4. Far West: Cable Car, Train and Santa Fe
Almost no visitors do this, and they should. You take a cable car over the Chapultepec forest, then a brand-new train up into the mountains toward Toluca, and you finish in Santa Fe among the glass towers. Half a day, or a full one if you go all the way to Toluca. Pick a clear morning. The cable car takes only the public transportation stored-value card, sold at machines in the station (see Getting Around).
On the map, tap or click a pin for details: the red line is the cable car, the purple line the El Insurgente train, which continues west to Toluca.
Map key: 1Constituyentes: Metro, Los Pinos & the cable car · 2Vasco de Quiroga · 3To Toluca · 4Santa Fe station · 5Centro Santa Fe · 6Calakmul (La Lavadora) · 7Arcos Bosques (El Pantalón) · 8Observatorio
1. Metro to Constituyentes
Take Metro Line 7 (orange) to Constituyentes, the next stop after Auditorio in Polanco. The cable car station is right there, next to Gate 1 of Los Pinos, the former presidential residence. It’s now open to the public for free (Tuesday to Sunday), so have a look if you’re early.
2. The cable car (Cablebús Line 3)
Los Pinos/Constituyentes station · daily from 5 AM (Sat 6, Sun 7) to 11 PM · 7 pesos (~0.40 USD) with the stored-value card · website
Six stations, 20 to 25 minutes, a few pesos. The gondolas go over the second and third sections of Chapultepec Park, the old Dolores cemetery and the new Cineteca, and then over wooded ravines, with Santa Fe getting closer the whole way. Ride it to the end of the line, Vasco de Quiroga. It usually closes for maintenance for two weeks in July.
3. The train to Toluca (El Insurgente)
At Vasco de Quiroga, change to El Insurgente, the new México–Toluca train. Go west for the views. The train climbs on high viaducts over the forests of the Sierra de las Cruces, goes through a 4.6-kilometer tunnel near La Marquesa and comes down into the Toluca valley, which at 2,600 meters is even higher than Mexico City. Toluca Centro is about 40 minutes away, 90 pesos (~5 USD) from Observatorio, a bit less from Vasco de Quiroga.
In Toluca, take a taxi from the station to the Cosmovitral (Tue–Sat 10 AM – 6 PM, Sun 10 AM – 3 PM · 25 pesos / ~1.30 USD), a 1910 market hall that is now a botanical garden under a huge stained-glass “cosmos”. One of the most surprising things I’ve seen in Mexico.
Or just ride as far as you like and come back. The last train leaves at 10:30 PM.
The stained-glass Cosmovitral in Toluca
4. Santa Fe
On the way back, get off at Santa Fe station, right next to Centro Santa Fe, which calls itself the biggest mall in Mexico. Around 500 stores, Palacio de Hierro and Liverpool, and an ice rink. Are you in Dubai?
Santa Fe itself is a city of glass towers, built from the 1990s on over old gravel mines and garbage dumps. It’s not like anything else in this guide. Look for the Calakmul building, a white cube with a giant round hole, nicknamed “La Lavadora” (the washing machine), and nearby Arcos Bosques, the twin tower joined at the top that locals call “El Pantalón” (the trousers).
To get back, take El Insurgente to its last stop, Observatorio, and Metro Line 1 (pink) to Chapultepec, Roma or the Centro. Or take an Uber, 30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.
“It’s called the washing machine” – the Calakmul building in Santa Fe
The Santa Fe skyline
Quasi-futuristic mall in Santa Fe
Where to eat in Santa Fe
Places recognized by outside guides are marked in brackets – see the key.
- Branches of good upscale Mexico City chains: the Santa Fe mall has an open-air covered promenade of restaurants on the 3rd floor (“Vía Santa Fe”)