Mexico Nightlife

Mexico City has the best nightlife in the country and some of the best cocktail bars in the Americas. Roma Norte is the centre of it: the streets around Álvaro Obregón, Colima and Orizaba hold cocktail bars such as Licorería Limantour, mezcalerías, natural-wine bars and late taquerías. Condesa, next door, is more relaxed, with terrace bars along Avenida Tamaulipas, Michoacán and the loop of Avenida Ámsterdam, plus small clubs. Both are walkable and busy until 2am, and you can eat al pastor on the way home.

Juárez and the Zona Rosa are the heart of the LGBTQ+ scene, with bars and clubs along and around Calle Amberes and Génova. Polanco is the place for upscale lounges and hotel bars with dress codes. South in Coyoacán and San Ángel, nights are quieter: cantinas, bookshop cafés and live music.

For clubs, the city has a strong electronic scene with warehouse parties and venues that change often; check listings on Resident Advisor or the venue’s Instagram. Big concerts play at Palacio de los Deportes, Foro Sol and Auditorio Nacional.

The Centro Histórico around the Zócalo has the city’s classic cantinas. Bar La Ópera on 5 de Mayo has a bullet hole in the ceiling credited to Pancho Villa, Salón Corona has served beer and tortas since the 1920s, and Tío Pepe near the Alameda is one of the oldest. Go in the afternoon and early evening, when cantinas are at their best and the streets are busy; Centro empties after 10pm and is better left by taxi.

Plaza Garibaldi is where mariachi bands wait to be hired, from about 8pm until late. A song costs roughly 150 to 250 pesos and a set more; agree the price first. El Tenampa on the plaza is the classic mariachi cantina, and the Museo del Tequila y el Mezcal has a rooftop bar. Take an app taxi to and from the plaza rather than walking the surrounding streets at night.

Lucha libre at Arena México in Colonia Doctores runs on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, with tickets from about 100 pesos up to several hundred for ringside. Buy at the box office or through the CMLL website, go by taxi, and keep your phone in a front pocket in the crowd. Pulquerías such as Las Duelistas near the Mercado de San Juan serve pulque curado by the litre for a few dozen pesos.

Guadalajara is the home of mariachi and tequila, and its nightlife is less touristy than the capital’s. Avenida Chapultepec in Colonia Americana is the main strip, with bars, cafés and Saturday-night crowds; the surrounding blocks of Americana have the best cocktail and mezcal bars. The Centro has old cantinas, including La Fuente, a cantina since the 1920s with a bicycle hanging from its wall. Guadalajara also has the second-biggest LGBTQ+ scene in Mexico, centred on the Centro and Americana.

For mariachi, eat at El Parián in Tlaquepaque, a courtyard of restaurants where bands play through the afternoon and evening. Lucha libre runs at Arena Coliseo in the Centro several nights a week, and tequila tasting is best done on a day trip to Tequila rather than at night.

Cancún has Mexico’s biggest party strip in the Hotel Zone around Kilometre 9, called the Party Center: Coco Bongo (an acrobatic show and open-bar club with tickets from roughly US$80 to $200), Mandala, The City and Señor Frog’s. It is loud, aimed at spring breakers and charged in dollars. Downtown Cancún around Parque de las Palapas and Avenida Tulum is cheaper and more local.

In Playa del Carmen, the action is on Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue) and around Calle 12, with beach clubs, bars and clubs open until 3am or later. Tulum is about beach clubs and jungle parties: day parties along the Hotel Zone, and DJ nights in venues such as Papaya Playa Project. Entry fees run 500 to 2,000 pesos for big-name nights. Tulum’s nightlife has a drug scene and has seen shootings linked to drug dealing, so stay in licensed venues, never buy drugs and use a booked taxi.

Puerto Vallarta has the best LGBTQ+ nightlife in Mexico, centred on the Zona Romántica (Old Town) around Olas Altas and Playa Los Muertos, where gay beach clubs, cabaret bars and drag shows run all year. The Malecón, the seafront promenade, has the mainstream clubs and bars, and the Marina area is quieter. Prices are lower than in Cancún or Cabo.

Cabo San Lucas runs on bars around the marina and Medano Beach, with tequila bars and big clubs that cater to North American groups and charge in dollars. San José del Cabo, 30 minutes away, is calmer: its Thursday Art Walk in the gallery district (November to June) is the town’s main social night. On the Pacific surf coast, Puerto Escondido has bars along Zicatela and La Punta, and Sayulita has small bars around the plaza.

Oaxaca City is the best place in Mexico to learn about mezcal. Mezcalerías around the Centro and Jalatlaco pour flights of three or four mezcals from different agaves and villages for 150 to 400 pesos, with staff who explain each one. In Situ, one of the best known, has hundreds of bottles. Start with espadín, then try tobalá, tepeztate or ensambles (blends). Our Mexico food guide covers how mezcal is made and the palenques to visit. Rooftop bars near Santo Domingo are good for sunset, and the city has live music and salsa bars late at night.

In Mérida, Calle 60 and the Paseo de Montejo have bars and free music in the plazas, and old Yucatecan cantinas serve botanas with each beer. San Miguel de Allende has rooftop bars facing the Parroquia, and Guanajuato has student bars and callejoneadas, the walking serenades led by student minstrels.

The legal drinking age is 18 and bouncers may ask for ID, so carry a copy of your passport. Drinking in the street is banned in most cities, and police fine people for it. Closing times are set city by city; in Mexico City most bars close around 2am and some clubs are licensed later, while resort clubs often run until 3am to 5am.

Ley seca (dry law) bans alcohol sales in a city or state, usually during elections and sometimes around national holidays or big events. Shops stop selling and many bars close; dates are announced locally a few days in advance, so ask your hotel.

Use Uber, DiDi or Cabify, a taxi called by the bar or your hotel, or a sitio taxi from a fixed rank, where the cars are registered and the dispatcher logs the ride. Do not flag cabs on the street at night in Mexico City, Guadalajara or Cancún. At airports, buy a fixed-price ticket from the official taxi booth inside the terminal. The Mexico City Metro stops running around midnight and is not the way home after a night out.

Carry only the cash you need and one card, leave your passport in the hotel safe, and take cash from ATMs inside banks or malls in daylight. In resort areas, beware of bar tabs in dollars at bad exchange rates and of “free” drinks offered on the street to lure you inside. Women travelling alone should use app taxis and share the trip with a friend. Drug laws are strict, and buying drugs in Mexico funds the cartels behind violence in places like Tulum and Cancún.