La Merced Market Exploration: Experience Authentic Mexican History and Cuisine
4.9
250 Ratings
Ciudad de México
Immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere of La Merced Market, where you'll discover the rich history and flavors of authentic Mexican cuisine. Taste traditional dishes, meet local vendors, and explore the bustling market that is unlike anywhere else in Mexico.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- La Merced - The colorful, chaotic Merced Market serves thousands of shoppers daily. On this tour, you’ll visit our favorite food stalls, meet some talented market vendors, and learn the market’s history. You’ll finish knowing why La Merced is unlike anywhere else in Mexico.
- Centro Historico - At the end of this tour, we’ll spend some time strolling through the streets of a newly revived part of the centro, an area filled with buoyant bars and cafés and boasting a lively urban art scene.
What's Included
- One coffee, beer or another non-alcoholic beverage
- Traditional Mexican candy
- One agua fresca
- As much food as you can eat (enough for a large breakfast and lunch combined)
What's Not Included
- Transport to/from the meeting and end points of the tour
- Souvenirs
- Tip for your guide
- Additional personal beverages, outside what’s included on the tour itinerary
Additional Information
The vibrant and bustling La Merced Market is a daily hub for thousands of buyers. With this tour, you’ll get a chance to explore our preferred food stands, engage with skilful stall holders and delve into the market’s past. By the end, you’ll understand what sets La Merced apart from the rest of Mexico.
We commence our journey at the Downtown Historic Center, from where a swift two-stop subway ride will take us to the La Merced market. From there, we navigate the market’s busy ‘banquetón,’ the area dedicated to prepared food, sampling tacos, aguas frescas and tamales along the way. Next, we meander through the massive fruits and vegetables section, uncover—and sample!—ancient ingredients like grasshoppers and agave worms. After a brief pause, we exit the market and take the subway back to the Historic Center. Here we wind down the tour with a cool beverage and a bite in a recently revitalized district you won’t want to miss!
Seasoned travellers are best suited for this tour.
Location
El Nuevo Café Bagdad
Plaza Juan José Baz
In front of El Nuevo Café Bagdad in the Historic Center. It is important to be aware there is a "Café Bagdad" in Roma Norte, this is NOT the right location. You can write "El Nuevo Café Bagdad" into your Uber app, and it will take you to the correct place.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(250 Ratings)
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Rosekik188
Apr 2, 2024
Great off-the-beaten path foodie tour - Our guide Clara was lovely and knowledgeable. She had us try some delicious food and drinks and gave us a lot of historical background as well. It was a great off the beaten path tour that my whole family, including older parents and young kids, fully enjoyed. Thank you Eat Mexico!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brucedp9266zz
Apr 1, 2024
The highlight of our week in Mexico City - Mercado de Merced is a 54-block culinary adventure daunting in immensity and, to the culturally uninitiated, penetrable only up to a point. Nico, our tour guide, is an experienced former sous chef and culinary historian, who led our small group’s tastebuds and minds on a 3 1/2 hour odyssey through Mexico’s rich history and its kitchens’ treasures. We saw the ingredients, heard their stories, and sat at various counters to savor dishes we’d never before experienced. Deep fried tamales, zucchini blossoms, huitlacoche, beef brisket prepared like a confit, a dozen moles, worms, grasshoppers, tiny fish, and freshwater shrimp….Can we do this again?
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yassamina2024
Apr 1, 2024
Best food tour in Mexico City 🤌🏽 - We loved our tour with Nico! It was lovely getting a tour with someone with such deep knowledge about Mexican history and cuisine. All the food stops were great choices and we learned a lot about the foundations of Mexican food. After the tour we feel much less lost and more confident in navigating markets and food in Mexico. Also we had the BEST suadero tacos! Thank you Nico for answering all our questions and a great time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fearless583406
Mar 29, 2024
An excellent food tour - Hector was a wonderful guide and the food was delicious. The tour was well paced, we ate a lot but also had the chance to stop and look at a number of stalls. I would have never found these places without the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nicole_s
Mar 25, 2024
La Merced Food Tour—Great Experience - This was a great experience! Hector was a terrific and informative guide, all the food was so delicious. I would definitely take this tour again
Review provided by Viator
A2516pdconnorg
Mar 25, 2024
La Merced Tour with Yimnah: An Unforgettable Experience!! - Our tour through La Merced with Yimnah was amazing. She explained in great detail the history of the market and brought us to a number of stops which really highlighted the diversity and beauty of Mexican cuisine. Our family would certainly book a tour with Yimnah/Eat Mexico again if we ever return to CDMX.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Samjbutler
Mar 24, 2024
Fantastic food tour through the magical Merced - We had a private tasting tour of La Merced, with Adrian as our tour guide. It was FANTASTIC - the only thing wrong with this tour, is that we are not still on it. The tour is ~4 hours long (time flies by), and you wend your way through the market eating. talking and learning as you go. Adrian was the perfect guide, explaining the first the history of the market and then the history of Mexico through food. The market itself is a maze, and would be very difficult/impossible to accomplish without a guide (we speak almost no Spanish). Adrian led us to so many perfect spots, from tamales, fruits, tortas, mole and tacos - focusing on historical places that are simply the best. We would never have found these places without him, and we learned so much in the process. It really was a magical journey. Cannot recommend highly enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
O7612pbrobl
Mar 22, 2024
La Merced with Adrian - Great tour with Adrian. Very memorable experience. Would highly recommend. Truly an authentic day off the streets of Polanco and Condesa...
Review provided by Tripadvisor
I8176ccjenniferc
Mar 19, 2024
Fabulous food and experience - We had a wonderful tour of La Merced market with Yimnah. She was very informative, and we ate such great food! The mole was a definite highlight for us. Also the guava and ginger juice, migas, cafe de olla, tortas, tacos... I highly recommend. The market would have been overwhelming without her guidance.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D2679xtrebeccaf
Mar 13, 2024
A must do! - Nico, was incredible! He’s very knowledgeable about not only the food but also the history behind it. We visited several spots that we alone would have never considered walking into. They had some of the most fresh, delicious and unique foods you can find in Mexico City. The fruits and drinks were amazing as well. We were able to try foods, fruits and drinks that we have never tried before. We are so glad we did this food tour. If you are ever visiting the area, make sure to book this Food tour and be sure to ask for Nico.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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