Mexico City is dynamic at every corner and ever-increasing in popularity (especially among Americans). So, out of that demand and our love for our southern neighbor’s capital, we’ve written the “Mexico City Destination Guide” below for your next trip.
Where to Stay:
The Brick Hotel
A stylish boutique stay right off Mexico City neighborhood Colonia Roma’s trendy thoroughfare Calle Colima, this 17-key outpost sports an olive and brown-hued color palette, an impressive contemporary art collection, a nourishing spa, speakeasy, and garden-filled Mexican restaurant called Cerrajería.
Casa Polanco
Mexico City’s chicest locale is Polanco (it’s also one of the safest to walk around at night): Tree-heavy roads, luxe shops, and storied haciendas populate its walkable blocks. Stay at the luxe 19-key Casa Polanco, which occupies a Spanish-colonial-revival edifice: Mexican artwork, antiquarian spaces, and Egyptian cotton are inside.
Where to Eat:
Rosetta
Calle Colima’s Rosetta restaurant equips fauna-spooling planters, oat-white walls, and high ceilings with fashionable pendant lamps. The back features a tall atrium where light spills in, vines dangle, and floral patterns adorn walls. Chef Elena Reygadas’ seasonal dishes blend Italian and Mexican flavors — you can’t go wrong with the pasta.
Nueve Nueve Bistro Mexicano
Homed in a storied aristocratic mansion, Nueve Nueve is a fine-dining restaurant serving contemporary Mexican cuisine in Colonia Roma. The charming, roofed patio peers out at a verdant garden, where statues and foliage mingle. You need to try the Lasagna de Chicharrón — a Mexican version of lasagna with traditional pork skins.
Taverna
This trendy, impeccably designed restaurant in Molino del Rey occupies the ins and outs of an abandoned building. Those who blueprinted Taverna were brilliant — they made the space design-centric and aesthetically pleasing, all the while not demolishing the framework of the neglected structure (truly, this is one of the most stunning restaurants we’ve ever seen). Expect a menu equipping Mediterranean-style dishes.
Where to Eat Tacos:
Taqueria El Greco
Located in the city’s amicable Condesa neighborhood, Taqueria El Greco is an authentic watering hole for those who love bona fide tacos & Mexican-street-food-like cuisine (we recommend ordering the Tacos al Pastor).
Siembra Tortillerìa
An upscale taqueria that serves superlative tacos in oh-so-posh Polanco.
Where to Drink:
Madre Café
This chic café & bar set in a repurposed aristocratic mansion is a vibe, from its afternoon coffee break offerings to its buzzy DJ-spinning evenings replete with beautiful people. Creative cocktails and tasty noshes populate the menu. Sip the Ponche Oaxaqueño: Mezcal 400 Conejos, ponche de jamaica & guava, lemon, and agave syrup comprise it.
Licorerìa Limantour
While it has a Colonia Roma bolthole, award-winning bar Licorerìa Limantour’s smaller yet hipper location in Polanco reels in all who love a good buzz, both via its atmosphere and delectable cocktails.
Hanky Panky
This Colonia Juarez speakeasy feels both moody and handsome, with its dim lighting, marble countertop, and red leather seats. The best part? It’s mucho unassuming — you enter via a taqueria and depart through a refrigerator door.
Carlotta Reforma Sky Bar
The Ritz Carlton, Mexico City, stands tall at 58 stories. Located in the city’s Reforma area, the building’s 38th-floor Carlotta Reforma Sky Bar boasts the best views of Mexico’s capital and the various locales within it.
Where to Visit:
Museo Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera’s artwork is displayed inside the cobalt blue-clad Museo Frida Kahlo. When here, in addition to seeing their masterpieces, you’ll learn about both their lives, along with how they saw the world and drew creative inspiration from it.
Bosque de Chapultepec
Amble around Mexico City’s version of Central Park, Bosque de Chapultepec. Head to Castillo de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Castle), a summited palace turned Mexican history museum with expansive views of the locale. Stroll lakeside and take pictures in front of the park’s Lago Menor.
Calle Colima: Mexico City’s Trendiest Street
Hip Mexico City neighborhood Colonia Roma’s Calle Colima Street is steeped in trendsetting creativity. Here, Beaux Art-style buildings house inviting cafes serving pan dulce and espressos such as Panadería Rosetta, fashionable boutiques stocked with accouterments from up-and-coming Mexican designers like 180 Shop, and eye-catching galleries such as Casa Basalta, an eclectic concept hub full of come-and-go art exhibitions and independent shops.
Zócalo & Templo Mayor
Mexico City’s Centro Histórico is flush with crowds, authentic pastelerias & taquerias, and Spanish Colonial-style architecture, especially regarding the Zócalo: Mexico City’s gargantuan centerpiece cathedral built in 1521. Alongside it is Templo Mayor, ancient Aztec ruins that once served as the locus of epochal Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan — while it might be a bit difficult to conceptualize the temples in their original Aztecan standing, the museum here helps visitors conceive an idea of the past.
Museo Soumaya
The Museo Soumaya (Soumaya Museum) flaunts 66,000+ art pieces: Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, and Henry Matisse all have works exhibited here.
