An Oakland Raider Fan’s Travel Guide to Mexico City

American Football

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The Oakland Raiders will take on the Houston Texans on 21 November 2016 in Mexico City. Tickets to the game sold out within half an hour when they went on sale last July. Keep reading for a  travel guide for Raiders fans.

• Click here for a complete information on the Mexican capital: TripAdvisor Guide to Mexico City

The highly anticipated match will be the first time a National Football League (NFL) game is played in Mexico since the San Francisco 49ers played the Arizona Cardinals at Estadio Azteca in 2005.

The Cardinals beat the 49ers by a score of 31 to 14.

The 2005 matchup was the first regular season NFL game to be played outside the United States. It drew a crowd of 103,467 fans of American football, setting an NFL attendance record.

The National Football League has played two or three regular season game outside the United States every year since 2007 in what is known as the NFL International Series.

All previous games in the series were played in London, England, usually at Wembley Stadium. The Los Angeles Rams took on the New York Giants at London’s Twickenham Stadium earlier this year.

Two other NFL games were also played earlier this year at Wembley Stadium.

The Oakland Raiders played the Miami Dolphins in London in 2014, losing by a score of 38 to 14.

Prior to 2005, the NFL only played exhibition games in other countries. Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Spain, and Sweden are among countries that have hosted NFL exhibition games.

The Buffalo Bills also played a series of pre-season and regular season games in Toronto, Ontario, in a bid to expand its Canadian fan base.

It goes without saying that soccer is Mexico’s most popular sport. Still, the country is one of the few countries in the world with a substantial fan base for American football.

Estadio Azteca

Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, known as Azteca Stadium in English, is the official home of Mexico’s national soccer team, Club América.

Two FIFA World Cup finals were held at the stadium.

With an official capacity of 87,000 fans, it one of the world’s largest stadiums.

Fully 119,853 fans set an attendance record on 7 July 1968.

Estadio Azteca is located in the south of Mexico City, about 15 kilometres from the historic city centre. It can be reached by Metro or light rule.

Ten Hotels Closest to Estadio Azteca

Several hotels and guest houses are located within walking distance of Azteca Stadium. A few of the properties, in fact, are within a 10 minute walk of the massive stadium.

1. Hotel Real Azteca – Calzada De Tlalpan 3441, Santa Ursula Coapa, Mexico City, DF, Mexico. Telephone: 800-491-612. 5 minute walk.
2. Hotel Cuore – Calzada de Tlalpan 3325, Mexico City, DF, Mexico. Telephone:  800-491-6126, 8 minute walk.
3. Suites Bosques Medica Sur – Coscomate 91, Bosques de Tetlameya, El Caracol, Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico. Telephone:  800-491-6126. 11 minute walk.
4. Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites Medica Sur – Puente De Piedra 150, Mexico City, Mexico, 855-239-9227. 20 minute walk to Estadio Azteca.
5. Suites Inr – Cerrada Forestal No. 1, Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco, Mexico City, Mexico. Telphone: 800-491-6126. 21 minute walk.
6. Fiesta Inn Periferico Sur – Periferico Sur 5530, Col. Pedregal de Carrasco, Mexico City, Mexico. Telephone:  800-491-6126. 23 minute walk to Estadio Azteca.
7. One Ciudad de Mexico Periferico Sur – Periferico Sur 5530, Col. Pedregal de Carrasco, Mexico City, Mexico. Telephone: 800-491-6126. 23 minute walk to Azteca Stadium.
8. Hotel Real del Sur – Av. División del Norte, Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico. Telephone: 800-491-6126. 24 minute walk to Estadio Azteca.
9. Hotel Novo Coapa – Calzada del Hueso 637, Colonia Tenorios, Mexico City, DF, 14324, Mexico, 800-491-6126. 36 minute walk to Estadio Azteca.
10. Hotel Kron – Avenida Insurgentes Sur 3790, Col. Tlalpan Centro, Mexico City, Mexico. Telephone: 800-491-6126. 36 minute walk from Estadio Azteca.

Latin America’s Best Theme Park

Six Flags Mexico is the largest and most popular theme park in Latin America. The park is located in the Tlalpan Forest on the southern outskirts of Mexico City.

Attractions include Hollywood and Bugs Bunny’s Circus as well as Cowboy, French, Mexican, Polynesian, and Swiss villages.

There are 48 rides including two water rides and eight roller coasters.

Six Flags is relatively close to Azteca Stadium. The drive takes about 22 minutes, depending on traffic. Football fans wanting to visit the park would be advised to find a hotel room between the two venues.

Mexico City’s Top Tourist Attractions

Mexico City is full of museums, heritage sites, churches, monuments, plazas – the list goes on. These tourist attractions are the most popular with tourists.

1. Museo Nacional de Antropologia (National Museum of Anthropology) – Avenida Paseo de la Reforma, Chapultepec Polanco, Mexico City, Mexico. Check out the Teotihuacan, Aztecs and Maya rooms.
2. Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) – Avenida Juarez y Eje Central s/n, Centro Histórico, Mexico City, Mexico.  An art museum and the city’s top performance hall.
3. Castillo de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Castle) – Primera Seccion del Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico. A beautiful and well-preserved castle with a great view from the terrace.
4. Coyoacan – Av. Coyoacan No. 2000, Mexico City, Mexico. A well preserved village with plazas and narrow lanes dating back to the 16^th century.
5. Basclica de Santa Maria de Guadalupe – Plaza de las Americas 1 – Col. Villa de Guadalupe | Col. Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico. One of the most famous religious sites in Mexico, where an Indian claimed to have seen an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531.
6. Murales de Diego Rivera en la Secretaria de Educasio  Publica – Republica de Argentina 28, Mexico City,, Mexico. Three floors of Diego Rivera murals surround a beautiful courtyard. ???
7. Museo Frida Kalho (Frida Kahlo Musuem) – Calle Londres 247, Col. Del Carmen, Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico. The lifelong home of this world-renowned Mexican artist houses a collection of his works.
8. Paseo de la Reforma – Paseos de la Reforma No. 42, Mexico City, Mexico. Mexico City’s main thoroughfare, running through the city’s historic district and one of its most exclusive neighborhoods.
9. Catedral Metropolitana de Mexico (Metropolitan Cathedral) – Avenida 16 de Septiembre | Colonia Centro, Mexico City, Mexico. Dominating the Zócalo, this is one of the largest churches in Latin America.
10. Museo del Templo Mayor (Templo Mayor Museum) – Seminario 8, Centro Histórico, Mexico City, Mexico. Ruins of the Temple of the Universe – and amazing archaeological find.

How to Get to Mexico City

Mexico City International Airport, known in Spanish as Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México,  is Mexico’s busiest airport and the second busiest airport in  Latin America.

The airport is served by 30 domestic and international passenger airlines. The airport is a hub for Aeromexico, Aeromar, Interject, and Volaris. The airport is a focus city for VivaAerobus.

Volaris flies nonstop from Oakland to Mexico City. Aeromexico, American Airlines, Interject and Volaris fly to Mexico City nonstop from  Houston.

Toluca International Airport is an alternative airport to Mexico City International Airport, but it is substantially further from Estadio Azteca.