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History, art and culinary adventures create a feast for the senses in Mexico City.
By Sharon Stello
Whether strolling the upscale Polanco neighborhood, with its tree-lined streets named after famous writers and scientists, neobaroque architecture and high-end boutiques, tasting your way through a street taco tour, soaking up local culture at one of the many museums or standing in the shadows of ancient pyramids at Teotihuacán, just a few miles beyond its northern edge, Mexico City is a vibrant destination with endless experiences for visitors.
The massive metropolis, covering nearly 600 square miles—bigger than New York City—is divided into 16 boroughs. Interestingly, the central and eastern sections were built on dried lake beds situated at more than 7,300 feet above sea level, which is a higher elevation than the city of Denver.
And while Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, is a densely populated area, it’s also filled with green spaces: One of these lush oases is Chapultepec Park, the largest and oldest urban park in Latin America and one of the oldest in the world. From history and art museums to an internationally renowned zoo, a lake and gardens, there’s plenty to explore in this park alone.
Mexico City is also a global hot spot when it comes to the culinary world. In May, the Michelin Guide debuted its first list of recommended restaurants in Mexico, including two in Mexico City that received two stars—Quintonil and Pujol—and five others that each garnered one star; establishments in other regions of the country also were recognized. And, back in April, Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City was named at the top of North America’s 50 Best Bars list as voted by industry experts in this third annual contest.
Indeed, there is something for all the senses to savor in Mexico City.
A Place in Polanco
When considering a home base for your travels, Las Alcobas Mexico City offers a central location, luxurious accommodations and friendly service. The five-star hotel’s concierge team members speak both Spanish and English, helping American visitors easily navigate their new surroundings. They are also part of the world-renowned Clef d’Or organization.
The intimate, 35-room boutique hotel in the Polanco neighborhood was formerly a palatial private residence. Designed by Yabu Pushelberg, a Toronto and New York-based firm, the hotel offers a serene retreat with its own restaurant and spa, all located steps from local boutiques and eateries along main thoroughfare Avenida Presidente Masaryk and the surrounding area.
Rooms feature rich wood, modern design, cultural touches like an alebrije—bright-colored folk art sculptures of mythical creatures believed to offer protection—in the closet, and views of the bustling cityscape. While fall is a great time to visit, when several festivals take place, so is early spring (before the rainy season begins), which allows you to enjoy the jacaranda trees in full bloom; the windows of some rooms look right into these trees with their purple blossoms and birds flitting about in the branches. Upper floor suites and a penthouse offer outdoor terraces with garden areas and sweeping views.
Spalike marble bathrooms feature a rain shower, separate soaking tub, plush terry robes and handmade soaps. Make sure to indulge in the bath service: A butler will arrive to set up a bath using an herb and salt blend of your choice such as lemongrass, arnica and camphor to ease jet lag; rose, orange and cocoa nibs for a sensual scent; or lavender, mint and chamomile to induce relaxation.
Meanwhile, a cabinet holding the mini bar and coffee maker is filled with traditional Mexican candy and snacks. Continue the culinary journey with room service or a meal at the on-site restaurant, Anatol, with international-inspired, farm-to-table dishes. For breakfast, choose from items like stuffed French toast with strawberry-rhubarb compote, bacon and basil or chilaquiles featuring a mouthwatering roasted tomatillo sauce, plus a variety of pastries. At lunch and dinner, choose from bone marrow flatbread, lobster esquites (street corn), salmon belly tartare with yuzu and serrano chiles, steaks, pasta, short rib or the signature house-roasted chicken.
Exploring the Area
While the hotel affords a comfortable stay, visitors will want to step beyond those walls to take in the local culture and history that abounds here. And Las Alcobas can arrange exclusive experiences from cooking classes to after-hours museum tours, hot air balloon rides and a variety of tours. For example, guides will take you to the 8-square-mile pyramid complex of Teotihuacán, a UNESCO World Heritage site, or Coyoacán, the neighborhood where artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived.
In Teotihuacán, which means “the place where the gods were created,” stroll between the towering Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon and the Temple of Quetzalcóatl, which were built between the first and seventh centuries. Some smaller, stone structures feature painted animals and geometric designs. At its peak, this community boasted at least 25,000 inhabitants. Now, these ruins hold the secrets of this vast civilization. Archaeologists are trying to understand more about the ancient city that existed over 1,000 years before the Aztecs arrived, and why it disappeared. Walking along the main path, it’s possible to feel transported, imagining what life here might have been like so many years ago. Every so often, the stillness is punctuated by vendors demonstrating whistles that replicate bird calls and jaguar growls, their sounds echoing off the stone surroundings.
On another day, venture to Coyoacán with its indoor markets selling fresh produce, spices and even edible insects as well as beautiful handmade textiles, toys and more. Food stalls offer tacos and tostadas bursting with fresh flavor. For dessert, head a block away to Lecaroz bakery to pick up a churro or pan dulce then grab a cafe de olla, coffee made with sugar and cinnamon, at Café El Jarocho, a fixture in the community since 1953. Then enjoy a few peaceful moments in the nearby park, Plaza Jardin Hidalgo. Make sure to peek into the adjacent Parroquia San Juan Bautista Coyoacán, one of the oldest churches in Mexico City, to see the resplendent interior with gilded details, stained glass and paintings along the walls and ceiling before heading to the Frida Kahlo Museum.
The museum encompasses Casa Azul (the Blue House), where Kahlo grew up and later lived with her husband, Rivera, the famed muralist. The two-story home displays her paintings as well as photos, folk art, personal items and furnishings in many rooms including the area where she painted with views out to the courtyard gardens. An easel is set up with her wheelchair in front of it. Kahlo suffered from several health problems during her lifetime, contracting polio as a child and sustaining serious injuries in a bus crash at age 18, requiring more than 30 surgeries through the years.
Visitors may be overcome with emotion as they stand just inches from the four-poster bed where she spent her days after the accident. Her mother attached a mirror on the canopy above so Kahlo could see herself to paint her famous self portraits. Aside from her physical pain, Kahlo, who has become a feminist icon, no doubt also endured emotional trauma as her relationship with Rivera was a tumultuous one, filled with affairs by both of them; the couple divorced after he began a relationship with her younger sister, but they later remarried. She died at 47 of pulmonary embolism, although some have speculated that she may have overdosed on painkillers.
Your ticket from the Frida Kahlo Museum also includes entry to Rivera’s Anahuacalli Museum, which combines modern art and the pre-Columbian aesthetic. The building, made of lava rock from the Xitle volcano eruption, houses more than 45,000 pieces from Mexico’s ancient civilizations—such as arrowheads, pottery and stone figures—including 2,000 on permanent display. Mosaics by Rivera and Juan O’Gorman embellish the ceilings in several rooms. One space also features 16 large sketches for murals by Rivera. And a rooftop terrace affords expansive views of the area.
Local Flavors
Another worthy excursion is a boat trip through the “floating gardens” of Xochimilco, about 17 miles south of Mexico City. Step aboard a brightly colored “trajinera,” a flat-bottomed boat, with a guide who will ply the shallow waters with a long wooden stick to move the vessel through the canals. Bring a picnic and a cooler of beer or buy food from “chalupas,” or gondola-type boats passing by; from those boats, they cook and sell traditional Mexican street food and drinks, including roasted corn, sopes and pulque, an alcoholic beverage made of fermented agave sap.
Boats carrying mariachi bands will also step aboard to perform music for your group, for a fee, creating a lively party atmosphere. And vendors may suddenly appear as if out of nowhere, selling their wares from jewelry to decorated blankets and the like. Alongside the canals are several fields where farmers grow produce and flowers on “chinampas,” or artificial islands—the “floating gardens”—which are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. These are the only reminder of pre-Hispanic land use in lagoons within the city’s basin. Also an ecological reserve, a variety of birds can also be spotted along the way.
There are also land tours that will tempt your taste buds, like visiting popular taquerias, street taco stands and bars in the Narvarte neighborhood of Mexico City during a nighttime walk led by friendly and knowledgeable guides from the Eat Mexico culinary tour company. Among the spots on a recent tour was El Vilsito, which is an auto repair shop by day, then the doors are rolled up at night to reveal a taqueria within. Tables and chairs are also set up on the sidewalk as the crowds often spill outside. Known for its al pastor, the meat is cooked on a spit; watch as the cooks slice off pieces to make the tacos, piled high with cilantro and onions on warm tortillas. Then choose from a variety of salsas based on your flavor preference and heat tolerance. Plenty of other options are also on the menu, but al pastor is what they are known for.
Down the street is the Tacos Tony stand, beloved by locals for steak and sausage tacos. You’ll eat standing up at raised tables, but part of the fun is watching the workers prepare the meat. For “suadero” tacos, thin meat is cooked in a special pan with a raised mound in the center. The meat is simmered in fat with water, onions, longaniza and chorizo sausage for added flavor. With your tacos, be sure to also grab a Boing! soda in mango or guava for a unique refreshment. Farther down the street taco tour route, brave eaters may want to try tacos de cabeza (braised meat from the head of a cow) or lengua (beef tongue) at the Tacos Manolos stand.
End the evening at Alquimia Cafe Barra y Tostadora, a neighborhood spot with both coffee and cocktails. Sidewalk tables provide a nice place to gather with friends, enjoy the evening air and toast the end of a trip filled with good food, history and culture—and start planning your return visit.
