Xochimilco is the neighbourhood in Mexico City that you would never guess is part of Mexico City. Never. For one very simple reason: you go to Xochimilco if you want to take a nice boat trip through canals. Doesn’t sound particularly metropolitan or like Mexico City, does it?

I actually ended up in Xochimilco through friends and completely by chance. I’d read about it somewhere, but I don’t think I was convinced by the pictures and I thought it was too far away and that it was ‘pointless without a group’ – which is true, by the way. Nevertheless, I’m incredibly glad that I went to Xochimilco with this group of friends because…. Dude, it’s beautiful in Xochimilco!

Xochimilco is like a paradise full of beautifully painted boats, each with a different name and each harbouring a different group of people. The boats are pushed or driven by men – I didn’t see a single woman – who stamp a long stick into the ground to push and steer the boat forwards, sideways or to the left. Sounds exhausting and it certainly is. However, I suspect that it gets easier as soon as the boats have picked up speed.
We stopped and took a break in a true natural idyll. And also the drive through the canals…. It’s just really beautiful, incredibly relaxing and you really get away from the Mexico City vibe and feel like you’re in another world. In short, you really calm down. 

Go or not? Definitely! This neighbourhood, unlike any other, is basically a tourist attraction in itself and therefore absolutely worth a trip. So get a few people together and head to Xochimilco. It’s really worth it because it’s just super quiet and really beautiful 😊