(This article was originally published in Suitcase Magazine in March 2016 – I’ve updated it to include the latest cool spots and haunts of the city that have emerged since then – see the old post with further details here)
Nowhere else in the world is there a place quite like Mexico City. Some 700 years ago, a wandering tribe of Aztecs arrived to a steep mountain valley and discovered a crystalline lake that stretched immense before their eyes. They drained its swampy land and created floating gardens laced with waterways, and blessed it their new home Tenochtitlán, a pre-hispanic Venice of the Mexican skies. Then the Spanish arrived, and the rest is history; little is left to remind us of this glorious capital save for in its essence – Mexico City has retained its ancestors’ passions, ingenuity, intensity and warmth.
This is a city of countless cities. Twenty two million people flow amongst its patchwork; some live in ramshackle slums with dire access to water and nutrition, others in cosmopolitan colonias (neighborhoods) of majestic stone mansions, hip cafés and verdant park squares. It’s the city with the greatest number of museums in the world, the largest university in Latin America, and it’s also slowly sinking. The sheer amount of protests that take place along the main boulevard, Reforma, give the French a run for their money. Mexico City is also unexpectedly lush; avenues are lined with jacaranda trees whose flowers bathe the streets in carpets of bright purple during spring time, and palm trees whose trunks are so robust you wonder whether they outlived the Aztecs themselves. Each area bestows something special upon the visitor: in the chaotic center, sweeping colonial palaces have been built atop indigenous temples, and silversmiths bustle for space next to butchers and wedding dress makers. Down south lies the intellectual heart of the city. Names like Mathias Goeritz, Fridha Kahlo and Diego Rivera are on everybody’s lips and highways yield to lazy cobbled streets, bohemian cafés and canals: an oasis which reminds you that this is a metropolis at once with a foot in the future and another firmly rooted in the past.
Mexico City, or “DF” as the locals call it, is one of the most vibrant examples of renaissance urbanism. Young entrepreneurs are taking the reigns in the design and art scene and the city pulsates with exhibitions, film screenings, innovative architecture and new fashion labels. Gastronomical choices abound – on any given day you can choose between market stalls that source the freshest produce from all around the country, taco joints, gourmet bistros, traditional cantinas, artisanal mezcal bars and inventive remakes of local cuisine. The Mexican people display an unrivalled hospitality and they will throw their doors open to you and treat you with such courtesy you’ll wonder how you’ll ever go home. Nothing ever is “no” here, which doesn’t exactly mean yes either, but it’s a start. It’s a city palpable with energy, with ideas, an adventure and a nightmare, of stimulation and spontaneity. You’ll leave thinking you need to come back, soon.
Some ideas for day adventures:
Coyoacan and San Angel in the south – home to Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul, Diego Rivera’s studio, Trotsky’s place of death, a beautiful cathedral, old cobbled Mexico, some delicious eateries and the most potent margaritas (San Angel Inn, next to Diego Rivera’s studio). On Saturday, have brunch in Barragan’s Tetetlan in Pedregal (and schedule a visit to the architectural house next door, take a walk in the charming art market in San Angel and around the Mercado del Carmen, and then go chill in Coyoacan’s main square.
A morning in the Centro Historico to see the Zocalo, Edifico Correos, Palacio de Bellas Artes (make sure to go see the murals upstairs), have a snack in the Mercado San Juan (chef’s food market), the murals in Colegio San Idelfonso, and a visit to the Mercado Ciudadela to pick up gifts. Calle Bolivar for old books. Centro Historico gets increasingly hectic as the day wears on so I always recommend going early and getting out before it completely drains you but it’s got so much soul. If you stay for lunch, go to Limosneros.
Eating, drinking, and wandering through the leafy hipster Colonias of La Condesa (where I live currently), La Roma and Juarez (within a lovely twenty minute stroll) – Contramar and El Parnita are real classics. Contramar is a little classier and the home of the world’s best tuna tostada. In Condesa take a stroll around the hippodrome circuit of Amsterdam, El Parque Mexico, and rent a bike and cycle through the little streets. In Roma, Calle Colima and Calle Tabasco are incredibly beautiful.
Current culinary haunts:
Maximo Bistrot – a La Roma classic for lunch or dinner
Rosetta – Beautiful Italian set-up with their delicious pastry shop (Panaderia Rosetta) just down the street
Amaya – Restaurant in Juarez with the most delicious bread, soft shell crab and wine list
Lardo – Same chef as Rosetta but more of a casual Italian tapas affair with a bar where you can look in on the kitchen. Breakfast, lunch and dinner spot
Koku – Delicious Japanese Mexican fusion trendy spot in La Juarez
Salon Rios – For long dinners and drinks, and salsa bar upstairs
Karu – Pure Japanese in Condesa
Tetetlan in Pedregal – Barragán gem with incredible food and design
Paramo – Great for dinner and drinks, above El Parnita. Local Mexican-inspired taco menu
Eno Roma / Forever Vegano – For healthy salads and lunches
Lalo – For lunch and the best breakfast in Roma
La Docena – Seafood heaven and cool vibe
Aleli – Hidden gem in la Condesa, best for lunch
Meroma – Tucked away balcony in La Roma, delicious food
NEW RESTOS AS OF NOVEMBER 2023
Sarde
Canton Mexicali
Doriban
Imbiss en Juarez
Odette
Niv
Meroma
Marmota
Bella aurora
Roselle
Tirasavia
Darosa
Cana
Hugo
Fugaz
Favorite drinking dens:
Casa Franca – Cool, multi-roomed jazz bar in La Roma
Café Paraiso – Tropical dancing
Parker and Lennox Jazz
Baltra – For chilled drinks in La Condesa
Departamento
Hanky Panky – Speakeasy in la Juarez (ask me for address, its members only)
MN Roy if you want to go deep, late
Artemisia – In La Roma, upstairs for cozy cocktail and intimate vibe
Cool places to stay:
Hotel Casa Nuevo Leon
Ignacia Guest House in La Roma
Red House Hotel on Amsterdam in La Condesa
La Valise
My place in La Condesa! (enquire at alexa@atlasunbound.co)
Other
Cineteca Nacional – Incredible archives of films, Mexican and foreign, always have events and screenings and classes.
Santa Maria la Ribera Area– Kiosko Morisco, Museo de Geologia, Museo el Eco.
Anahuacali Museo – Museum of Diego Rivera, spectacular architecture.
Xochimilco – 100s of miles of Canals in the south of the city, historically how the lake used to look, you take a boat called a trajineras and check out the floating gardens and plants, drink tequila with mariachis. Touristic but a must.
Desierto de los Leones – Huge national park on outskirts of city where many people go mountain biking,
Museo de Antropologia – A must if you want to begin understanding the amalgam of cultures, beliefs and history that make up Mexico.
Casa Barragan
Lucha Libre – Classic mexican masked wrestling fight. So fun.
Cine Tonala – Alternative cinema and screenings in La Roma.
Edificio Correos – A must in the Centro, the old post building.
Gallery hopping – Kurimanzuto, OMR, Marso, Casa Maud, Galeria Hilario Galguera, Museo Universitario del Chopo.
Museums – Tamayo, Jumex, Arte Moderno, Franz Meyer, Bellas Artes, Colegio de San Idelfonso, La Casa Azul (Frida Kahlo’s House)
La Lagunilla and Parque Pushkin markets on weekends
COLONIAS (neighborhoods – contact me for itineraries for each one)
La Juarez, San Rafael y Santa Maria La Ribera – These three colonias began as wealthy enclaves in the late 1800s and later were populated by creatives and writers, becoming home to the city’s most iconic theatres and cinemas. Today, after suffering a period of neglect after the 1985 earthquake, their magnificent buildings are being repossessed as people are priced out of “trendier” areas further south. It’s a fascinating stroll here between stately mansions, small local businesses, markets, all sorts of repair shops and a re-emerging art scene.
Colonias La Condesa and La Roma – Arguably the hippest colonias and the heart of the city’s culinary, creative and going out scene. La Condesa’s leafy streets and colourful, quirky homes house a wide range of cafés, studios, independent boutiques and vintage locales, a far cry from when the area belonged to a countess as a horseracing track. La Roma’s majestic stone mansions were fashioned after popular turn-of-the-century styles and now are an eclectic smorgasbord of Art Nouveau, Gothic, Art Deco, Moorish and European architecture. Its design agencies, restaurants, cocktail bars, art galleries and picturesque plazas are populated by the city’s young and international crowd. You’ll be hard pressed to run out of something new to see and do here.
El Centro – Bustling, chaotic, loud, vibrant, beautiful if a little crazy– the historic center of DF is an adventure in and of itself. Packed with over 1500 historically classified buildings, a wealth of museums, cantinas, churches built atop Aztec temples, shops selling pretty much everything under the sun (including a street dedicated to black magic), the “Centro” as the locals call it will have all your senses tingling. Festivals and protests often flood the main Zocalo square with thousands of people so make sure to check before you go, but this is a part of the city which is not to be missed if you are hoping to understand Mexican culture and history.
San Angel and Coyoácan – To understand what the city was like before the metropolis took over, head south to Coyoacan and San Angel. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time – narrow colonial streets, cobbled pavements, colourful stone houses, birdsong, musicians, and bohemian cafés imbue this area with a peaceful and welcoming atmosphere. Back in the day, this was where the intellectual crowd gathered (think Trotsky, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Mattias Goeritz). It’s great to come down on a weekend for the San Angel arts and crafts market, and then to stroll through Coyoacan and if adventurous take a trajinera boat onto the canals and floating gardens in Xochimilco.
Polanco – A chic and affluent neighbourhood of Mexico City. Polanco’s main avenue Presidente Masaryk is dotted with global luxury stores and designer names, and many of the best restaurants have set up shop here along with international names like Entrecote, Nobu and Cipriani. It’s right next to El Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City’s central park which covers more than 1600 hectares. You can spend an entire day roaming the park’s attractions, between museums like the El Rufino Tamayo, El Museo de Arte Moderno, La Casa del Lago, the Castillo de Chapultepec and even a zoo.
TIPS AND TRICKS
- Markets, markets, markets: As Pablo Neruda put it, “Mexico is in its markets”. You would miss a large part of the magic and enigma of Mexico if you didn’t spend some time scouring the aisles of chiles, pasillas, moles, gusano de maguey, camote, of mounds of colourful fruit and harking vendors, as Mexicans are intricately linked to the food they cook and eat. Some families claim to have been selling their produce since the time of Tenochtitlan! Go to the El Mercado de San Juan for gourmet produce, El Mercado de Sonora for all sorts of crazy objects, costumes, instruments, even dark magic and medicinal herbs… The Jamaica market has all the flowers under the Mexican sun, and in La Lagunilla you can hunt for incredible vintage furniture and objects.
- In recent years, getting around Mexico City has become much more manageable. Uber works like a charm, and combine it with traffic-avoiding application Waze to bypass those bottlenecks. The city recently installed a network of urban bikes called EcoBici, which are a convenient (and scenic) way to move around all the colonias mentioned earlier.
- From the middle of June to September is rainy season – this means gorgeous sunny mornings, and then at five pm, religiously, the sky clouds over and rains plummet from above. It’s maybe best to try and schedule your trip right before or after this time, although there is something very bewitching about the powerful thunderstorms.
- The city can get a little hectic sometimes, and if you’re seeking to escape there’s a whole host of charming towns and destinations only a few hours drive away: San Miguel de Allende, Tepoztlán, Malinalco, and even a national park where you can go camping, Mineral del Chico.