Monday, June 28, 2010

Mexico City

We start our series on Mexico with the capital city. Mexico City is one of the world's most vibrant and fascinating cities. Located in the valley of Mexico, the city was built on top of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. And that's part of the allure. The city has Aztec ruins, gracious colonial districts, grand 19th century boulevards and gleaming modern sky scrappers.

For tourists there is a lot to see and do. Top attractions include the Zocalo with it's 437 year old cathedral, the National Palace (seat of government) and other colonial buildings. Near the Zocalo is the Templo Mayor Museum, with the ruins of the Aztec's main temple. For archeological buffs there is also the Archeological Museum in Chapultapec Park - one of the world's great museums. I have been to Mexico City many times as a tourist and the city continues to excite me. But this trip was different. We were in Mexico City on business and we were evaluating the city as a destination for medical tourists.

Mexico City has a huge population - over 20 million - making it one of the world's largest cities. However, much of the city consists of graceful and very livable neighborhoods. We stayed in an area known as Cuauhtemoc near the Zona Rosa with it's tourist hotels and restaurants. But Cuauhtemoc is mostly residential with well preserved 19th century buildings and tree lined streets. Cuauhtemoc's restaurants cater to the residents. We ate twice at an upscale, trendy Argentine themed bistro - and a full meal with wine cost less than $15 a piece. Nearby was a very popular French bistro and the area had Italian, Korean and Chinese restaurants along with Mexican fondas - the neighborhood eateries that dot Mexico City.

People often ask about the weather and air quality? The climate is one of the world's best. Average highs are 74 and average lows are 49. And amazingly most of the year these temperatures vary little. February to May is warmer and dry , while December and January can be cooler - but generally it's very pleasant. In summer the rains come. While storms can be heavy, they are quick and leave the city green and the air very clean. Air quality has been an issue for Mexico City , which is ringed by mountains that trap pollution in the valley. But the city has made huge improvements since 1990 when a major clean-the-air project was launched. More and more days the air is reasonably clear and the sun shines.

Another concern for medical tourists is language. Spanish is the main language and knowledge of Spanish is helpful to really explore the city. But English-speaking medical tourists will have little difficulty. English is widely spoken in tourist areas and hospitals are creating medical tourism departments to assist travelers. One figure that most do not know: Mexico City has the largest concentration of U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. Estimates of this number vary from 450,000 to 600,000. And more than 1 million U.S. citizens visit each year.

I will cover prices and tourist facilities in another post but there is one final topic on Mexico City - how to get there. Easy access is a major benefit of Mexico City for the medical tourist. Most of the major U.S. airlines service Mexico City and there are non-stop flights from most major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Flight times vary from 2 to 5 hours - a huge plus for medical tourists who may find 25 hour flights to India a challenge.

In the coming days I will discuss prices, the hospitals and the doctors in Mexico City. But it's very clear to me this great city has been overlooked as a medical tourism destination.

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