Mexico City - must see / must do / must avoid ….

[TMB]

Daughter #2 - 30th birthday …

Any and all suggestions / ideas / warnings are appreciated.

[j44ke]

Luis Barragán.

https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com...onic-projects/

[yashkatsumi]

Luis Barragán.

https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com...onic-projects/

Yeah, his work is beautiful. I recently bought a t shirt in Oxaca in the iconic Barragan pink.

If you like japanese denim and fine Mexican clothes there is a great shop called casa denim.

[beeatnik]

Best “underrated” restaurant in CDMX:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Q00NLbN0z...J3fj5iIEu7S170

[beeatnik]

The obvious top 3:

Pyramids at Teotihuacan. Mystical, energy vector type stuff. But almost as significant, on the way there you see the endless miles of Ecatepec which is a bit more scenic than a Rio favela but likely as “unsecure.”

Coyoacan. This is Mexico.

A walk to Chapultepec Park from Roma or Condesa. Half a day at the Museum of Anthropology

[markh]

Beware the 2nd floor restaurants with a nice view of the Zocalo.
Most are a rip-off even though they aren't to do much of the crap they do.

[j44ke]

My wife has been visiting Mexico City frequently for work, so here are some of her recommendations. She likes the city so much she usually schedules an extra couple days before or after for some restaurant hopping. My recommendation for Barragán is actually her recommendation after I told her to go because he was a fave of a wacky art history professor I studied with in college. I'll get there someday.

She took these tours and recommends the company. https://www.thetravelingbeetle.com

She's been working her way through this list of 38 restaurants and hasn't found a bad one yet. https://www.eater.com/maps/best-mexi...restaurants-38

Her favorite neighborhoods currently (she hasn't visited anywhere near all of them of course) are Polanco and La Condesa.

Here is a smaller list of Polanco restaurants: https://www.theinfatuation.com/mexic...rhoods/polanco

And La Condesa: https://www.theinfatuation.com/mexic...ods/la-condesa

When she is there, she uses Uber to get around. And she walks. She says some of the main arteries that criss-cross Mexico City can create boundaries that are difficult to cross, so sometimes even close destinations are easier to reach by Uber. On Sundays, some streets are closed to cars but open to cycling. 50 miles of closed streets create a really nice atmosphere on Sundays. Her colleagues in Mexico City who are under 35 all seem to commute to work by bicycle, so she was pretty impressed by how much cycling goes on in what appears at first glance to be a cyclists nightmare.

She stayed in this AirBnB in the Polanco neighborhood. It is located near shops including a bakery and Italian food store so that made getting breakfast easy.

As far as safety, she hasn't had any problems. She does check out her route when walking. Instead of asking "Is this dangerous?" she usually asks "would you walk to the museum from here?" Or "should I walk there?" Occasionally someone has suggested an alternative route. Or they've just said no take an Uber. Her radar is pretty high generally, because she is always traveling. Mexico City is huge, so all huge city cautions apply. Her credit card got compromised while she was there once, but that's also happened in Paris and other places in the world. Could happen anywhere. Random hole in the Matrix as it were.

[beeatnik]

Polanco is great if your group includes children and elderly. It’s a lovely, sanitized experience of CDMX, on the periphery of a few major attractions (Museum of Anthropology, National Auditorium). The nicest mall in Latin America is there along with hundreds of restaurants which could exist in an affluent New Jersey suburb. The majority of wealthy Mexicans aren’t that interested in deconstructed or even “authentic” Mexican fine dining; they like gaudy Euro stuffs. That said the two highest profile Mexican restaurants, Pujol and Quintonil are in Polanco. Both are memorable but Quintonil, while elegant and intimate, feels more accessible and satisfying.

I’ve stayed in the airbnb Jorn’s wife recommends. It’s a great value. A mid-century mid-rise condo with art decoish touches located near Polanco’s main drag and a few blocks from Parque Lincoln. On Saturdays, there’s a tianguis around the Park, it’s a great walking scene.

If I were spending a week in Mexico City w a group of 30 year olds, I’d stay in Roma Norte, Condesa or “up and coming” Juarez. Better architecture, better coffee, better street food, more bars than Polanco. And regardless of what the NYT claims, these areas are not overrun w American and European digital nomads. You’ll see more white people in Polanco (tho most of them will be Jewish or Whitexicans).

Also, great advice about Uber. It’s tough to spend more than $5 on a trip. But with a clean and safe Metro, multi-modal options increase off peak.

Oh, speakeasies are a thing in CDMX. Reservations are essential.

https://www.theworlds50best.com/bars...speakeasy.html

[72gmc]

Great thread. In my old job, I sent team members to Mexico City for a week at least twice … never made it myself. They loved it. The company was very vocal about safety and cars vs. walking, but my folks enjoyed some good walks.

[j44ke]

...

If I were spending a week in Mexico City w a group of 30 year olds, I’d stay in Roma Norte, Condesa or “up and coming” Juarez. Better architecture, better coffee, better street food, more bars than Polanco. And regardless of what the NYT claims, these areas are not overrun w American and European digital nomads. You’ll see more white people in Polanco (tho most of them will be Jewish or Whitexicans)....

Roma Norte is the neighborhood that I thought would be interesting - for the reasons you mention. I think it got hit pretty hard by the earthquake in 2017. I was wondering how it was doing now.

My wife's travels in South America have introduced her to Jewish communities in most of the large cities she's visited - families dating their presence back to the 16th and 17th centuries. South America is a whole other history.

[TMB]

Thank you all for this. Mexico City is a place I have long wanted to visit, more than once. Recent health issues behind me it’s time to get out there.


My wife and daughter have pretty much settled on Roma -so Roma it shall be.

The list of places and things I want to see is …. Long.

Will take more than one trip.

Gawd I want to see that library.

[beeatnik]

Biblioteca Vasconcelos is walkable from Roma Norte (2ish miles). From there you can take an Uber to Museos Soumaya and Jumex, both free admission tho Jumex may require a reservation. Between museums (and skyscrapers!) you could have the best meal of your trip in this “alley.”

https://maps.app.goo.gl/wUnz7HgBVAZk...s.preview.copy



Jorn, the damage from the 2017 quake was mostly cosmetic. 1985 quake set the gentrification forces in motion but the real money didn’t flow in until the early 2010s.

[TMB]

Thank you all for the info. Booked a spot in Condesa rigt on the border with Roma. Sadly will not be there for Futbol season, that may have to be a trip without the family as no one really shares my love of soccer … Mexico City has long fascinated me and have never made it there so looking forward to this.

[beeatnik]

On my first trip to NYC, I met a woman who lived in the Bronx. She lived alone in a 1 bedroom and her monthly rent was $400/month. She did not consider that affordable although she worked for Armani in the Flatiron district. When I told her I was going to spend an afternoon in Central Park, she looked at me as if I suffered from mental illness. “Why would you do that.”

CDMX now reminds me of NYC in 2000.

[beeatnik]

Mexico City has long fascinated me and have never made it there so looking forward to this.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rudo_y_cursi

[clunk]

Really cool, off the beaten path place with all kinds of masks. Happened upon it the first time I was there and went back many years later. One of a kind. Galeria Eugenio.

[beeatnik]

https://youtube.com/shorts/amcn6YqhX...J5qKUMPXijv-JS

[TMB]

https://youtube.com/shorts/amcn6YqhX...J5qKUMPXijv-JS

You’re killing me ….