercado Jamaica, one of the bigger markets in Mexico City, where there is a plethora or veggies, fruits, other goods, lunch spots, and most signficantly, a massive and beautiful flower selection! I learned a lot about the history of Mexico, the significance of sharing food, and learned how to make delicious salsa with an incredibly sweet and wise family + Viri. We had a great time and I would do it again!

We had a lovely time with Adriana, it was a fantastic introduction to Mexico City! Lots of tasty food and interesting insights into the city and its people - would highly recommend.

The tour guide was knowledgeable, helpful and kind. She was well educated on the history of Mexico and she had a great personality.

We did a private tour with Alfonso (Poncho). He was so knowledgeable, enjoyable, and thoughtful. We love his attitude. Poncho is all about helping you to feel comfortable with the local culture as he guides you from one interesting place and experience to another. I highly recommend spending your first day in Mexico City with Poncho.

Was truly blown away by this experience — Alfonso (Victor) was such a knowledgeable, charming, and amazing guide/host. It was truly lovely to see Mexico through his eyes. He took us to not only new places, but new experiences and helped us learn new things about Mexico. This is my second time in CDMX and it truly felt like I was discovering it for the first time. A few more logistical details is that it is walking heavy, so wear good shoes. You don’t need to dress up as you’re going to very local places. This tour includes breakfast (+drink), lunch, and then making your own salsa and a snack! The guide may also offer some bites at the market based on the vendors you pass by. Definitely bring a big bottle of water but always easy to buy one in whatever location you will be taken to. 100/100 recommend this. We loved every bit of the experience!

My daughter and I had a great time exploring the markets, cooking salsa and enjoying the local food. We had a wonderful guide full of passion for the local culture and her profession. Highly recommend!

Great guide, great location. The salsa making lesson was incredible. It was a small family restaurant and it made the experience very personal. 10/10

Poncho was a friendly and very knowledgeable tour leader! We had a great time exploring the markets and trying local delicacies.

I had an amazing tour in Mexico City. My guide was exceptional and we walked the streets chatting and eating our way. Started at a very local breakfast joint and then headed out on metro for a few stops. Had brunch at the market which was epic.. then we went over and made some Salsa.. lots of fun.

Alfonso was a fantastic guide, providing a perfect mix of history, culture, and delicious food. His knowledge and enthusiasm made the tour an unforgettable experience!

The overall experience was good. Especially we enjoyed the salsa making activity as they were very patient in teaching us

Alfonso is very knowledgeable and nice. The food is amazing and the market is big and beautiful. The tour is well done and worth every penny. :)

Poncho is a fantastic guide into local Mexico! From his knowledge, demonstrations, food experiences, humor and patience we could not have been more satisfied The local markets exploded with color and hidden gems (evocative murals) and the people we met along the way were warm and kind We took the food purchased in the second market and then went to a super inviting restaurant where we made with guidance a yummy salsa verde! The last of the trip was another metro ride back and with Poncho’s guidance we enjoyed a way quicker and cheaper ride back to our Condesa apartment We are so grateful for this tour and feel we will take a small slice of Mexico home with us❤️

Alfonso was a very knowledgeable host. We were able to ask questions and have them answered. This tour was a bit of everything. History, art and food. Don't eat before the tour! We ate tamales, tacos, and hauraches with salsa that we made. It was fun! Plan on a nice leisurely tour and take advantage of the guide from Mexico to answer your questions you may have.

We had an incredible experience touring Mexico City with Alfonso as our guide. His deep knowledge of the city’s history brought every stop to life, and his passion for sharing Mexico’s culture made the tour unforgettable. Alfonso took us to some of the best food vendors, ensuring we experienced authentic local flavors, and introduced us to friendly vendors at the Mercardo Presidente Abelardo L. Rodriguez market and the vibrant Jamaica Market, adding a personal touch to the experience. One of the most memorable moments was visiting murals and sculptures by students of Diego Rivera, hidden in plain sight—it felt like discovering secret treasures of the city. On top of that, Alfonso went out of his way to teach us how to navigate the metro system, which made getting around so much easier for the rest of our trip. He also provided excellent recommendations for things to do after the tour. If you’re visiting Mexico City, I can’t recommend Alfonso enough. He goes above and beyond to make your experience special and truly memorable!

Roy took excellent care of us. He was mindful that I'm vegetarian and we had an amazing culinary experience.

Adriana was the perfect host for our food tour of Mexico City. We arrived for the tour a bit early to get some uncrowded photos of our family in the Zocalo, and met up with Adriana at tour time. After introducing the group of 10 participants, we took a short walk to a local market where we were treated to a delicious breakfast of tamales and a traditional Mexican chocolate drink. There were three in our family, so we ordered one of each variety and got to sample all of them. (Our favorites were the mole and the verde!) We then walked back to the Zocalo, learning some history about the City and its inhabitants along the way. Adriana gave us all a quick lesson on how to use the Mexico City subway, and we were off on a quick ride out to a huge local market. (Pro tip – the subway doors only stay open for 5 seconds at each stop!) The market was amazing, with anything and everything you would ever need for a life in the city. We were able to taste several fantastic foods, including concentrated mole, fresh jimaca with chili powder, and some wonderful Oxacan cheese, to name a few. Adriana also helped us shop for the ingredients to make our own salsa, which was a highlight of the day as we had an entire restaurant to ourselves just outside the main market. Throughout the day, Adriana was full of energy and ready to answer all of our questions. Even our 10 year old was engaged the whole time! Thank you Adriana for a wonderful day and for sharing your passion with us.

Victor was an exceptional tour guide. Phenomenally informative and culturally enriching experience, highlighted by food, flowers, and salsa! A must-do in Mexico City for young and old.