The best Mexico City staycation plans this Spring Break

Born and raised successful Mexico City myself, I tin archer you: determination is nary amended clip to bask the metropolis than erstwhile it’s empty. And yes, Spring Break is an all-time favourite for that. As capitalinos fly their brainsick hometown successful hunt of their beaches of choice, we who are budget-tight oregon simply unwilling to permission the metropolis tin bask a traffic-free CDMX. Believe it oregon not, that tin really happen.

Imagine a car-free Anillo Periférico? Or an un-crowded Centro Histórico? Well, though this is hard to representation — and mightiness look contradictory to overseas people — holidays are usually the champion clip to person a bully stroll astir the capital. This is particularly existent during Semana Santa, oregon Easter. In a state that’s 77% Catholic, arsenic per INEGI’s latest surveys, this vacation is dutifully observed arsenic a spiritual clip of penance.

The City hits antithetic erstwhile there’s cipher about. (Evan Wise/Unsplash)

People surviving successful Mexico City who are not primitively from the superior privation to spell location and walk the holidays with their loved ones. And we, calved and raised here, often agelong for a well-deserved interruption from our regular capitalino lives. This does not mean, however, that Mexico City becomes dull during Spring Break. On the contrary, fixed that the metropolis volition beryllium mostly bare and walkable, here’s our digest of the champion staycation plans for Spring Break 2025.

When is Spring Break 2025?

This year, Spring Break successful Mexico volition commencement astir the 2nd week of April. Namely, the ‘Semana Santa’ vacations volition commencement connected April 14, 2025, and extremity connected April 27, arsenic per the Education Ministry’s official calendar. Children volition beryllium exempted from schoolhouse attendance for implicit 2 weeks this year, which is acold much than I got backmost successful the day. This, of course, comes arsenic a precise bully astonishment for those of america who are decidedly not leaving municipality this twelvemonth for Easter vacay.

The champion plans for Spring Break staycationers successful Mexico City

Watch the Pascual afloat satellite from Mexico City’s wide nighttime skies

And no, the satellite is not turning pinkish successful April. (Nick Owuor/Unsplash)

Ever wondered why Easter Day ever has a afloat moon? That is not astatine each a coincidence: successful the twelvemonth 325 A.D., during the First Council of Nicaea, Roman emperor Constantine I established that the archetypal Sunday pursuing the fourteenth time of a caller satellite would beryllium the time to statesman Easter. Namely, the solemnisation of the Resurrection of Christ, who is believed to awaken from the dormant connected the 3rd time aft his crucifixion. That’s 2000 years of Christian past for you, successful conscionable a paragraph. You’re welcome.

Often referred to arsenic “Pink Moon,” pursuing the Northern Native American tradition, this astronomical occurrence was named “after a taxon of aboriginal blooming wildflower,” as documented by the Museum of Greenwich. “In different cultures,” the instauration adds, “this satellite is called the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.”

Under the Libra constellation, the Pink Moon volition bloom successful the summertime nighttime entity connected April 12, 2025. Although this does not autumn strictly nether the authoritative Spring Break calendar, you tin program up and look for an elevated rooftop to ticker the outer from. It is expected to highest astatine astir 8:00 p.m. that night, truthful get cozy and bask a summertime spectacle portion the night’s inactive young.

Where: Anywhere! Preferably a precocious spot that is not obstructed by nationalist wiring; oregon immoderate of UNAM’s public observatories, if you’re a nerd similar me.
Cost: Absolutely free

Via Crucis: A profoundly rooted Iztapalapan tradition

Via Crucis translates from Latin arsenic ‘the way of the Cross,’ people referring to the 14 stations Jesus endured during his passion, pursuing the Biblical passage. Every Holy Friday, the radical of the Eastern borough of Iztapalapa reenact this ineffable travel successful which their Messiah atoned for the sins of the world.

Someone plays Jesus, and carries a existent transverse implicit their shoulder; idiosyncratic plays Mary; idiosyncratic plays Pontius Pilate. You get the idea. There person been 181 editions of this accepted representation, successful which, according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), “the 8 archetypal neighborhoods of the municipality (San Lucas, San Pedro, San Miguel, San Pablo, San Ignacio, San José, La Asunción and Santa Bárbara) [organize] successful a collegiate and horizontal mode to transportation retired the representation.”

Over 500 actors and actresses enactment successful the Via Crucis, arsenic per INAH’s records. There is adjacent a Holy Week Organizing Committee successful Iztapalapa AC (COSSIAC), successful complaint of coordinating the large lawsuit each Holy Week. Their extremity is “to guarantee that it continues successful aboriginal generations, without distorting its archetypal symbolic meaning,” arsenic they wrote successful a connection successful 2023, erstwhile INAH declared the Via Crucis of Iztapalapa arsenic an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mexico. Just the twelvemonth after, this contented was declared the aforesaid by UNESCO.

At first, I was doubtful arsenic to suggest this acquisition for the Mexico News Daily readership. Especially that, adjacent for maine — raised by a very, precise Catholic parent — these parades tin beryllium challenging to watch. However, this is 1 of the quintessential Semana Santa section traditions — and an implicit must-see, if you’re visiting municipality and are consenting to get a glimpse of what the Catholic religion truly means successful Mexico. If you’re readying connected going, debar bringing children with you — this lawsuit tin get crowded, is precise graphic and tin easy beryllium overwhelming for anyone.

Where: Ave. San Lorenzo 312. Col. San Juan Xalpa, C.P. 09850, Iztapalapa, Mexico City.
Cost: Free

Jacaranda watching

Mexico City successful the outpouring clip means jaracarandas successful afloat bloom. (Juan Antonio López/UNAM Global)

April is not the cruelest period successful Mexico City. On the contrary, it is the champion clip of the twelvemonth to ticker the jacaranda trees (Jacaranda mimosifolia) successful afloat bloom. Even though these beauteous airy purple flowers are a cardinal awesome of outpouring successful Mexico, the Jacaranda mimosifolia is not an endemic tree. In 1912, Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki tried to import cherry trees arsenic a diplomatic acquisition to Mexico. Given the lukewarm upwind successful the capital, the taxon did not survive. However, the Japanese don’t springiness up that easily.

As the Sakura task failed, a Japanese gardener, Tatsugoro Matsumoto, tried planting Jacaranda trees instead. With the coming of spring, the taxon bloomed healthily. Ever since then, we Mexicans person adopted the Japanese contented of Hanami: the creation of contemplating the flowers successful afloat bloom.

Typical sighting spots see Centro Histórico, successful beforehand of Palacio de Bellas Artes oregon Hemiciclo a Juárez. Despite the un-crowded quality of Spring Break successful Mexico City, these tin get tumultuous astir midday, truthful instrumentality precautions. If you’re looking for a quieter spot, caput to Ámsterdam Avenue successful Condesa, wherever a furniture of Jacaranda flowers softly covers the median strip.

If you’re looking for perfectly breathtaking sights, dive into Colonia Narvarte, 1 of the capital’s jacaranda-infused residential neighborhoods. Specifically, to Concepción Béistegui Street, successful beforehand of Centro Universitario de México (CUM). With the coming of spring, this fragment of the thoroughfare appears to beryllium vaulted by a purple-flowered ceiling. If you’re not precise overmuch into impactful spiritual representations, Jacaranda-watching brings an aesthetic easiness to the soul.

Where: Across the city, wherever you find parks oregon tree-lined boulevards, but particularly Avenida Ámsterdam, Condesa.
Cost: Free

Andrea Fischer contributes to the features table astatine Mexico News Daily. She has edited and written for National Geographic en Español and Muy Interesante México, and continues to beryllium an advocator for thing that screams science. Or yoga. Or both.