Four trips to the outskirts of Mexico City for less than 2,000 pesos

Enjoy a day of your weekend outside the busy capital to discover new places and relax from stress. Mexico City has the advantage of having very beautiful, serene surrounding towns with immense cultural wealth. Malinalco, Villa del Carbón, Metepec or Tepotzotlan can be one of your options to visit. These places are less than 100 kilometers away, in the State of Mexico, so you will get there quickly and you won't have to spend much.

Malinalco

This incredible little town is located in Toluca. It is a huge valley full of vegetation, cobbled streets, beautiful colonial houses and ancient temples. The place has witnessed some historical events of Mexico's Independence and the Mexican Revolution.

The name Malinalco is composed of malinalli, a grass plant called “grassland of the titmouse”, with which ropes or ropes are made; of xochitl: “flower” and of co: “en”. Therefore, it means “Where Malinalxochitl is worshiped, the flower of malinalli”.

Transport

The transfer can be done in different ways: the first is by bus, you can board it from Terminal Poniente at a cost of 110 pesos; the other is by car, for fuel you will be paying 200 pesos and charging two booths 105 pesos. So the total round trip will cost you approximately 600 pesos.

Activities

Malinalco has several cultural and recreational attractions such as a Golf Club, the Chapel of Santa Monica, the Former Augustinian Convent, Cuauhtinchán Archaeological Zone, Parish of the Divine Savior, Shrine of Lord Chalma, Andrés Medina Gallery, Cuauhtinchán Ceremonial Center and Tlakuikani Gallery, some are free and others with cost but will not exceed 200 pesos per person.

food

And for food in the Center there are several restaurants where you can eat economically in the range of 45 to 180 pesos.

Villa del Coal

This town has a cold climate and is surrounded by mountains and forest. If you like handicrafts here you can find many shops on the streets. 12 kilometers from Villa del Carbón is the beautiful Dam del Llano, surrounded by pine forest and therefore this place is considered ideal for ecotourism.

During colonial times, the town changed its name to Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia, and later it was called Villa del Coal because the main activity was coal extraction. It currently has a lot of culture, traditions and interesting activities.

Transport

The cost of the bus will cost you $100 pesos round trip, this because in the Cuatro Caminos, Toreo and Rosario metro there are transports that leave you in the center of Villa del Carbón. If you go by car, the booths will cost you 70 pesos and for gasoline approximately 150 pesos. So the total round trip will cost around 440 pesos.

Activities

Villa del Carbón has different attractions such as camping or visiting some of these places: the House of Culture Dr. Jiménez Cantú, the Cerro de la Bufa, Recreational Center “La Plant”, the Church of San Francisco de Asís, Llano de Lobos, the Handicraft Market, the Municipal Park “Luisa Isabel Campos Jiménez Cantú” among others. Visiting historical places does not cost, museums do, depending on the day and also camping, climbing or buying handicrafts.

Eats

The representative food of Villa del Carbón is the barbecue of ram, fritters, red or green mole, pork carnitas, pork chicharrón, turkey or chicken in mole or pome, sausage, tamales, trout and artisanal eggnog of various flavors and the cost per meal is approximately 300 pesos per person per day.

They call it the municipality of las sirenas and the tree of life and it is located very close to Toluca de Lerdo. Its name comes from Nahuatl and translates as Cerro de los Magueyes. The town is characterized by artisans who transform clay into beautiful pieces, pottery is the main activity of the place.

Transport

To get to Metepec you have to take the Marquesa road, the cost of the booth is 88 pesos and you will spend approximately 170 pesos for gasoline, so the round trip will cost you a total of 516 pesos. If you decide to go by bus, the ticket costs around 200 pesos.

Activities

Here you can visit all these places at a maximum price of 100 pesos per person. The House of Culture, the Chapel of Calvary, the Cerro de los Magueyes, the Former Convent of San Juan Bautista, the Fuente de la Tlanchana, the Calvary Church, the Handicraft Market, the Mud Museum or the Craftsmen's Workshops are all places worth visiting in Metepec.

Eats

The prices of some restaurants are around 100 to 200 pesos per person.

Tepotzotlán

Tepotzotlán is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a place full of history and culture since it houses the National Museum of the Viceroyalty which was built in 1580 as a Jesuit school.

Transport

If you decide to go by car, the cost of the booth will cost you 89 pesos plus 150 pesos of gasoline approximately, so the round trip will cost you approximately 478 pesos. The cost of a truck to Tepotzotlán is between 50 and 100 pesos.

Activities

You can visit the National Museum of the Viceroyalty, where you can find cloisters and an old library. You can stroll around Plaza de la Cruz or through the handicraft market. There is also the Xochitla Ecological Park and the Arcos del Sitio where there is also rental of motorcycles, horses and a dam for fishing.

Eats

To avoid spending too much of your budget, you can eat at the Municipal Market where you can find all kinds of Mexican food, at a cost of approximately 150 pesos per person.

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