Teotihuacán, Xochimilco, Tepoztlán, Valle de Bravo, Puebla — which ones are worth a full day, which pair well together, and the real logistics for getting there and back.
Teotihuacán is the pyramids everyone pictures, about an hour outside the city. Xochimilco's canals are a different pace entirely.
Tepoztlán and Valle de Bravo both make for a fuller day or an overnight. Puebla is close enough for a day trip but rewards staying over. Tolantongo's hot-spring river is the furthest of the bunch — genuinely an overnight, not a real day trip.
Coyoacán and San Ángel are technically inside city limits, not outside it — but far and different enough in pace that most visitors experience them as a day trip rather than an afternoon errand.
Bus lines run frequently to most of these; a tour simplifies logistics at a higher cost.
Weekly emails — what's happening in CDMX, plus a deep-dive guide.
One weekly note on what's happening in CDMX, plus a deep-dive from the guide — no need to come back and check.