VacationSelector
The Metropolitan Cathedral on the Zócalo, Mexico City
Mexico CityThe Metropolitan Cathedral on the Zócalo
The Bell Tower of Xi'an under a blue sky, Xi'an
Xi'anThe Bell Tower of Xi'an under a blue sky

Photos: Mexico City by Oscar Dominguez, Pexels License; Xi'an by xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, cropped.

Mexico City or Xi'an?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Mexico City for

  • nightlife
  • live music and the arts
  • shopping

What lies behind each score is written up on Mexico City’s own page.

Choose Xi'an for

  • getting around
  • nature and the outdoors
  • day trips

What lies behind each score is written up on Xi'an’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Mexico City 5, Xi'an 4: Mexico City leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Mexico City 90, Xi'an 70: Mexico City leads by 20 points.
Culture & sights. Mexico City 88, Xi'an 81: Mexico City leads by 7 points.
Nightlife. Mexico City 80, Xi'an 42: Mexico City leads by 38 points.
Nature & outdoors. Mexico City 50, Xi'an 62: Xi'an leads by 12 points.
Day trips. Mexico City 75, Xi'an 80: Xi'an leads by 5 points.
Good for families. Mexico City 58, Xi'an 48: Mexico City leads by 10 points.
Getting around. Mexico City 50, Xi'an 66: Xi'an leads by 16 points.
Shopping & style. Mexico City 76, Xi'an 50: Mexico City leads by 26 points.
Affordability. Mexico City 75, Xi'an 80: Xi'an leads by 5 points.
Live music & performing arts. Mexico City 72, Xi'an 40: Mexico City leads by 32 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Mexico City and Xi'an are level on 40.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Mexico City and Xi'an.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Mexico City
Best match
63match

Wins on nightlife and live music and the arts with your weighting.

Xi'an
55match

Wins on getting around and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Mexico City in July

25 °Cdaytime high
13 °Cnight-time low
176 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
13 hdaylight a day

Xi'an in July

33 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
96 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200JFMAMJJASOND
Mexico CityXi'an

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Mexico City: 1991-2020 normals, Mexico Central, D. F. (7.9 km from centre). Xi'an: 1991-2020 normals, Xi'An (4.4 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureMexico CityXi'an
Official languageSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec MayaPutonghua
CurrencyMexican Peso (MXN)Yuan Renminbi (CNY)
SocketsAB127 V, 60 HzACI220 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC-6UTC+8
Emergency number911Police 110, ambulance 120, fire 119
Elevation2,240 m405 m
Main airportMexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX)7 km from centre109 non-stop destinationsXi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY)26 km from centre178 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year9 days6 days

By the numbers

MeasureMexico CityXi'an
City population9,209,94412,952,907
People per km²6,2021,283
Museums within 10 km1089
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km62

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Mexico City or Xi'an somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.