Ricardo Gómez Garrido, paseos en helicóptero

What it offers. Helicopter flights over Mexico City built specifically around photography — the premise being that the city's art and history read differently from the air.

How the day works. It starts at 08:00 with hotel pick-up. The route and the places to be covered are planned with you before departure, and boarding is at the airport. The flight itself lasts one hour.

Why early matters. At 08:00 in the dry season the air over the basin is at its clearest, the light is low and raking — which is what makes architecture read from above — and Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl are usually visible on the eastern horizon. By midday the haze has closed in, and from June to September the afternoons bring storms.

What you will see. The Zócalo and the colonial grid, the roundabouts of Reforma, the oval of the Condesa, Chapultepec, the canals of Xochimilco and the ring of volcanoes around the valley.

What to confirm before booking. The actual flight time as against the whole excursion, the route, whether a window seat is guaranteed, the weather cancellation policy and any weight restrictions. Bring a lens you can shoot handheld at speed, and avoid polarising filters through curved cockpit glass.