Things to do in Mexico City
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El Secret Gourmet
A rare combination of gourmet restaurant and TV dinners; if you are renting an apartment, the frozen or refrigerated selection of dishes available here may appeal. They include various mousses, like salmon, Roquefort and olive, Middle Eastern choices, such as hummus and tabouleh, plus pastas, stuffed tacos, chicken and vegetarian dishes. There is also a deli section selling organic produce, including jams, chutneys and sauces.
reviewed
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Mexico City Sightseeing Tour
6 hours (Departs Mexico City, Mexico)
by Viator
Immerse yourself in Mexico City on a city tour offering something for everyone. Whether you're passionate about history and art, or just yearning for adventure,…Not LP reviewed
from USD$45.99 -
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Chíc by Accident
Featured in stylish wallpaper* magazine, French owner Emmanuel Picault has a fascinating collection of 20th-century furniture and objects here, ranging from a quirky giant walrus to a sumptuous abstractly designed quilt. Picault has published a book on contemporary furniture with Philippe Starck (Book by Accident) The adjacent showroom, Sex By Accident, concentrates on the erotica in art and sculpture.
reviewed
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Santa Muerte Altar
Garbed in a sequined white gown, wearing a wig of dark tresses and clutching a scythe in her bony hand, the Saint Death figure bears an eerie resemblance to Mrs Bates from the film Psycho. The Santa Muerte is the object of a fast-growing cult in Mexico, particularly in crime-ridden Tepito, where many of her followers have lost faith in Catholicism. Enter the notoriously dangerous Tepito ‘hood at your own risk.
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Coox Hanal
Started in 1953 by boxer Raúl Salazar from Mérida, this establishment prepares Yucatecan fare just as it’s done in don Raúl’s hometown. The poc chuc (grilled pork marinated in orange juice), papadzules (tacos stuffed with chopped hard-boiled egg and pumpkin-seed sauce) and cochinita pibil (pit-cooked pork) are top-notch. Tables are set with the obligatory four-alarm habanero salsa.
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Photo Bistro
A French bistro cum photo gallery – how could it miss in Condesa? Indeed on any given evening, a smart set fills the intimate Photo Bistro, one of several fine eateries facing the fountain of tiny Plaza Citlaltépetl. Mexican ingredients enliven some of the artistically presented French fare here: slices of jicama add crunch to the spinach salad, and the salmon carpaccio rests on a bed of honeyed amaranth.
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Casa de Cultura Jesús Reyes Heroles
This cultural center is set in a gorgeous colonial-style building, with arches, patios and bubbling fountains. The modest theater stages plays (free), as well as small concerts featuring local musicians. There’s also an exhibition space; pick up a copy of the monthly Cartelera Cultural Coyoacanense, which includes a theater program. The center is located in Santa Catarina’s pretty main square.
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Arróniz
Despite its location on an elegant leafy square, this gallery has a raw urban energy, with its Soho-style space and basic concrete floors. This is the only gallery in the country specializing in limited-edition engravings and prints. Artists include the new and the emerging as well as the established. A modest number of paintings and photography is generally on show here, too. Exhibitions change every three months.
reviewed
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Bengala
This low-lit concept bar evokes a desert trek, with decor influenced by Casablanca and The Sheltering Sky, though disco-friendly DJs may put you on an entirely different plane. Its slightly out-of-the-way location only adds to the conspiratorial air. Have a ‘Module’ (a green cocktail of cucumber, Pernod and mescal) and mingle with the film and TV figures who customarily pop up here.
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Museo del Estanquillo
Housed in a gorgeous neoclassical building two blocks from the Zócalo, the Museo del Estanquillo contains the vast pop-culture collection amassed over the decades by DF essayist and pack rat Carlos Monsivais. The recently inaugurated museum illustrates various phases in the capital’s development by means of the numerous photos, paintings, movie posters, comic strips and so on from the collection.
reviewed
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from USD$2,645
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Palacio de Minería
Opposite the National Art Museum is the Palacio de Minería, where mining engineers were trained in the 19th century. Today it houses a branch of the national university’s engineering department. A neoclassical masterpiece, the palace was designed by Tolsá and built between 1797 and 1813. Visits are by guided tour only. The palace contains a small museum on Tolsá’s life and work.
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Cuatro Mares
If you’re looking for authentically prepared Chinese food, you won’t find it in the capital’s diminutive Chinatown, which serves up a generally bland Chinese-Mexicanhybrid that’s heavy on the sweet-and-sour sauce. Of the half-dozen restaurants along Dolores, this one has the best Peking duck and shrimps in lobster sauce. Dine outdoors on the plaza or inside with the Chinese dragons.
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Ixchel
‘Fusion’ is an overused term among Condesa and Roma bistros, but this late-night supper club takes it seriously. Ixchel’s innovative chef deftly fuses Mexican elements (grasshoppers, squash blossoms) with Mediterranean and Asian fare (risotto and tempura). The upstairs club, Love, adds another dimension (Wednesday to Saturday nights), with DJs supplying the appropriately chilled ambience.
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Plaza de las Tres Culturas
So named because it symbolizes the fusion of pre-Hispanic and Spanish roots into the Mexican mestizo identity, this plaza displays the architectural legacy of three cultural facets: the Aztec pyramids of Tlatelolco, the 17th-century Spanish Templo de Santiago and the modern tower that now houses the Centro Cultural Universitario.
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Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones
The US invasion was but one example in a long history of foreign intervention, as compellingly demonstrated by the Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones, inside the former convento. Displays include an American map showing operations in 1847, material on the French occupation of the 1860s and the plot by US ambassador Henry Lane Wilson to bring down the Madero government in 1913.
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from USD$4,815
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Restaurante Dzib
This deceptively large dining hall must be the ultimate comida corrida joint, serving toothsome three-course lunches. Start with a hearty caldo de habas (bean soup), followed by a plate of rice or spaghetti, then choose from an extensive selection of mains, which change daily (Friday is seafood day). TVs showing the afternoon soap opera are conveniently placed at the front of each room.
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Nacional Monte de Piedad
Facing the Catedral Metropolitana’s west side is Mexico’s national pawnshop, the Nacional Monte de Piedad, founded in 1774 by silver magnate Pedro Romero de Terreros. People pawn their jewelry and other possessions in the central hall for loans at 4% interest; unclaimed items are sold in shops off the central passageway. A store at the entrance sells outstanding handicrafts from Oaxaca.
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Tranvía
Motorized version of a vintage streetcar runs a 45-minute circuit of the Centro Histórico, with guides relating fascinating bits of lore (in Spanish) along the way. On Thursday night there’s a special cantina tour (M$100 including wine, reservation required). Tours depart from Avenida Juárez by Bellas Artes. A similar tour operates in Coyoacán, departing from the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares.
reviewed
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Biko
Co-owned by San Sebastián chef Bruno Oteiza, the menu is based on traditional Basque recipes that have been given the nouvelle treatment, such as tuna steaks served with ham and dried fruits. The dining room is unostentatiously chic and less bleakly minimalist than some top-end restaurants in these parts. There is an adjacent bar with bucket seats, intimate lighting and rooftops views.
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La Fonda del Hotentote
In the wholesale-paper district, this lunchtime-only comedor (dining room) brings a touch of class to Mexican standards without putting on airs. Standouts include red snapper tamales, nopales in chile guajillo sauce (cactus paddles in a sweet, mild chilli sauce), and pollo tocotlán (chicken steamed in maguey leaves with aromatic herbs). Desserts are equally enticing.
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V Zona Rosa
This justifiably popular restaurant is fronted by a taco stand with freshly prepared fillings. Inside, the decor is of the Formica-style school with three TVs, efficient (elderly) service, a congenial English-speaking manager and a great-value three-course lunch menu. Enchiladas, tortas, soups, chicken chilaquiles and fresh fruit salads are a taster of what’s on offer.
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California Dancing Club
More popular (low-brow) than the Colonia Roma clubs, this old-fashioned hall has marathon dance sessions, with half a dozen bands on the bill. Hundreds of couples bounce around a vast tiled floor flanked by stout mirrored columns as groups like Los Escorpiones de Durango keep the cumbias (Colombian dance music) coming. Beer and soft drinks are dispensed from two humble bars.
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Café Mangia
Enjoy an uncomplicated menu of panini with fillings such as pesto and smoked cheese, roast beef, cheese and herbs and smoked salmon with cream cheese. There’s a healthy salad and breakfast choice, plus fresh juices and seriously good coffee. The atmosphere is boho-arty with white-painted brick walls, challenging artwork and an outside terrace. All the vegetables are organically grown.
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