Mexico City Travel Guide (Mexico City, Mexico)

Bars where you might sit around and chat are relatively thin on the ground in Mexico City, that function more often filled by restaurants. There are a few, but most of these concentrate on music or bill themselves as antros , a relatively modern creation somewhere in between a bar and club where you can sit and talk (just about) or dance if the Latin pop hits get you going. As elsewhere in the country, cantinas and pulquerías are very much a male preserve, but here at least things are beginning to change. Despite the signs above the doors banning mujeres , there'll often be a few women inside braving the back-slapping camaraderie. Even so, it's safer for unaccompanied women to stick to hotel bars.

Live music venues are dotted all over town offering anything from combos churning out romantic ballads to alternative rock bands at the cutting edge of the Mexican scene. Cuban music is particularly fashionable at the moment, and with Cuba just a short flight away, Mexico City provides a local but international proving ground for the island's talent. Elsewhere you'll find trova , often played by an acoustic guitarist flexing his songwriting skills, and leavened with reliable standards known to all (tourists excepted).

Club -oriented nightlife starts late, with live acts often hitting the stage after 11pm and few places really getting going before midnight. Entry can be expensive, ranging up to US$20 for men (women often get in for much less or free), though this is likely to include bar libre , where your drinks are free for at least part of the evening. If you stray far from your hotel and stay out after the Metro has wound up for the night, be sure to get the bar or club to order a sitio cab for you; flagging down a cab late at night is not generally considered safe, especially if you are lost and drunk.