3 packages

What this section covers. Packages built around sport — attending it and doing it.

Attending. Lucha libre at the Arena México on Fridays and the Arena Coliseo on Saturdays: masks, storylines, families in the stands and a tradition going back to the 1930s. Cheap, loud and needing no Spanish. Football at the Estadio Azteca — the only ground to have hosted two World Cup finals — and at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, a 1952 building with a Diego Rivera relief and a World Heritage listing. And the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, normally in late October.

Doing. Cycling, including the Sunday car-free Reforma and the flat 3 km circuit at Cuemanco; running, with the Chapultepec Gandhi circuit and the Viveros de Coyoacán; hiking in the Ajusco, Los Dinamos and the Desierto de los Leones; and climbing and caving around the volcanoes.

The altitude caveat. At 2,240 metres in the city and above 3,000 in the sierras, endurance drops noticeably for the first few days. Plan anything strenuous for the back half of a trip.

Practical notes. Buy tickets officially. Use public transport for the Azteca and the Autódromo. Confirm prices and validity with the operator.