How many days should you spend in Mexico City?
Give Mexico City more than a stopover. Food, museums, markets, neighbourhoods, parks and day trips need time; rush it and CDMX becomes traffic between famous names.
Answer
Mexico City works best when it is treated as a city to inhabit, not a list to conquer. Three full days gives a first taste of neighbourhood wandering, major museums, markets and good meals. Four or five lets the city breathe and makes room for a day trip such as Teotihuacan or a slower Coyoacán day without sacrificing the capital itself. The mistake is filling every hour with cross-city targets. CDMX is big, layered and tiring in the best and worst ways. Give it enough time that food, plazas, parks and street rhythm can compete with the headline museums.