6 top experiences · There is life outside work. Seize your free time!                                                                                 

What this section covers. The city for people here to work — which usually means one free evening and, if you are lucky, a Sunday morning.

Where the work is. Santa Fe, Polanco, the Reforma corridor and Insurgentes Sur. The difference between them matters: Reforma and Polanco are well connected and walkable; Santa Fe has no Metro and its approach roads saturate as the offices fill and empty, so allow 40 to 60 minutes to the centre.

If you have one evening. A viewpoint takes an hour and gives you the whole valley — the Torre Latinoamericana or the Monumento a la Revolución. Noche de Museos, the last Wednesday of most months, keeps dozens of museums open until 22:00. Polanco and the Roma are the straightforward dinner districts. Dinner starts at 21:00.

If you have a Sunday morning. Paseo de la Reforma closes to traffic for cyclists, runners and free zumba — the single most pleasant free thing in the city. The Chapultepec Gandhi circuit and Ámsterdam in the Condesa are the running routes locals use.

Practical notes. At 2,240 metres, jet lag is worse than usual — keep the first evening light. Use app taxis rather than hailing. Business lunch is at 14:00, not noon.