Ron L. Says:
Dear IL,
I’m going to Mexico City next month for a few days on a vacation / scouting trip. Any ideas for neighborhoods I should go see?
IL Latin America Correspondent Jason Holland Says:
Hi Ron,
With its arts and culture, stellar dining scene, beautiful architecture, and more… Mexico City’s a world-class metropolis worth the time it takes to get to know it. It’s split into colonias, like independent neighborhoods, each of them with its own specialty and vibe.
Try La Condesa/Hipodromo for starters. Technically, these are three neighborhoods (La Condesa, Hipódromo, and Hipódromo / Condesa) but they’re adjacent and most people cross between them frequently.
Hipódromo refers to a horse and car racing track that was here in the early 1900s. And you can still race on the track, in a way. It was converted into an oval road, with two lanes, with a pedestrian walkway in between filled with trees and shrubbery.
Called Avenida Amsterdam, it’s popular with joggers, dog walkers, and people just walking around the neighborhood, which is quite fashionable and known for excellent restaurants and cafés—often with tables out on the sidewalk.
In the Polanco colonia, things are very upmarket: Gucci. Hermes. Dolce & Gabbana. Avenida Presidente Masaryk, in the heart of the Polanco neighborhood, is considered one of the premier shopping districts of CDMX for the well-to-do. There are less ritzy shopping areas as well, with several shopping malls and big box stores a few blocks away.
There are also two must-visit museums here. Museo Soumaya was built by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and contains 66,000 pieces, including works by Diego Rivera, Rodin, Picasso, Matisse, and more. Admission is free. Across the courtyard is Museo Jumex, which has a focus on modern art by the like of Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol.
Juárez is just to the north of Roma Norte and considered somewhat of an up-and-coming neighborhood, although it has already been well-gentrified with plenty of trendy restaurants, cafés, shops, and galleries. It has a large Korean community, as well as an LGBTQ+-friendly nightlife district.
Roma Sur is a much more “traditional” community than its hip neighbor Roma Norte, with less gentrification and a large Latin American immigrant population.
Santa Fe, in the west part of the city, is a major business district but also considered one of the high-end neighborhoods.
Coyoacán is in the south of the city and is perhaps best-known as where Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo lived, and where their museums are today. It’s a pleasant, low-key district with many homes and low-slung buildings, not the towering commercial buildings and condos you find elsewhere. The Parque Centenario is the heart of the action, with several outdoor restaurants and a large craft market.
I wrote an in-depth article on the neighborhoods of Mexico City, which you can read right here.
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