After breakfast at our hotel, we’ll be spending the day in downtown’s Centro Histórico, exploring our trip’s themes through food, history, and culture. Today will be a crash course in the history of Mexico City, with visits to the “obscure side” of major monuments and to sites that are hidden from view.

We’ll visit Templo Mayor, a pyramid built in the 1400s and the former site of human sacrifices. We’ll explore the colonial city, built over the ruins of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan using the same lava-stones from the Aztec temples. We’ll continue through the corridors of history with a look inside one of the city’s most diverse and eclectic collections at a museum that includes everything from comic books and movie posters to lithographs and toys.

For lunch, we’ll be dropping by a former dried chiles shop in the heart of one of the city’s oldest commercial districts, Barrio de la Merced. Once home to large immigrant communities of Jewish and Lebanese merchants, the area is also the birthplace of the famous Carlos Slim.

The afternoon may include visits to the Diego Rivera murals, Bellas Artes Palace, the Blue Tiles House, Santa Muerte altar, and Zócalo Main Square, among other highlights. Paco will be sure to bring us to any special events or exhibitions taking place at the time of our visit!

In the evening, we’ll return to the city center and set out on a taco tour. For dinner, we’ll hit a number of taco stands, including this al pastor spot housed in an auto repair shop. Along with classic tacos, we’ll also have the chance to taste ones made with brains, bull’s eyes, and intestines.

Afterwards, feel free to stay out or head back to the hotel on what will be a full and happy stomach.

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll head to a bustling local market awash in produce, flowers, food, and crafts to learn about the ingredients that serve as the building blocks of Mexican cuisine. We’ll get a taste of what’s in season and also dabble in a light sampling of food specialties from around the market.

After touring the market, we’ll make a private visit to the nearby home and workshop of the famous Linares family. This family is considered to be the most important producer of Mexican folk art, and during our visit, we’ll learn about the mesmerizing cultural traditions they are trying to preserve.

For dinner, we’ll enjoy a paired mezcal tasting led by a bottler who travels the Mexican countryside in search of small batch producers of the spirit. The mezcal will be paired with classic Mexican dishes given a creative spin.

Today, we’ll head to Milpa Alta, a center of mole production on the outskirts of Mexico City. We’ll be delving deep on the subject of all things mole, learning about ingredients, production techniques, regional varieties, and how this food represents the colonial heritage of Mexico.

On our way to Milpa Alta, we’ll stop by the home of a local villager to learn about the artisanal production of pulque, a pre-Hispanic drink made from the sap of the agave-like maguey plant.

During the afternoon, we’ll visit private homes and markets to gain a better sense of daily life and the food that shapes and defines it and finish our visit with a late lunch starring — what else? — mole.

This evening, take some time to rest and relax from the long day in Milpa Alta, and have dinner on your own or with some of your group mates.

Rise again to a refreshing breakfast in our hotel, before another action-packed day exploring Xochimilco. A green oasis on the southern edge of the city, Xochimilco is a highlight of the region and treasure of living Aztec culture. Unlike many pre-Hispanic-era monuments that are entombed in museums, Xochimilco is a living place with working farms and much to see, eat, and drink, all linked to pre-Hispanic Mexico.

For lunch, we’ll have a meal on board a traditional flat-bottomed boat along Aztec-era canals that have been in use for more than 2,000 years and are now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our meal will be prepared by locals using products from the chinampas, the area’s famous “floating gardens.” You’ll get a taste of pre-Hispanic Mexico via tlacoyos, a fried maza cake, and pulque, an ancient local drink made from fermentedmaguey.

At night, we’ll attend a Lucha Libre wrestling match followed by a visit to Mexico City’s vibrant “mariachi square” for live music, dancing, and street food!

Depart for home or extend your stay in Mexico City.

Until the next adventure!